| Peace is the most fundamental of human rights and the basis of all human development. The 2014 Global Peace Index ranks 162 countries covering 99.6% of the world’s population. Using 22 indicators, the Index gauges global peace using three themes: the level of safety and security in society, the extent of domestic or international conflict, and the degree of militarisation. Since 2008, 51 countries have improved peace index rankings, while 111 countries have deteriorated. The 11 least peaceful countries are embroiled in violent conflict. Will this trend get worse? What can we do to reverse it? The Global Peace Index shows that we need to invest in the attitudes, structures, and institutions that underpin peaceful societies. By creating peace, we create the optimal environment for human potential to flourish. The Global Peace Index has been published each year since 2007 by the organization Vision of Humanity (www.visionofhumanity.org). Vision of Humanity's website offers a wealth of accessible research reports, interactive maps, and news of value to peace researchers, policy makers and practitioners. The Global Peace Index draws on a framework created by the Institute for Economics and Peace which is described in the report entitled "Pillars of Peace". The research outlined in this report shows that peace does not exist in its own right. The relative peace of a society is underpinned by the material and cultural circumstances of that society, whether it is the efficiency of the formal institutions of government, the strength of the economic conditions, or the strength of the cultural and informal norms that relate to corruption. The figure to the left is a visual representation of the Pillars of Peace. The eight Pillars can be seen as highly interconnected and interacting in varied and complex ways to form either virtuous or vicious cycles, with causality running both ways. The animated relationships between the Pillars are purely indicative and are not literal interpretations of the various statistical associations identified. The strength of the various interactions will depend on the historical, political, economic and cultural circumstances of particular societies. |
Comments are closed.
|
AuthorIn July 2017 I completed my PhD at the University of Cambridge, exploring issues of peacebuilding through education in the wake of violent intergroup conflict. This is a space I use to share thoughts and discoveries related to my research. Archives
October 2022
Categories |