Peace in Our Time. Towards a holistic understanding of world society conflicts

Abstract

This study takes its point of departure in empirical experiences from Mozambique, showing that the war, which was settled in a peace agreement 1992, cannot be analysed within the conventionaldichotomy between international and civil wars, but should be looked upon in its global and multi-level world society context. It also shows that the war had both a security dimension linked to theregional situation and the cold war, and a development dimension contributing to war dynamics in rural areas.Drawing on these experiences, the study argues that a key to an improved understanding of our contemporary pattern of conflict, and relevant conflict resolution efforts, is to formulate an analyticalframework in which a normative peace and development research should be able to direct its attention primarily towards the societal conditions in which conflicts emerge, and the mechanisms mutuallylinking maldevelopment to conflict, and development to peace.Generally, the study argues that if we look at development historically, a functional development principle has worked out quite well in symbiosis with a redistributive state which has had the capacity todrain off and redistribute some of the resources produced in the economic system. This has to a great extent served to alleviate the negative consequences of functional development in terms of social andregional differentiation. In many conflict ridden countries of the Third World this can be seen in two dimensions. On the one hand, and as a general feature of North-South relations, economic growth hasnot expanded enough to enable a redistributive state to get access to sufficient surplus resources. On the other hand, the counter-revolution in development theory, and the dominating neo-liberal economicpolicies during the eighties, have contributed to both economic and ideological/political dilution of the states1 redistributive capacity.At the same time, the global pattern of armed conflict has undergone a change from conventional interstate conflicts to conflicts located within the borders of states, most of them being the least developed.However, these changes have still not induced theoretical approaches sufficiently adequate to deal with the new pattern of conflict. A search for an approach in which questions of peace and questionsdevelopment can be dealt with simultaneously is thus called for.In conclusion, the study argues that in order to improve the capability of peace and development research to contribute to the fulfilment of these objectives, the normative strength of the discipline mustincrease. Such increased normative strength is, in turn, depending of its paradigmatic coherence, theoretical congruence and political operativeness.