Building New Pathways to Peace

In the post-Cold War era, problems of war and peace have become complicated and ambiguous, involving such non-military issues as a growing north-south dichotomy of power and wealth, depletion of scare energy resources, neoliberal globalization of capitalism, global warming, and destruction of natural habitats. To provide the interdisciplinary and comprehensive analysis necessary in today's world, Building New Pathways to Peace considers both the old concepts of tolerance, shalom, and wa, and the relatively new concepts of human security, decent peace, credibility, accountability, plurality, multiculturalism, and transnationalism.The twelve essays in this volume--the product of a long-term collaborative project between Japanese and American scholars--explore new, multidisciplinary ways of thinking about peace and how to achieve it. With the goal of constructing a twenty-first century intellectual and theoretical foundation for comprehensive peace studies, the contributors use intellectual tools from a range of academic disciplines to elucidate impediments to and necessary conditions for actualizing peace, security, and harmonious coexistence.Noriko Kawamurais associate professor of history, Washington State University.Yoichiro MurakamiandShin Chibateach at the International Christian University in Tokyo. Other contributors are Martha Cottam, Gregory Hooks, Takashi Kibe, Otwin Marenin, Anri Morimoto, T. V. Reed, Susan Ross, Raymond Sun, and Kano Yamamoto."A stimulating and valuable endeavor. This serious introduction of religious, cultural, philosophical, and historical perspectives on peace provides a richness of intellectual texture that is not often encountered in peace literature."-Richard Falk, Albert G. Milbank Professor Emeritus of International Law, Princeton University, and Research Professor in Global and International Studies, University of California Santa Barbara"A groundbreaking contribution to peace research. This book is a strong and original contribution to peace studies and international politics that sheds light on the imperative of promoting 'positive peace,' peace that goes beyond stopping the violence and concentrates on promoting harmonious relationship."-Julie Mertes, professor at American University and author ofThe United Nations and Human Rights"Building New Pathways to Peaceis a collection of interdisciplinary essays and, at the same time, the book's instructive Introduction takes a transdisciplinary approach that can serve as a guide for future peace research."-Johan Galtung, Norwegian sociologist and author ofPeace by Peaceful Means: Peace and Conflict, Development and Civilization, and coeditor ofHandbook of Peace and Conflict

Noriko Kawamura is associate professor of history, Washington State University. Yoichiro Murakami and Shin Chiba teach at the International Christian University in Tokyo.