Johan Galtung
Johan Galtung | |
---|---|
Born | Johan Vincent Galtung 24 October 1930 Oslo, Norway |
Died | 17 February 2024 Bærum, Norway | (aged 93)
Alma mater | University of Oslo |
Known for | Principal founder of peace and conflict studies |
Spouses | |
Children | Harald Galtung, Andreas Galtung, Irene Galtung, Fredrik Galtung |
Awards | Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO) |
Founder and Director of Peace Research Institute Oslo | |
In office 1959–1969 | |
Succeeded by | Asbjørn Eide |
Johan Vincent Galtung (24 October 1930 – 17 February 2024) was a Norwegian
In 1969, he was appointed to the world's first
Background
Galtung was born in
Galtung's father and paternal grandfather were both physicians. The Galtung name has its origins in Hordaland, where his paternal grandfather was born. Nevertheless, his mother, Helga Holmboe, was born in central Norway, in Trøndelag, while his father was born in Østfold, in the south. Galtung was married twice, and had two children by his first wife Ingrid Eide, Harald Galtung and Andreas Galtung, and two by his second wife Fumiko Nishimura, Irene Galtung and Fredrik Galtung.[6]
Galtung experienced
Galtung died in Bærum on 17 February 2024, at the age of 93.[8]
Career
Upon receiving his mag. art. degree, Galtung moved to
In 1964, Galtung led PRIO to establish the first academic journal devoted to Peace Studies: the Journal of Peace Research.[9] In the same year, he assisted in the founding of the International Peace Research Association.[10] In 1969, he left PRIO for a position as professor of peace and conflict research at the University of Oslo, a position he held until 1978.[9]
Galtung was the director general of the International University Centre in
Economist and fellow peace researcher
In 1993, he co-founded TRANSCEND: A Peace Development Environment Network.[17][18] In 1987, he was given the Right Livelihood Award.
Work and views
This section needs additional citations for verification. (February 2024) |
Conflict Triangle
In Galtung's 1969 paper, "Violence, Peace and Peace Research",[19] he presents his theory of the Conflict Triangle, a framework used in the study of peace and conflict, with the purpose of defining the three key elements of violence that form this "triangle." The theory is based on the principle that peace must be defined by widely accepted social goals, and that any state of peace is characterized by the absence of violence. When a conflict has features of all three areas of violence, the result is a more consolidated, static state of violence in a social system, which may include a conflict or a nation-state, whereas the absence of these three typologies of violence results in peace.
Structural Violence
Galtung's concept of structural violence refers to the indirect forms of violence originating from social, economic, and political structures and manifesting primarily as oppression and exploitation.[20]: 16 These indirect forms of violence result in injustices in the distribution of political power and economic benefits.[20]: 16
Rather than conveying a physical image, structural violence is an avoidable impairment of
Akhil Gupta argued in 2012[21] that structural violence has been the key influence in the nature and distribution of extreme suffering in India, driven by the Indian state in its alleged corruption, overly bureaucratic standards of governance used to exclude the middle and working classes from the political system through a system of politicized poverty.
Jacklyn Cock's 1989 paper[22] in the Review of African Political Economy applied Galtung's theory of structural violence, analysing the role of militarized society under the apartheid regime of South Africa in the development of patriarchal values that is a form of structural violence against women. Cock found that tacit misdirection of women in society by its leadership focused their energies toward the direct and indirect incorporation of the patriarchal regime in order to maintain the status quo.
Mats Utas claimed[23] that even those youth in Liberia indirectly unaffected by direct violence in the civil war of 1989-1996 suffered from structural violence in the form of association with different blocs, leading to poverty, joblessness and marginalisation effects.
Cultural Violence
Galtung defines cultural violence as ideas, consciousness, language, art, or science that can be used to legitimize or enable direct violence or structural violence.[20]: 16–17 The existence of prevailing or prominent social norms make direct and structural violence seem natural or at least acceptable, and serves to explain how prominent beliefs can become so embedded in a given culture that they function as absolute and inevitable and are reproduced uncritically across generations. Galtung expanded on the concept of cultural violence in a 1990 paper[24] also published in the Journal of Peace Research. This concept has been applied in a limited number of cases, with most occurring after Galtung's follow up paper in 1990,[24] some of the most notable of which are listed below.
In Ed Husain's 2007 book[25] The Islamist, seminal extremist literature such as Sayyid Qutb's Milestones is highlighted as being particularly influential on many young Muslims in terms of defining their identity and life goals, in which the book embodies the principles outlined whereby there is a cultural imperative for violence built into the societal values or cultural values of Islam through such extremist literature.
Gregory Phillips argues in his 2003 book, Addictions and Healing in Aboriginal Country,[26] that resistance to the Western medical sphere driven by previous atrocities committed against the Aboriginal community has led to a fierce resistance effort against modern medicine, addiction treatment and perhaps fuels a desire to seek out drugs and illicit substances as a starting point of addiction. Wide scale suspicion against medical practitioners and government representatives has become engendered in the Aboriginal community.
In Enduring Violence: Ladina Women's Lives in Guatemala,[27] the 2011 book by Cecilia Menjívar, it is argued that the preexisting cultural conditions of mediania, or half and half, agriculture led to women facing large scale cultural violence due to high rents, low returns and high required investment with additionally harsh conditions due to the conflict in Guatemala. Given the patriarchal culture of Guatemala, any earnings would go to the partner of the working woman, leaving a large poverty gap enshrined in the demographic diversity of the country.
Direct Violence
Direct Violence is characterised as having an actor that commits the violence, and is thus able to be traced back to persons as actors. Direct violence shows less stability, given it is subject to the preference sets of individuals, and thus is more easily recognised. Direct violence is the most visible, occurring physically or verbally, and the victim and the offender can be clearly identified. Direct violence is highly interdependent with structural and cultural violence: cultural and structural violence causes direct violence which on the other hand reinforces the former ones. This concept has been applied in a large number of cases, some of which are listed below.
A 2011 paper[28] by the International Center for Research on Women (ICRW) demonstrated the widespread nature of child marriage in South Asia. The ICRW highlighted marriage before the age of 18 as a fundamental human rights violation, one that leads to early childbearing, with significantly higher maternal mortality and morbidity rates as well as higher infant mortality rates amongst women. The paper most directly presented evidence to show that child brides are at heightened risk of violence in the home.
In Matthew Chandler's 2009 paper[29] on so-called "non-violent" techniques utilised by Hezbollah still include forms of Direct Violence, most notably the threat of violence toward Fouad Siniora's allies after his 2008 order to dismantle the Hezbollah telecommunications network in 2008, which led to the freezing of the order. Further, Hezbollah are argued to have used their operation of social services, in lieu of government operations, as a ransom for support as well as rewarding their fighters with guaranteed healthcare and support for their families. Chandler argues this is due to opposition within the group to harming Lebanese civilians, who they view as "their own", or exacerbating conflict through civil war.
In 2005, Steven Wright made the case[30] for Peacekeeping efforts to be regarded as violence due to increasing use of techniques such as pre-interrogation treatment, and the use of non-lethal weapons such as tear gas for crowd dispersal and plastic bullets, which he terms "torture-lite", being increasingly common in peacekeeping manuals across a number of nation-states and supranational organisations.
Reinforcing Factors
Galtung focuses a section of the paper on the means of direct and structural violence, in particular, developing groups of factors that may be included as types of such forms and methods of maintaining and reinforcing the mechanisms of such violence. In terms of reinforcing factors, Galtung identifies six key areas:
- Linear Ranking Order
- Systems in which there is an open and complete ranking of actors leaves no doubt as to the actor who is ranked more highly, and is thus a mechanism of structural violence due to the reinforcement of an existing power dynamic.
- Acyclical Interaction Pattern
- Systems in which all actors are connected via a one-way ‘correct’ path of interaction, where outcomes are structurally dependent on using this system in the intended way of its design. This makes structural systems stable, as change can only be achieved through this consolidated power-seeking and power-retaining system.
- Rank-Centrality Correlation
- Within the social system, actors that are higher ranked are more central within the system itself, reinforcing their importance to the status quo as well as their incentives to maintain it.
- (4) System Congruence
- Social systems are made up of similar components, allowing those who are ranked highly and are successful at mobilising one system shifting from a comparative advantage within one system to an absolute advantage over all systems of desired operation.
- Rank Concordance
- Actors that are ranked highly within one metric, such as income, are also ranked highly on other metrics such as education and health. This congruence is also present in actors ranked low within these metrics, and serves to limit mobility within the social system.
- Interlevel High Rank Coupling
- Collaboration amongst the highest ranks results in the system being defined in such a way that benefits the most powerful actors, usually through a sub optimally ranked representative (not the highest ranked actor), which limits allegations of system consolidation by the most powerful.
Beyond Galtung's initial paper and thesis, scholars have applied the Conflict Triangle to a broad array of conflicts, struggles and occupations since 1969, and retroactively.
Criticism of the model
Galtung's Conflict Triangle and Peace Research paper are widely cited as the foundational pieces of theory[31] within peace and conflict studies. However, they are not without criticism. Galtung uses very broad definitions of violence, conflict and peace, and applies the terms of mean both direct and indirect, negative and positive, and violence in which one cannot distinguish actors or victims, which serves to limit the direct application of the model itself.
Galtung uses a
Peacebuilding
Galtung proposes resolving conflicts through peacekeeping, peacemaking, and peacebuilding.[20]: 17 Peacekeeping and peacemaking primarily involve eliminating violence and bringing about immediate peace.[20]: 17 In Galtung's view, addressing the root causes of violence requires peacebuilding which goes beyond ending direct violence to end structural violence and cultural violence.[20]: 17
The peacebuilding structures needed to address the root causes of conflict and support local capacity for peace management and conflict resolution.
Galtung is strongly associated with the following concepts:
- Structural violence – widely defined as the systematic ways in which a regime prevents individuals from achieving their full potential. Institutionalized racism and sexism are examples of this.
- positive peace – popularized the concept that peace may be more than just the absence of overt violent conflict (negative peace), and will likely include a range of relationships up to a state where nations (or any groupings in conflict) might have collaborative and supportive relationships (positive peace). Though he did not cite them, these terms were, in fact, previously defined and discussed in a series of lectures starting in 1899 by Jane Addams (in her 1907 book she switched to calling it 'newer ideals of peace' but continued to contrast them to the term negative peace), and in 1963 in the letter from a Birmingham jail by Martin Luther King Jr.
Criticism of the United States
In 1973, Galtung criticised the "structural fascism" of the US and other Western countries that make war to secure materials and markets, stating: "Such an economic system is called
In an article published in 2004, Galtung predicted that the US empire will "decline and fall" by 2020. He expanded on this hypothesis in his 2009 book titled The Fall of the US Empire - and Then What? Successors, Regionalization or Globalization? US Fascism or US Blossoming?.[36][37]
Views on Communist regimes
During his career, Galtung statements and views have drawn criticism including his criticism of Western countries during and after the
Views on Jews and Israel
Galtung recommended that people should read
The Israeli newspaper Haaretz accused Galtung in May 2012 of antisemitism for (1) suggesting the possibility of a link between the 2011 Norway attacks and Israel's intelligence agency Mossad; (2) maintaining that "six Jewish companies" control 96% of world media; (3) identifying what he contends are ironic similarities between the banking firm Goldman Sachs and the conspiratorial antisemitic forgery The Protocols of the Elders of Zion; and (4) theorizing, although not justified, antisemitism in post–World War I Germany was a predictable consequence of German Jews holding influential positions.[39] As a result of such statements, TRANSCEND International, an organisation co-founded by Galtung, released a statement in May 2012 attempting to clarify his opinions.[40] On 8 August 2012, the World Peace Academy in Basel, Switzerland announced it was suspending Galtung from its organization, citing what it posited were his "reckless and offensive statements to questions that are specifically sensitive for Jews."[41] Galtung said the claims were "smearing and libel".[42][43]
Selected awards and recognitions
This section needs additional citations for verification. (February 2024) |
- Dr honoris causa, University of Tampere, 1975, peace studies
- Dr honoris causa, University of Cluj, 1976, future studies
- Dr honoris causa, Uppsala University, 1987, Faculty of Social Sciences[44]
- Dr honoris causa, Soka University, Tokyo, 1990, peace/Buddhism
- Dr honoris causa, University of Osnabrück, 1995, peace studies
- Dr honoris causa, University of Torino, 1998, sociology of law
- Dr honoris causa, FernUniversität Hagen, 2000, philosophy
- Dr honoris causa, University of Alicante, 2002, sociology
- Dr honoris causa, Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla, 2006, law
- Dr honoris causa, Complutense University, Madrid, 2017, politics and sociology
- Honorary professor, University of Alicante, Alicante, 1981
- Honorary professor, Free University of Berlin, 1984–1993
- Honorary professor, Sichuan University, Chengdu, 1986
- Honorary professor, Witten/Herdecke University, Witten, 1993
- Distinguished professor of peace studies, University of Hawaii, 1993-
- John Perkins University Distinguished Visiting Professor, 2005-
- Right Livelihood Award, 1987
- First recipient of the Humanist Prize of the Norwegian Humanist Association, 1988
- Jamnalal Bajaj International Award for Promoting Gandhian Values, 1993[45]
- Brage Prize, 2000
- First Morton Deutsch Conflict Resolution Award, 2001
- Honorary Prize of the Norwegian Sociological Association, 2001
- Premio Hidalgo, Madrid, 2005
- Augsburg Golden Book of Peace, 2006
- Member of the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters
- Honorary member of the Green Party, 2009
- Erik Bye Memorial Prize, 2011
Selected works
Galtung has published more than a thousand articles and over a hundred books.[46]
- Statistisk hypotesepröving (Statistical hypothesis testing, 1953)
- Gandhis politiske etikk (Gandhi's political ethics, 1955, with philosopher Arne Næss)
- Theory and Methods of Social Research (1967)
- Violence, Peace and Peace Research(1969)
- Members of Two Worlds (1971)
- Fred, vold og imperialisme (Peace, violence and imperialism, 1974)
- Peace: Research – Education – Action (1975)
- Learning from China? (1977, with Fumiko Nishimura)
- Europe in the Making (1989)
- Global Glasnost: Toward a New World Information and Communication Order? (1992, with Richard C. Vincent)
- Global Projections of Deep-Rooted U.S Pathologies Archived 18 August 2017 at the Wayback Machine (1996)
- Peace By Peaceful Means: Peace and Conflict, Development and Civilization (1996)
- Johan uten land. På fredsveien gjennom verden (Johan without land. On the Peace Path Through the World, 2000, autobiography for which he won the Brage Prize)
- 50 Years: 100 Peace and Conflict Perspectives (2008)
- Democracy – Peace – Development (2008, with Paul D. Scott)
- 50 Years: 25 Intellectual Landscapes Explored (2008)
- Globalizing God: Religion, Spirituality and Peace (2008, with Graeme MacQueen)[47]
See also
- Cost of conflict, a tool which attempts to calculate the price of conflict to the human race
- armed conflictwith other identified democracies
- Critical race theory, a critical examination of society and culture, to the intersection of race, law, and power
References
- ^ John D. Brewer, Peace processes: a sociological approach, p. 7, Polity Press, 2010
- ^ "Public Lecture: "Seeking Peace from Resolving Conflict between Buddhists and Muslims in Myanmar and Sri Lanka" by Prof. Dr. Johan Galtung". Archived from the original on 3 June 2015. Retrieved 2 June 2015.
- ^ a b "CV_Galtung". Coe.int. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 18 November 2013.
- Norsk Biografisk Leksikon
- ^ "Johan Galtung". Archived from the original on 7 August 2018. Retrieved 4 April 2017.
- ^ "Genealogical data for Johan Galtung". Archived from the original on 3 August 2008. Retrieved 18 November 2007.
- ^ a b "Life of Johan Galtung (in Danish)". Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 27 November 2007.
- ^ "Johan Galtung er død". Dagbladet. 17 February 2024. Archived from the original on 17 February 2024. Retrieved 17 February 2024.
- ^ a b c "PRIO biography for Johan Galtung". Archived from the original on 28 May 2008. Retrieved 17 November 2007.
- ^ History of the IPRA Archived 3 December 2011 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ (E. Boulding 1982: 323)
- ISBN 9780198814337.
- ^ "Dagens Nyheter 2003-01-15". Archived from the original on 15 May 2011. Retrieved 27 September 2007.
- ^ TUN MAHATHIR PERDANA GLOBAL PEACE FOUNDATION (PGPF) CHAIR FOR GLOBAL PEACE Archived 2 August 2017 at the Wayback Machine, International Islamic University Malaysia
- ^ (K. Boulding 1977: 75)
- ^ "Gruppe 7: Samfunnsfag (herunder sosiologi, statsvitenskap og økonomi)" (in Norwegian). Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters. Archived from the original on 27 September 2011. Retrieved 26 October 2009.
- ^ "Transcend.org". Archived from the original on 30 January 2018. Retrieved 10 December 2003.
- ^ "Interview - Johan Galtung". 27 May 2014. Archived from the original on 5 August 2017. Retrieved 16 November 2014.
- S2CID 143440399.
- ^ ISBN 9783838219073.
- ^ Gupta, Akhil (2012). Red Tape: Bureaucracy, Structural Violence and Poverty in India. Duke University Press.
- hdl:10539/8529.
- ^ Utas, Mats (2003). "Sweet Battlefields: Youth and the Liberian Civil War". Uppsala University Dissertations in Cultural Anthropology.
- ^ S2CID 220989188.
- ^ Husain, Ed (2007). The Islamist. Penguin.
- ^ Philips, Gregory (2003). Addictions and Healing in Aboriginal Country.
- ^ Menjívar, Cecilia (2011). Enduring Violence.
- ^ Malhotra, Anju. "Solutions to End Child Marriage" (PDF). ICRW. Archived (PDF) from the original on 25 March 2023. Retrieved 29 April 2023.
- ProQuest 304844175.
- (PDF) from the original on 21 September 2017. Retrieved 29 April 2023.
- ^ Brewer, John D. (2010). Peace processes: a Sociological Approach. Polity Press.
- ^ Lawler, Peter (1995). A Question of Values: Johan Galtung's Peace Research. Lynne Rienner.
- ^ PEACEBUILDING & THE UNITED NATIONS Archived 14 May 2018 at the Wayback Machine Peacebuilding Support Office, United Nations
- ^ a b c d Bawer, Bruce (Summer 2007). "The Peace Racket". City Journal. Archived from the original on 13 March 2016. Retrieved 28 June 2022.
- ^ a b Barbarians within the gate by Barbara Kay, National Post, 18 February 2009.[dead link]
- YouTubeRussia Today.
- ^ On the Coming Decline and Fall of the US Empire Archived 25 July 2017 at the Wayback Machine by Johan Galtung, Transnational Foundation and Peace and Research (TFF), 28 January 2004.
- ^ a b c d e Zondag, Martin H. W. (24 April 2012). "– En trist sorti for Galtung". NRK (in Norwegian Bokmål). Archived from the original on 28 September 2022. Retrieved 28 September 2022.
- ^ Aderet, Ofer (30 April 2012). "Pioneer of global peace studies hints at link between Norway massacre and Mossad". Haaretz. Archived from the original on 2 May 2015. Retrieved 7 September 2012.
- ^ "TRANSCEND International's Statement Concerning the Label of anti-Semitism Against Johan Galtung". TRANSCEND International. Archived from the original on 26 November 2016. Retrieved 8 September 2012.
- ^ Weinthal, Benjamin (9 August 2012). "Swiss group suspends 'anti-Semitic' Norway scholar". The Jerusalem Post. Archived from the original on 12 August 2012. Retrieved 11 August 2012.
- ^ "STELLUNGNAHME/035: Professor Galtung zu den Vorwürfen des Antisemitismus (Johan Galtung)". Schattenblick. 14 December 2012. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 12 January 2016.
- ^ "Grenzach-Wyhlen: Zwei Vorträge mit Johan Galtung". Südkurier. 6 December 2012. Archived from the original on 15 September 2016. Retrieved 12 January 2016.
- ^ "Honorary doctorates - Uppsala University, Sweden". Archived from the original on 3 March 2019. Retrieved 29 July 2016.
- Jamnalal Bajaj Foundation. Archivedfrom the original on 17 August 2013. Retrieved 7 April 2012.
- ^ "TRANSCEND biography on Johan Galtung". Archived from the original on 21 May 2008. Retrieved 26 January 2005.
- ^ "Johan Galtung's Publications 1948-2010" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 1 September 2012. Retrieved 8 September 2012.
Sources
- Boulding, Elise. 1982. "Review: Social Science—For What?: Festschrift for Johan Galtung." Contemporary Sociology. 11(3):323-324. JSTOR Stable URL
- Boulding, Kenneth E. 1977. "Twelve Friendly Quarrels with Johan Galtung." Journal of Peace Research. 14(1):75-86. JSTOR Stable URL
External links
- TRANSCEND: A Peace Development Environment Network
- Galtung-Institute for Peace Theory and Peace Practice
- Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO)
- Biography on Right Livelihood Award
- Lecture transcript and video of Galtung's speech at the Joan B. Kroc Institute for Peace & Justice at the University of San Diego, December 2010
- Audio recordings with Johan Galtung in the Online Archive of the Österreichische Mediathek (Interviews and lectures in German). Retrieved 18 September 2019