和平学的基本主题
The Basic Theme of Peace Studies
Our longing for peace and our attempts of realizing it are probably so old
like the human being exists. After the Second World War we began a systematic
reflection about the conditions and methods of peace building. The peace
science or peace studies were born. One of the most influential scientists was
and is Johan Galtung. Since the 1970s you can find Peace Studies as a
discipline in universities (worldwide about 400 Peace Studies Programs,
especially in the USA about 200). The exact number of Peace Studies Programs
all over the world depends on our understanding and definition of peace in
general and peace studies in particular, especially when we distinguish peace
studies as system immanent (for example military peace studies) or system
transcendent (independent academic peace studies). As peace is a state we
cannot define finally, science of peace is only thinkable as dynamic and
progressive and therefore system transcendent. Against this background each
definition of peace is actually limited and therefore wrong. We are not allowed
to anticipate what peace actually means. Peace cannot be identified with any
system. Nevertheless this problem mustn’t paralyze us in thinking how we can
build peace. The only one we do know is that peace as an indescribable state is
only allowed to be realized by nonviolence. Each kind of violence is fixing
peace and neglecting his unanticipatable nature.
Against the background of the complexity of peace and dependence of Peace
Studies on uncountable scientific disciplines it is difficult and almost
impossible to fix the content of Peace Studies in the frame of an article like
this. In this situation it seems that an article which contents theses is a
good alternative. Theses are appropriate because of their open character. They
are pithily, pointed claims the addressees are allowed to fill with own
inspirations, and develop, modify and update on their own experiences. Theses
circle a topic area by setting essential, extensible cornerstones. Theses imply
that behind them there are huge reflection areas and that there are a lot of
thoughts, arguments, and examples which are here not expressed en detail.
Theses can reduce or compress complexity. Although an article contented theses
looks not very systematic the pointed out theses are placed in a didactic well
reflected sequence. Theses usually bring out subjective positions, and invite
for dialog and discussion. They provoke antitheses. In this sense the following
contribution invites for a dispute with a German peace scientist who got his
theses in the wide field of international oriented peace research, not at least
on the base of his research and teaching in Chinese universities by
accompanying Prof. Dr. Liu Cheng from Nanjing University.
Egon Spiegel University of Vechta （德国费希塔大学）