Key Concepts of Peace

As we have seen, there are many different definitions of peace that vary from geographical location, culture, and religious belief. Nevertheless, in the 'Western discourse' the most common definition has been for a long time a negation, describing peace as “the absence of armed conflicts or war”. This definition is often criticized because it can lead to the imagination of a state of total absence of conflict, which negates any kind of tension and implies a false sense of sameness among people. 

Sociologist Johan Galtung pointed out that " 'Negative peace', defined as the absence of direct violence, fails to acknowledge deeper societal issues and inequalities." (Galtung, 1969). The definition labelled as "negative peace" is an oversimplification that can be read as one reason why many people become cynical about the term and its potential.

This definition refers to direct violence. 

It was sociologist, activist and Nobel Prize winner Jane Addams who was the first to propose another definition of peace. In her book Newer Ideals of Peace from 1907, she wrote: “Peace would no longer be an absence of war, but the unfolding of worldwide processes making for the nurture of human life.” Addams’ vision of peace extended beyond the absence of conflict to include the positive conditions necessary for human 'flourishing'.

This idea of a 'positive peace' was later echoed by Martin Luther King Jr., who, in his famous "Letter from Birmingham Jail" in 1963, critically addressed those "who prefer a negative peace which is the absence of tension to a positive peace which is the presence of justice." King emphasized that true peace requires justice and equality, not merely the absence of visible conflict.

It was Norwegian scholar Johan Galtung who, in 1969, introduced the dualistic terminology of positive and negative peace into academic literature through his seminal work "Violence, Peace, and Peace Research." Galtung's framework has since become foundational in peace studies, recognizing that “Positive peace” involves the presence of social justice, equality, and the conditions necessary for human well-being" (Galtung, 1969).

This definition refers to structural violence. 

Justpeace refers to the absence of direct, structural, and cultural violence. Cultural violence justifies or legitimizes direct or structural violence, making it seem acceptable within a society. Just peacebuilding combines positive peacebuilding with efforts to align cultural values to prevent, resolve, and heal violence. 

The concept, introduced by John Paul Lederach in the late 1990s, envisions justpeace as a state of high justice and low violence, where conflicts are addressed nonviolently and relationships are seen as interconnected and enduring. Lederach envisioned that by 2050, justpeace would be commonly understood as "an adaptive process-structure of human relationships characterized by high justice and low violence." (in: The Moral Imagination - The Art and Soul of Building Peace" (2005))