A UAE peace centre: no better time, no better place

Lisa Reber-Rider

• Last Updated: December 29. 2008 9:30AM UAE / December 29. 2008 5:30AM GMT

'Out of balance”: that is the state of our world, according to the American sociologist Elise Boulding. She was referring to the balance between peace and violence in societies worldwide. We will never end all violence, but there should be mechanisms to maintain balance so that our violent tendencies do not surpass our peaceableness. If the world is out of balance, how do we regain it?

Johan Galtung is considered the father of peace studies. He identifies three distinct forms of violence: direct, structural and cultural. Direct violence is visible, and is the form with which we are most familiar – but violence is more than war, torture or abuse; it includes what is unseen. It appears in life’s inequities, affecting certain groups more than others, involving policies created in our societies that allow spousal abuse, females to go uneducated, unfair wages to be paid. Galtung refers to this as structural violence – the policies, or lack of them, that protect those vulnerable to exploitation.

The third, most invisible, form of violence includes attitudes making direct and structural violence acceptable: this is cultural violence. Examples include giving male children preferential treatment, the belief that a man’s home is his castle and that what happens there is his business alone, or the view that some socio-economic groups deserve their poor circumstances.

Galtung argues that cultural peace is the root of all peaceful action. Peace is not simply the absence of war. Cultural peace reflects an understanding that our views of others affect the structure of societies, leading to greater peace or violence. If our world is out of balance, probably our values are out of balance too.

What can be done? One answer is to create an environment that promotes dialogue and addresses issues of peace and violence throughout the world – such as a peace centre. In the Arab world, the word “peace” can sometimes denote a sense of passivity. Peace work, however, requires considerable effort. As my mentor Syed Sikander Mehdi, professor of international relations at Karachi University, used to tell me, peace centres provide the environment for this work to take place, and the UAE would be the ideal home for one. It would derive its strength from the UAE’s strong leadership, its diverse society and its stable environment, and it would reinforce the country’s image as one concerned with the betterment of humanity.

A peace centre here would reflect the vision of Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan, founder of the nation, who dedicated himself to nurturing a culture of peace in the UAE and worldwide. It would be consistent with the country’s record of negotiation and non-military action. It would lead to more extensive research on peace, creating greater stability in the region and protecting against conflict escalation. This is important so that the UAE may continue developing economically, educationally and socially.

What would a peace centre in the UAE be like? It would bring a diversity of people together: westerners and easterners, those from rich and poor countries, with varied religious backgrounds. Users would include academics, professionals and lay people, experts in peace and conflict studies and in political science, sociology and business. It would be a resource for academic institutions, non-governmental institutions, faith communities, humanitarian organisations, local government and the military.

Various forms of education could be addressed, ranging from academic degree programmes to informal education. Courses would be interdisciplinary, covering peace and conflict theories, peace education and communication, humanitarian aid, peaceful conflict prevention and transformation, and issues related to democracy and human rights, globalisation, poverty, justice and ecology. At the heart would be the need to grapple with the ethical dimensions inherent in these subjects. Exhibit space for addressing issues of non-violence, tolerance and cultural understanding would be essential.

A peace centre alone will not bring the world back into balance, but it would be a significant step. It would empower researchers, students, governments, business leaders and common individuals. Galtung believed that the essential component of peace was dialogue, which was meaningful only if it took place across ideological, national and civilisational borders. The creation of an international peace centre for research and education in the UAE would be a model initiative.

Lisa Reber-Rider is an instructor at Zayed University and a graduate in Peace and Development Studies from Universitat Jaume I in Castellon, Spain

lisareber@gmail.com