Sustainability and Social Justice

A Template for Assessing Cultures of Peace

Document Type

Article

Abstract

It is possible to construct a template that can be used to assess the extent to which there is a culture of peace in different societies. The template could contain (a) a brief introduction to the unique situation facing a society, (b) a listing of those aspects of a society most relevant to a culture of peace, (c) a subjective discussion as well as a listing of objective indicators of each of these aspects, and (d) a concluding section suggesting what needs to be done to achieve a more peaceful culture in the particular society. Such a format could provide a thought-provoking overall organization that allows comparison of societies although leaving sufficient room for particularities. This article discusses the concept of a culture of peace and then proposes such a format, together with a set of objective measures. The template is illustrated by its application to an assessment of the United States. Copyright © 2004, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc.

Publication Title

Peace and Conflict

Publication Date

1-1-2004

Volume

10

Issue

2

First Page

125

Last Page

146

ISSN

1078-1919

DOI

10.1207/s15327949pac1002_4

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