What is a Just Peace? - Oxford Scholarship

What is a Just Peace? - Oxford Scholarship

What is a Just Peace?

Pierre Allan and Alexis Keller



ABSTRACT

While an old doctrine of Just War exists, surprisingly little conceptual thinking has gone into what constitutes a Just Peace. This book presents various — and at times conflicting — viewpoints on this question of Just Peace from perspectives originating in political science, history, international law, political philosophy, cultural studies, and theology, as well as from a policy perspective. The book challenges a liberal perception of peace founded on norms claiming universal scope, and instead looks to negotiation for arriving at shared views that help build a consensus on what justice might mean in specific circumstances. Although some contributors explicitly outline and advocate specific cases for ‘justifiable violence’, it is made clear that alternative and non-violent ways to peace need to be contemplated, and conceptualized. Even though the path through justice is a demanding one, its accomplishment opens the way to a durable settlement accepted by the parties initially engaged in conflict. Clearly, the more ambitious goal of peace with justice can lead to smaller chances for success. It may even derail the whole enterprise and keep the flames of violent conflict alive through the search for ‘justice’, particularly because this concept is not necessarily the same for all concerned parties. Ultimately, an inter-subjective consensus needs to be built through negotiation with both parties to a conflict so that the concepts of shared history, and an often inextricable future, can be reached with a mutual understanding. In this collective process, it is more likely that a stable foundation can be created through recognition, renouncement, and rule, and thus a Just Peace can be achieved.



Keywords: just war, justice, peace, law, negotiation, conflict, recognition, renouncement, rule of law, conceptual



BIBLIOGRAPHIC INFORMATION

Print publication date: 2006 Print ISBN-13: 9780199275359

Published to Oxford Scholarship Online: May 2006 DOI:10.1093/0199275351.001.0001

AUTHORS

Affiliations are at time of print publication.



Pierre Allan, editor

Dean of Faculty of Economic and Social Sciences and Professor of International Relations, University of Geneva

Author Webpage

Alexis Keller, editor

Senior Research Fellow, Swiss National Science Foundation, and Fellow, Carr Center for Human Rights Policy, Harvard University

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1 Introduction: Rethinking Peace and Justice Conceptually

Pierre Allan and Alexis Keller

2 Peace and Justice: A Prologue

Stanley Hoffmann

3 Justice, Peace, and History: A Reappraisal

Alexis Keller

4 Just Peace: A Cause Worth Fighting For1

Sir Adam Roberts

5 Measuring International Ethics: A Moral Scale of War, Peace, Justice, and Global Care

Pierre Allan

6 Just Peace: A Dangerous Objective

Yossi Beilin

7 Peace, Justice, and Religion

David Little

8 A Method for Thinking about Just Peace

Edward W. Said

9 The Concept of a Just Peace, or Achieving Peace Through Recognition, Renouncement, and Rule

Pierre Allan and Alexis Keller