Conflict Resolution And Peace Education In Africa

Africa today suffers from too much political unrest and violent conflict. The contributors to this edited collection recognize a missing link in efforts to foster democracy, and with it political stability and peace, in Africa's developing countries: Democracy can be sustained only where effective means for resolving citizens' disputes exist both within and outside the formal legal system. The writers whose articles appear here--scholars, practitioners, and peace advocates--present their varied knowledge of conflict and war in Africa and strategies for introducing and implementing mediation, from Sierra Leone to South Africa. This volume is a model exchange of insights and ideas in the important field of conflict resolution as applied to Africa.

Though conflicts among (African) nations diminished at the end of the last millennium, the need for peace remains a perennial concern for African citizens within their communities and countries. Once again, Maphosa and Keasley have engaged a collection of scholar practitioners to address the query ‘What’s Going to Make a Difference in Contemporary Peace Education around Africa?’ The contributing authors draw from daily headlines as well as African literature to unearth twenty-first century quandaries with which educators in formal and informal contexts are called upon to grapple. The ‘What’s Going to Make a Difference’ authors offer insights to educators, peace education practitioners and parents for everyday living. The authors probe the wisdom of the recent and ancient past and bring forth pearls for contemporary moments. All in discerning effort to respond to the guiding question, the editors and their contributing colleagues deliver a compelling set of revelations for Making a Difference in Peace Education for African and world citizens.

This publication is the product of the 25th Annual Africa and Diaspora Conference in 2016, organized by the Center for African Peace and Conflict Resolution at California State University, Sacramento, on the theme of “Peace and Conflict Resolution in Africa 25 Years Later: Lessons, Best Practices and Opportunities”. It brings together reflections on both historical and contemporary or recurring conflicts in Africa, especially on issues of ethno-religious conflicts, corruption, land, and leadership. The chapters include case studies and some theoretical perspectives on the persistent search for the right size and scope of visioning and programming on peace and conflict resolution in Africa. Understandably, this collection of ideas, thoughts and proposals will resonate with the field of Peace and Conflict Studies. Arguably, Africa is “rising” in the 21st century, with declining violent conflicts and an increase in stable democracies and economies. However, there are still the significant challenges of extremism, climate change, poor governance, ineffective leadership, widening wealth gaps, and weak institutions of moderation. The essays collected here also document areas of progress in legitimizing democracy and conceptualizing social justice, and suggest the need for building the next generation of peace leaders in Africa.

Peace Education: * presents views on the nature of peace education, its history, and relationships to neighboring fields; * examines relevant psychological and pedagogical principles, such as the contact experience, conciliation through personal story telling, reckoning with traumatic memories, body-work, and the socio-emotional aspects of reconciliation; and * introduces an array of international examples from countries, such as Croatia, Northern Ireland, Israel, South Africa, Rwanda, and the United States in order to generalize lessons learned. A "must have" for all those thinking, planning, conducting, and studying peace education programs, it is intended for scholars, students, and researchers interested in peace and conflict resolution in higher education and volunteer and public organizations. Its cross disciplinary approach will appeal to those in social and political psychology, communication, education, religion, political science, sociology, and philosophy.

This collection on peace education includes contributions from an international group of scholars representing a wide variety of geographical conflict areas and exemplifying the multiple venues of peace educational labour. A strong emphasis is given to integrative and sustained long-term peace education efforts.

This special issue of the Peabody Journal of Education provides a comprehensive overview of the latest developments in peace education reform. School reforms based upon principles of peace education have in common a belief in the power of peace to create a positive learning climate in schools and to address the problems of violence in the broader culture. A peace education strategy for improving school productivity rests upon three main assumptions: 1. Violence contributes to the poor performance of many students. 2. Adults in school settings need to address problems created by violence in order for schools to improve. 3. Anxieties that make it hard for students to master traditional subject matter can best be addressed by a comprehensive peace education strategy that makes school a safe place to learn and provides students with knowledge about alternative nonviolent ways to resolve conflicts. Peace building reforms go beyond responding to immediate forms of violence that may be overwhelming students and teachers to promoting positive images of peace through the study of nonviolence. Written by established experts in the field of peace education from six different countries, this collection of articles not only represents a wide variety of peace education practices from different corners of the globe, but it also represents varying academic perspectives. Educators can play a key role in helping human societies progress toward more sustainable ways of living by implementing peacemaking, peacekeeping, and peace building strategies in school programs. Peace education reforms point to a new way of thinking about schools as vehicles for promoting a peace culture through insights offered by nonviolent theory.

This publication is the product of the 25th Annual Africa and Diaspora Conference in 2016, organized by the Center for African Peace and Conflict Resolution at California State University, Sacramento, on the theme of "Peace and Conflict Resolution in Africa 25 Years Later: Lessons, Best Practices and Opportunities". It brings together reflections on both historical and contemporary or recurring conflicts in Africa, especially on issues of ethno-religious conflicts, corruption, land, and leadership. The chapters include case studies and some theoretical perspectives on the persistent search for the right size and scope of visioning and programming on peace and conflict resolution in Africa. Understandably, this collection of ideas, thoughts and proposals will resonate with the field of Peace and Conflict Studies. Arguably, Africa is "rising" in the 21st century, with declining violent conflicts and an increase in stable democracies and economies. However, there are still the significant challenges of extremism, climate change, poor governance, ineffective leadership, widening wealth gaps, and weak institutions of moderation. The essays collected here also document areas of progress in legitimizing democracy and conceptualizing social justice, and suggest the need for building the next generation of peace leaders in Africa.