War or Peaceful Transformation: Multidisciplinary and International Perspectives

$325.00

Marek J. Celinski (Editor)
Independent scholar, private clinical practice in psychology, North York, Ontario, Canada

Kathryn M. Gow (Editor)
Researcher, Consultant and Private Practicing Psychologist, Australia

Series: Terrorism, Hot Spots and Conflict-Related Issues
BISAC: POL037000

Concern for humanity’s future has never been more urgent than now – in the present time – when humanity has achieved the level of capability of destroying itself either through environmental disasters or nuclear wars. On the other hand, we have also achieved material and psychological knowledge and progress that can assist us in understanding not only the causation, but also the potential embedded in human nature, to choose either the path to self-destruction or to sustained peace. In this book, we present both the ubiquitous causes of violent discontent and wars and successful attempts to reduce or resolve conflict.

Our authors from five continents represent historic, military, philosophical, socio-political, and psychological perspectives and address some of the important issues which any peace-oriented initiative or society at large must contend with. These refer to access to natural resources, ethnicity, religion, human rights, political systems (whether democratic or autocratic), differences in political and military strength and WMDs, and aspirations of the leaders – in combination with the ubiquitous need for control through domination, historic traditions (such as glorification of war effort as heroism and as a sacrifice in the name of lofty ideas).

We offer a vision of a humanistic approach to promote peaceful problem solving that needs to be propagated by education, media, political programs and diplomacy in order to lead to peaceful transformations. The role of the military is given special attention.

The novelty of our approach is that we address the typical life situations leading to social unrest and wars within the context of the human mind’s capabilities to deal with life challenges. Our Challenge-Resilience-Resourcefulness-Wisdom model (previously published by NOVA) shows how we can study and analyse human errors, regressive tendencies and limitations in order to reframe them as an inspiration for optimal and wise decisions. Based on our authors’ insights, we provide many descriptions of how to deal with social adversity in different locations of the world and also examples of actual successes and failures of peaceful transformations. These chapters provide important knowledge and tools for a wide range of professionals.
(Imprint: Nova)

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

Preface

Chapter 1. Human Nature and Its Potential for War and Peace
(Marek J. Celinski, Andrzej R. Celinski and Kathryn M. Gow, PhD, Private Practice, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and others)

Chapter 2. War, Peace, and Conflict Resolution in the Classical World
(Jaime A. González-Ocaña, PhD, Chair, Classics Department, Brunswick School, Greenwich, Connecticut, US)

Chapter 3. Ethnic Identity, Resources, Control and Supremacy: A Brief History of Early South African Conflicts
(Jacques J. Gouws, D. Phil)

Chapter 4. Jihad: Peaceful Definitions and Applications
(Norman C. Rothman, PhD, Department of History, University College, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland, US)

Chapter 5. Fear and Loathing: Tribalism in the Age of the Internet
(Dipak K. Gupta, PhD, Department of Political Science, San Diego State University, San Diego, CA, US)

Chapter 6. The War on Drugs: A Struggle for the Human Soul
(Andrzej R. Celinski and Independent Scholar, Toronto, Ontario, Canada)

Chapter 7. Eritrea: A Failed State and Victim of Sellout Diplomacy
(Tseggai Isaac, PhD, Professor of Political Science, Missouri University of Science, Columbia)

Chapter 8. Shattered Hopes: The Disintegration of South Africa’s Peaceful Transition
(Jacques J. Gouws, D. Phil, Human and System Interface Consulting Inc., Guelph, Ontario, Canada)

Chapter 9. Colombia in Trauma: A Conflict and Post-Conflict Scenario
(Saúl M. Rodríguez and Fabio Sánchez, University of Ottawa, Canada, and Sergio Arboleda University, Bogotá, Colombia)

Chapter 10. The Central European Experience of War and Peace: The Nonviolent Czech Case
(Martina Klicperova-Baker, Institute of Psychology, Czech Academy of Sciences, Hybernska, Praha)

Chapter 11. The European Union: A Case Study in Peace
(Stephen T. Satkiewicz, Independent Scholar, Detroit, Michigan, US)

Chapter 12. Mutual Assured Destruction as a Strategy for Peace
(João José Brandão Ferreira, Member of the Scientific Commission of the Portugese History Commision
Lisbon, Portugal)

Chapter 13. Conflict Resolution and Peace Building: Cultural Barriers and Facilitators
(Harsheeta Razora, PhD, and Updesh Kumar, Defence Institute of Psychological Research, Ministry of Defence, India)

Chapter 14. Resolution of International and Civil War Conflicts by Diplomatic and Military Means
(Harkirat Singh, Sherwood College, Nainital, India)

Chapter 15. Ideological and Policy Alternatives to the Resolution of Africa’s Perpetual Crisis: Is There a Worthy Policy or Ideological Alternative?
(Tseggai Isaac, PhD, Professor of Political Science, Missouri University of Science and Technology,
Rolla, Missouri, US)

Chapter 16. Coping with Violence and Adversity: General Typology and Concrete Illustrations on Czech Case
(Martina Klicperova-Baker, Institute of Psychology, Czech Academy of Sciences, Hybernska, Praha)

Chapter 17. Orientations toward Achievable World Peace
(Frank J. Lucatelli and Nancy Ann Hayes, Personal Intelligence, Kalamazoo, MI, US)

Chapter 18. Building Peace in Times of Conflict: Examining Military Psychology through Gandhi’s Lens
(Swati Mukherjee, PhD, and Updesh Kumar, PhD, Defence Institute of Psychological Research, Defence R & D Organization, Ministry of Defence, New Delhi, India)

Chapter 19. Consciousness: The Bridge Between War and Peace
(Sandeep Gupta and Anand Shankar, Founder and Managing Partner, Mindfulness Insights LLP, New Delhi, India, and others)

Chapter 20. Polemology: The Pursuit for Lasting Peace
(Jacques J. Gouws, PhD, Human and System Interface Consulting Inc., Guelph, Ontario, Canada)

Chapter 21. Virtue as a Basis for Non-Violence and Creative Maladjustment: Humanistic and Positive Psychological Solutions to War and Violence
(Brent Dean Robbins, PhD, Point Park University, Pittsburgh, PA, US)

Chapter 22. An Integrated Quantum Field Theory of Cosmos, Consciousness and Algorithmic Intelligence to Promote Peace
(Ernest Lawrence Rossi and Kathryn Lane Rossi, US)

Chapter 23. Education for Peace and Conflict Resolution
(Diana Vladimirovna Prokofyeva, Philosophy and Politics Faculty, Bashkir State University, Ufa, Russia)

Chapter 24. Is Peace Achievable?
(Marek J. Celinski, Andrzej R. Celinski and Kathryn M. Gow, Private Practice, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and others)

Index

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