Basic Course 3: Why Do We Need Peace Education?

Communicating the Capacity for Peace

The capacity for peace is important in being able to understand interrelationships, classify developments and develop independent analyses and strategies for confronting war and violence. In our understand, the capacity for peace is primarily a matter of the capacity to function: among other things, this involves knowledge concerning the causes of war and force, the individual requirements for peace skills and the social and international determining factors relating to these. The capacity for peace also involves attaining an insight into one's own potential and capabilities. This capacity to function can be communicated as a factor of targeted educational work in schools and adult education, or within the bounds of the individually organized learning process in grass-roots organizations. Without the capacity to function, responsible peace education is not possible. At the same time however, it cannot suffice alone, and further skills must be attained.

Instructions for Mastering the Art of Peace

How can the skills for dealing with personal, social and international conflicts, identifying related background interests and finding methods for solutions be attained? Providing palpable and commonly understandable instructions for personally mastering the art of peace is one of the most difficult tasks of peace education. Even peace educators and researchers are continuously at pains to maintain their own credibility here, since the concern is not to postulate anew, but to provide practical aid in dealing with day-to-day education. The art of peace for the individual means developing a stalwart ego and self-awareness - not in order to patronize, but to communicate without becoming 'jammed', in order to identify and correct one's own prejudices, but also being able to participate in political events so that the potential for committing towards reducing violence and participation can be recognized.

Knowledge of one's own environment is an important requirement of civil courage. One aspect of civil courage is the ability to express one's own opinion, - even to the authorities – and not just in one's own home, but on the streets as well. The moral standards required for personal action need to be valued higher than an opportunistic 'moving with the masses', whereby moral standards are closely linked to achieving the capacity to function. The personal disadvantages resulting from the practice of civil courage need to be taken into account and consciously risked. Becoming aware of your personal fears is a requirement of this. Civil courage can also mean refusing to be obedient or refusing to delegate responsibility to authorities (or even whole structures) if need be. Mastering the art of peace is inconceivable without taking personal responsibility for one's own actions or ceasing to behave in a particular manner.

This consequence for peace education of this reasoning is to take a sensible approach to the opposition, objection and refusal to obey of children and young people. This is because behavior and attitudes of this kind cannot be defined simply as 'insolence' or 'rudeness', but are an expression of growing independence and a confrontation with authority.

The art of peace is often mistaken as excessive passivity, or decrying reference is made to those attempting to master the art of peace as demonstrating moral integrity, but otherwise comprehending little of life and even being incapable or living (or surviving) in a competitive society. But exactly the opposite is true. Neither a family, nor a (global) society can survive if the competitive principle is seen as the dominating driving force. In modern times, the ability to live and survive is dependent in essence on cooperative and social skills: This involves working in and with groups, the ability to assess and take into account the effects and consequences of one's own personal actions, and being responsible towards oneself and others, and the surrounding environment. The skill of self-reflection is necessary to recognise problem areas and obstacles as and when they occur, and hence be capable of surmounting them. Achieving an increasingly better understanding and wide-ranging knowledge of oneself and related reactions are important prerequisites for mastering the art of peace.

The peace researcher Hanne-Margret Birckenbach from the 'Projektverbund Friedenswissenschaften Kiel' (Joint Project for Peace Sciences Kiel) presents a personal agenda for discussion in mastering the art of peace. Primarily, this involves the readiness and ability to evaluate one's own personal contribution to a political correlation of interaction that is recognizable as being quashable. Furthermore, it involves developing the power to conceive the potential negative effects of one's own actions on other people. It also involves putting distance between oneself and the pressure and tendency to conform, and developing intolerance towards violence, both in the personal sphere and on a social and cultural level.

Another area involves recognizing, thematising and confronting one's own potential for violence, and personally renouncing culturally normative patterns of activity in the form of violence and developing alternatives. The risk of social proscription needs to be recognized here, without actually being forced into social isolation. Beyond this, an important area of learning lies in the creative link between the continuous pressure towards justification in the conflict between pacification and force, and the political perspectives of change. Objective deficits in democracy can also be gone into as a part of the process here. A further aim comprises shattering the image of being a victim and gaining self-respect as a political subject. Where and how to develop or attain such skills and qualities is a core problem of peace education.

Instructions for Peace Activity

These instructions for individual political activity form an inseparable part of peace education. Some expect peace education to be defined as being an educational section of the peace movement. This notion is wholly understandable, but the requirements, methods and recipients of peace education and the peace movement are so varied, that, despite all correspondence with the criticism of force and ideas of peace, standardization would be unnecessary and would not foster common interests.

Peace activity aims to influence political decisions and development at community, state and international level and can take various forms. In the narrow sense it means taking part in passive acts of civil insubordination against war and the preparations for war. This ranges from blockading rocket bases, which comprised a major part of peace movement activity in the eighties, and fasting, which is used is draw attention to the problems of atomic testing, to refusing to pay your taxes. Today, transnational peace activity is particularly important and ranges from international educational projects to passive intervention in crisis regions. Peace education has the task of encouraging political commitment, in particular because it visualizes the limitations of peace activity and provides the leeway necessary for tangible action.

But peace education must contribute to giving as many citizens as possible with normal jobs and family lives the opportunity to commit, and not just a few specially dedicated individuals who can 'afford' to commit to peace because of their financial or personal circumstances. Peace activity in everyday life can take many forms. It involves finding out information and the courage to oppose xenophobic talk at school, work or the sports club, or oppose violent fancy concerning the effectiveness of military intervention.

The extent to which the capacity for peace, the art of peace and peace activity are harnessed is now becoming clear. What is also becoming clear is the degree of effort required to meet the challenge of peace education.

[aus: Günther Gugel / Uli Jäger: Gewalt muss nicht sein. Eine Einführung in friedenspädagogisches Denken und Handeln, 3. Aufl., Tübingen 1997, S. 16-42; Internetversion: http://www.friedenspaedagogik.de/themen/f_erzieh/fe3.htm]

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Methods:    Teaching Politics    II    Peace Education    II    Methods