Searching For Peace: The Road to Conflict Transcendence in the Twenty-first Century [Paperback]

Johan Galtung (Author), Carl G. Jacobsen (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1, 2000 | ISBN-10: 0745316131 | ISBN-13: 978-0745316130

Drawing on the Transcend approach to peace-making, this book provides a comprehensive guide to conflict resolution. Transcend is an international network of scholars and practitioners working for peace and development through action, training, dissemination and research. The Transcend method has been used by the UN and applied to conflicts throughout the world. It has been used in Northern Ireland; Kashmir; Korea; the Gulf conflict; Ecuador and Peru; Kosovo; Guatemala and Honduras; and China and Tibet. This book provides a wide ranging survey of past and present approaches to violent conflict prevention and includes detailed analysis of over 40 conflicts as case studies. It critiques the failures of recent peacekeeping and peacemaking efforts while presenting the multi-decade research and arguments that underlie the Transcend approach.

Editorial Reviews

Review

'Impressive and moving, and very saddening as well ... A particular pleasure to read something not only sensible but even hopeful on methods of moving towards some decent outcome under what appears to be almost hopeless situations.' --Noam Chomsky

 

'Fascinating! This highly condensed and powerful overview opens up major new ways to think about the seemingly intractable problems of state nation interface ... this book is a must for scholars, practitioners and policy makers and peace activists.' --Elise Boulding, Professor Emeritus, Dartmouth College

 

'Galtung's writing always provides succinct and important insights ... The book has appropriate and important targets: it seeks to uncover the general truth among the particular complications; it does not draw back from proposing courses of action; it confronts serious tasks.' --EthnicConflict Research Digest

--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

About the Author

Johan Galtung is Director of TRANSCEND. He founded the International Peace Research Institute in Oslo in 1959 and is the author of many essays and works on peace. Currently Professor of Peace Studies at six universities, he is the holder of the Right Livelihood Award 1987 and the Norwegian Humanist Prize 1988. Professor Carl G. Jacobsen was Professor of Political Science (International Affairs and Conflict Studies), Director of Eurasian Security Studies ORU, at Carleton University, and Director of the Independent Committee on War Crimes in the Balkans. He passed away in 2001.Kai Frithjof Brand-Jacobsen is Co-Director of TRANSCEND and Director of the Peace Action, Training and Research Institute of Romania (PATRIR).

--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 296 pages
• Publisher: Pluto Press (June 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0745316131
• ISBN-13: 978-0745316130
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,650,393 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars combines theory with practice, January 23, 2001

By 

Dietrich Fischer (Princeton Junction, NJ United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Searching For Peace: The Road to Conflict Transcendence in the Twenty-first Century (Paperback)

"Searching for Peace: the Road to TRANSCEND" is an indispensable guide for "peaceworkers". It combines theory (e.g. "on the psychology of the TRANSCEND Approach") with concrete examples of 40 conflicts from around the world, based on 40 years of practical experience in helping conflict parties find nonviolent solutions. Instead of seeking to bring the conflict parties to the negotiating table from the beginning, which can often result in a stream of mutual accusations that exacerbates the conflict, this approach first holds extensive dialogues separately with each conflict party, to gain their trust and understand their grievances and fears, needs and desires. By presenting the parties with a richer repertoire of possible approaches, and by showing them how similar conflicts have been successfully solved elsewhere, this often helps them see a way out of a seemingly intractable situation in which they feel themselves trapped. Johan Galtung, who founded the academic discipline of peace research, and has always applied his insights to help people suffering from conflict, like a good doctor, has joined forces with Carl Jacobsen, Finn Tschudi and Kai Frithjof Brand-Jacobsen to share with us his rich experience. This book ought to be required reading for all international relations scholars, practitioners, policy-makers and peace activists.

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars combines theory with practice, January 23, 2001

By 

Dietrich Fischer (Princeton Junction, NJ United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Searching For Peace: The Road to Conflict Transcendence in the Twenty-first Century (Paperback)

"Searching for Peace: the Road to TRANSCEND" is an indispensable guide for "peaceworkers". It combines theory (e.g. "on the psychology of the TRANSCEND Approach") with concrete examples of 40 conflicts from around the world, based on 40 years of practical experience in helping conflict parties find nonviolent solutions. Instead of seeking to bring the conflict parties to the negotiating table from the beginning, which can often result in a stream of mutual accusations that exacerbates the conflict, this approach first holds extensive dialogues separately with each conflict party, to gain their trust and understand their grievances and fears, needs and desires. By presenting the parties with a richer repertoire of possible approaches, and by showing them how similar conflicts have been successfully solved elsewhere, this often helps them see a way out of a seemingly intractable situation in which they feel themselves trapped. Johan Galtung, who founded the academic discipline of peace research, and has always applied his insights to help people suffering from conflict, like a good doctor, has joined forces with Carl Jacobsen, Finn Tschudi and Kai Frithjof Brand-Jacobsen to share with us his rich experience. This book ought to be required reading for all international relations scholars, practitioners, policy-makers and peace activists.