Chapter 5 Self-test questions

. Which statement best describes the circumstances that have shaped the emergence of peace studies as a field of research?

Peace studies developed after the Second World War as a response to the failure of International Relations to prevent global conflict following World War I. Initially, the field was conditioned by the nuclear arms race and East-West divide that characterized the Cold War, but was quick to embrace environmental concerns and the issues surrounding the North-South wealth/poverty divide.

Peace studies developed as a discipline following the Cold War when the security studies paradigm shifted to include areas of concern such as environmental, societal, and economic security. As a field of research peace studies adopts a Euro-centric approach to security and has thus been defined by developments within the West and wealthier nations.

Peace studies emerged as a response to the developing nuclear capability of states during the Cold War. The aim of peace studies is to secure the state as a referent object and does this through the study of weapons accumulation. The approach is particularly focused on the nuclear arms race between East and West.

Developed as a response to World War I, peace studies focuses on disparities in wealth and resource allocation that exist within the global system, with the aim of promoting peace through the equal distribution of these resources.

. Which statement best describes the relationship between realist international relations theorists and peace researchers in the early 1960s?

Both peace researchers and realists advocated an academic focus on the escalation of the arms race. Although tensions existed between the groups in terms of their proposed solutions to this crisis, there existed a consensus that the Soviet bloc should be eliminated as a nuclear threat, thus favouring the survival of Western liberal democracies.

In contrast to the realist school, peace researchers looked beyond the accumulation of nuclear weapons for a focus to their studies; this resulted in tensions between the two groups, with the former believing that the attainment of superior military strength was paramount to achieving security.

Whilst peace researchers indentified the escalation of the arms race as a result of failures by the League of Nations, realist scholars deemed it to be the natural progression of ideological differences between the Soviet bloc and Western liberal democracies. This resulted in irreconcilable differences between the study agendas of realists and peace researchers.

The East-West divide of the Cold War gave rise to a sharp divide between realists and early peace studies theorists. Whilst realists wished to focus research on that which would favour the survival of Western liberal democracies, advocates of peace studies regarded this approach as being narrow and Western ethnocentric.

. As Cold War tensions declined, which three international issues emerged as new interests in the field of peace studies?

Global environmental issues and their potential to limit economic expansion; the economic dependence of newly independent post-colonial states; and the Vietnam war.

Economic security in the globalized international arena; localized environmental issues that potentially limited industrial expansion; and the Vietnam war, particularly in its capability to act as a drain on military and economic resources of the USA.

Primarily, the potential for a breakdown in détente and the subsequent escalation of Cold War tensions, leading to a focus on maintaining peace and the negotiations between East and West; secondly, a focus on the impacts of the Vietnam war that stems from this concern; and finally, a study of the development of post-colonial states.

The economic prosperity of newly independent post-colonial states; global environmental issues; and the emergence of new security threats in de-escalation of Cold War tensions.

. In the contemporary context, how can peace studies best be defined?

Following the expansion of peace studies in the decline of the Cold War, the field has emerged as an independent and autonomous area of study that addresses issues surrounding conflict resolution, economic security, and the cessation of violence at both an international and sub-national level. As a field of research, peace studies are best defined by its distinction from development studies and international relations.

Peace studies are best defined by its research agenda that focuses on the search for non-violent measures by which to end conflict. Peace researchers adopt a 'top-down' approach to conflict resolution that prioritises the issues surrounding violence and the use of force, focusing on instigating agents in an attempt to secure that actor as the referent object to security.

Peace studies cannot be defined as a specific academic approach due to the shifting nature of its research agenda and the diversity of interests addressed by peace researchers. However, following the Cold War the success of the field has been such that it boasts a number of research institutes and attracts global and interdisciplinary attention.

Peace studies is defined by a concern with the underlying causes of phenomena in IR, a global outlook, an interdisciplinary approach, the search for non-violent transformations, an analytical and normative approach, and the adoption of multi-level analysis that links theory and practice within research.

. In what ways will the changing global security environment shape the nature of developing conflicts in the twenty-first century?

Human migration will arise as a result of global inequalities in the distribution of power, wealth, and resources. Disempowerment of populations will lead to competition and violence, manifested in transnational movements; and environmental threats and resources scarcity will lead to conflict.

Economic interdependency between states will strengthen global security and lead to a reduction in international conflict. Human migration will lead to overcrowding and resource scarcity but this will be addressed by the technological advancements of developing states to which most migration will take place.

The primary cause of conflict, both at international and sub-national level will be based on ideological differences between populations as resources scarcity, population growth, and human migration forces diverse identity groups into increasingly close contact.

Environmental concerns will be overshadowed by immediate threats to international security, posed by global economic crisis and the subsequent rise of fundamentalist ideologies and violence. Human migration will be managed within the current global economic system as poverty restricts movement although there is a limited risk of transnational revolt as a result of disempowerment and resource scarcity.

. What are the implications of recent technological change and development, according to peace studies?

Technological developments do not affect the majority of the world's population and so the advancement of telecommunications and digital media are not of concern to peace studies.

Digital information, media, and communications technology is likely to inspire greater harmony in the international system as the global population learns more about the world in which they live, and the lives of others around them.

With access to digital information, such as media and the internet, disempowered populations will become aware of their own exclusion and the inequalities of the global system. This could lead to widespread frustration and revolution.

Technological change and development is likely to strengthen the power of already dominant international players, and to reinforce the status quo of international relations.

. Following the terrorist attacks of 9/11, what is the predominant paradigm in security and threat perception and to what extent is it an adequate response?

The security paradigm has been the development of multi-level analysis, to aid the understanding of disempowerment, and to promote peace research involvement by NGOs, policy-makers, and the academic community.

The security paradigm of US-led strategy has been the undertaking of short-term measures, many of which are drawn from research of the peace studies community. They focus on peace-keeping, peace-making, and structural change for preventing further conflict.

The security paradigm of recent years has been to some extent a reversion to 'liddism'; keeping the lid on a potentially fractured international system, without redress to the critical underlying causes of the problems.

The dominant approach to security studies has been a US-led initiative which recognizes the need to undertake responsibility for inter-governmental cooperation, particularly for the commitment towards ethical intervention and for securing peaceful transformations alongside demilitarization of the international community.

. In what ways do environmental issues present a concern for peace researchers in the twenty-first century?

Environmental constraints can limit conventional economic growth, posing a direct threat to economic security and development.

Environmental changes, such as rising sea levels and the 'drying-out of tropical land masses' can threaten the land on which populations are settled as well as their access to resources. Migration as a result of these changes presents threats to societal, economic, and other sectors of security.

Environmental degradation and increased demand for resources is likely to lead to scarcity and result in conflict.

All of the above.

. Which of these statements is not applicable to the development of peace studies in the 20th century?

Within peace studies, one of the later developments was a major interest in conflict prevention, conflict resolution, and peacekeeping.

At the height of the Cold War, peace studies was frequently labelled 'appeasement studies' and was bitterly opposed by critics.

By the 1970s, prominent peace researchers were calling for a broadening in the remit of the field but were largely unsuccessful in their attempts.

Peace studies sought to provide a more global and non-state centric view of major issues of conflict.

. Which of these statements cannot be applied to the initial development of peace studies?

Mathematicians and natural scientists entered the field, which was otherwise a social-sciences area of study, adding to the interdisciplinary nature of the field.

Now of fundamental importance to peace studies as a field of research, the creation of journals was not a prominent feature of the peace studies until late in the twentieth century.

Most early work was carried out in North America and Scandinavia.

The establishment of research institutes across the world has been one of the lasting successes of peace studies.

Chapter 5 Self-test questions

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