PEACE and Development

Definition of Peace

The term Peace is defined differently by many people who use it. Some people define
peace as the absence of war and violence. Others define peace as a state of harmony
and brotherhood between men and women. Yet others define peace as unity of love.
Other people have said that peace is a state of harmony with the environment and the
planet. This situation leads to what is called environmental peace. This is because
environmental problems have a bearing on peace. Where there is a state of balance
with the environment in a society, peace prevails. But where there is perceived
imbalance with the environment or in the distribution of economic, political and
social resources, peace is disturbed and violence emerges leading to conflict. This is
the case, for instance, with the conflict in Darfur region of Sudan where actors in the
war are reported to be fighting over dwindling water resources.

If peace is the absence of war and violence, then it means countries where there is no
war and violence people enjoy peace. But in reality this is not true. We know of many
countries that have never fought wars with any country and yet there is no peace in
those countries. What this means is that peace is not just the absence of war and
violence. It goes beyond these two definitions. Therefore, in defining peace we must
say that peace is the presence of justice. If a family, community, society or country
practices justice, it will be very hard to create a situation of violence and conflict. As
it is said, ”If you want peace work for justice.”

Some peace thinkers have abandoned the idea that there is a single or all-embracing
definition of peace. Instead, they promote the idea of many peaces which they call
“plural peaces.” They argue that since no singular, correct definition of peace can
exist, peace should be perceived as a plurality. For example, in the Great Lakes
Region of Africa, the word for peace is Kindoki, which refers to a harmonious
balance between human beings, the natural world and the cosmos. This vision is a
much broader view of peace than a mere “absence of war” or even a presence of
justice.”

Another meaning of peace refers to inner peace, which is a state of mind, body and
perhaps soul. It is a peace within ourselves. People that experience inner peace say
that such a feeling is not dependent on time, people, place or any external object or
situation. An individual may experience inner peace even in the midst of war. Some
people say that peace and quiet go hand in hand. In this way, peace can mean a state
of quiet or tranquillity or an absence of disturbance or irritation. As a result of this
understanding, many people find the natural world to be peaceful and, therefore, may
visit quiet places like forests, lakes or other natural things. Mahatma Gandhi’s idea of
peace was that peace is not an end, but a means to something else. He stated that
“there is no way to peace; peace is the way” to some destination.

Yet another view of peace is one which subdivides it into “negative peace” and
“positive peace”. In this definition, peace is the absence of “direct violence” and
“structural violence.” The following diagram explains the meanings of the above
terms.

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Methods of Promoting Peace

Peace is very central and important to human affairs and development. Without peace,
development suffers. Peace is a basic requirement of development. Many investors
wishing to promote or introduce development require peace as a pre-requisite.
Therefore, peace and development often go together.

There are various methods by which peace may be promoted and brought about. The
methods vary depending on the level at which peace should be promoted. Peace may
be among individual persons, married couples, families, small communities, ethnic
groups, nations or regions. Peace is also required at the global level.
The following are some of the methods of promoting peace:

Intermarriages – among people of different ethnic groupings, intermarriages are a

good method for promoting peace. Some chiefs in the past used to ‘send’ some of
their subjects or children to go and marry into a foreign tribe as a means of forging
friendship.

Friendship – making friends with people secures peace and there are different degrees
of friendship which could be created among people of different locations or origins.
Among some ethnic groups, a deliberate process of exchanging human blood in a
ritual is conducted. This is called sikwamanyinga in Lozi. This act of friendship-
making is so strong that peace among such people is guaranteed for ever.

Reciprocity – This is a process where two or more different people exchange gifts or
favours in a mutual manner. When one person gets a gift, he/she gives something
back in appreciation.

Mutual Aid

This type of creating peace involves exchanging help, assistance or aid in time of
problems. When one person or group of people are experiencing problems, the other
people come in to give help. At some other time, the person or people who gave help
may themselves experience problems, at which time they may be assisted by the
person or people who were assisted last time. In this regard, the assistance is being
mutually exchanged or interchanged.

Forgiveness

When somebody has committed an offence and people become kind enough to
forgive such a person, peace can be generated. But often, a pre-requisite to
forgiveness is apology and humility on the part of the offender.

Tolerance

This refers to a way of living with and accepting different or opposing viewpoints.
This process often creates peace because people expressing different viewpoints are
assured of being accepted and not condemned or punished.

Respect

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This is very fundamental. It involves respecting other people’s cultures, opinions,
ideas, beliefs, religions, languages and human nature in general. African cultures
emphasize respect.

Justice

This refers to being fair and not being segregative in the manner we relate to other
people. In this way, complaints which could lead to conflicts may be reduced.
Challenges to Peace

One challenge to peace is that some people argue that war and violence is organic,
meaning that war and violence are inevitable and unavoidable features of human
society. But other people argue that generosity and good heartedness are predominant.
Another challenge is that peace and justice are sometimes viewed as contradictions in
practical terms. If one believes that the only way to prevent injustice and create justice
is by force, then such a person believes that justice requires hostilities and war. This
approach is exemplified by the belief of Allied forces during the Great War in Europe
where Allies argued for a “War to end all Wars”. Unfortunately although the Allies
won the war, the resulting “peace” Treaty of Versailles only set the stage for the even
Bloodier World War II. Therefore, peace and justice may not always be achieved by
war. Yet another challenge to peace comes from people’s desire to have power and to
be at an advantage in relation to others. Such a situation often leads to competition
which may result into violence and war. This situation is seen in some religious and
ethnic groups. These groups sometimes see themselves as being oppressed and,
therefore, they resort to argue that violence and war are the only ways to defend their
religions or ethnic groups.

Examples of Peaceful Countries

 Sweden (1814 – present) – Sweden is the present day nation state with the
longest history of continuous peace. Since its invasion of Norway, the
Swedish Kingdom has not engaged in War.

 Switzerland (1848 – present) – This country is also famous for its long-lasting
peace.

 Costa Rica (1949 – present) – Following a 44 day civil war in 1944, Costa
Rica abolished its army in 1949. Since then, its history has been peaceful. This
has earned the country the nickname of “Switzerland of the Americas”.

 Zambia (1964 – present) – Since its independence, Zambia has not gone to
war with any country.

 Amish (1693 – present) – This is a sect of Anabaptists or Mennonites who are

of Swiss/German descent. The Amish practice a peaceful life style that
includes religious devotion, resistance to technological advancement and non-
resistance. They rarely defend themselves physically or in court. They often
object going to war as “on conscientious objectors”. Today, they live in close
communities in 47 states of the USA, Canada and Belize.

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In addition to peaceful countries, there is a Nobel Peace Prize which is awarded
annually to notable peacemakers and thinkers who have overcome violence, conflict
or oppression through their moral leadership. The prize has sometimes met with
controversy because some of the people awarded may have previously sponsored war
and violence but, due to exceptional agreements made with them, they may have
helped to achieve peace.

Conflict

A just society will work harmoniously and will also be in a state of harmony with the
environment. If you are not in harmony with the environment you will be in conflict
with each other as human beings. Conflicts will develop into violence. We can
explain conflict as a quarrel, struggle or fight between two individuals, communities,
societies or countries. Conflicts may be physical, which means directed towards the
body. Violence, which is defined as extreme destructive force wilfully exerted against
someone, is always negative, and begins in our minds. It begins in our minds only
when we lose inner peace and harmony. It is also the first resort in conflicts. Conflicts
occur when the idea, needs, interests or goals of individuals, groups of people or
nations differ. Conflict shows itself through anger, hurt, frustration, resentment,
disappointment, quarrel, physical fight, verbal fight or using abusive language.

Conflicts can occur at individual level in a household involving a wife and a husband
or involving children in the same household. It is also common to witness conflicts
between parents and their children over certain fundamental family issues such as
marriage, farming land and other family properties (estates).

Conflicts can also occur at community, regional, national and international levels. At
each level the causes for the conflicts vary. In our study, we shall identify a number of
reasons or causes of conflicts in the world, with some examples coming from Africa
and Zambia. The following activity illustrates conflict at an individual level.
Causes of Conflict

It is very important for you to understand societies in conflict before you begin to
prevent their conflicts. That is to say, if you want to understand conflicts you must
first study the histories of the people in conflict.

We also need to know that violent conflicts have taken place in all continents, not
only in Africa as it is portrayed in the media, especially on television, radio and in
newspapers. Some causes of conflicts are:

 History
Research has revealed that historical reasons have contributed to emergency of
conflicts in many parts of the world. The conflicts between Christian and
Moslems in many parts of the Middle East have something to do with long
standing animosities and mistrust dating back to the first millennium AD. It is also
true that the interpretation of history may initiate a conflict between people as is
the case in Rwanda and Burundi in the Lake Region of East Africa. The reasons

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 for the unresolved conflict between the Lunda and Luvale in Zambia have
something to do with their histories and how they are interpreted today.

 Ethnicity

Deep feelings against a group of people that do not belong to your own ethnic
group can ignite deep frustration that can initiate conflicts between two ethnic
groups. Normally, this happens where large groups are excluded from political
and economic life on regional, ethnic or social reasons. Examples of these
conflicts, illustrated by successional conflicts, come from Nigeria where between
1967 – 1970 Biafra, a province dominated by the Ibo ethnic group temporarily
broke off from the country. They accused the Federal Government of Nigeria for
excluding and discriminating against the Ibo people. Katanga (Shaba Province)
region temporarily broke off from the Congo (DRC) immediately after political
independence in 1960 for the same ethnic reasons.

 Imbalance of natural resource

In the last 40 years population has increased very fast in many parts of the world.
The increased population has put too much pressure on natural resources. It has
threatened the economic survival of many local people. Such a situation has
created opportunities for conflicts as local people fight for the scarce resources
available. Burundi and Rwanda are good examples of countries where imbalance
in the natural resources has created violent conflicts.

 Immigration

In a region where there is high population against few resources, massive foreign
immigration breeds resentments by the host people. In most cases, such a situation
leads to political violence. Examples are found in Central and Western Cote
d’voire (Ivory Coast) where an influx of immigrants has initiated serious
xenophobic conflicts.

 Economic and export resources

Conflicts are often aimed at controlling or completely taking over economic and
export resources especially in border regions. Boarder states sometimes fight over
a piece of land that is suspected to have (or has confirmed) rich deposits of
minerals. Such interstate conflicts have been recorded in many parts of Africa. For
example: Chad-Libya conflict over the Aouzou Strip in 1973 – 94; Cameroon –
Nigeria conflict over the Bakassi Island until 2004; Mali – Burkina conflict in
1986 and the Ethiopia – Eritrea conflict in 2001.

 Mismanagement of Economic Resources

Conflicts are also started by groups of people in countries where there is poor
governance, corruption and widespread poverty. In such countries people know
that national resources are mismanaged and such realization triggers serious

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 resentment and political instability leading to conflicts. This is worse where a
small minority controls the state.

 Refugees

As a result of many conflicts in Africa, the population of refugees is also

increasing. Large numbers of refugees increase pressure on local resources of host
communities. Sometimes, refugees use these areas as springboards for attacking
their government forces. This result into the invasion of foreign troops into the
host communities and, in so doing, initiating border incidents and fighting. For
example, the border incidents that were experienced between Zambia and
Rhodesia (Zimbabwe) and between Angola (especially during the period of
UNITA) and Zambia.

 Poverty, illiteracy and unemployment

In many Third World Countries poverty and inequality in accessing goods and
services increase tensions that lead to conflicts in urban areas. It is in the urban
areas where there are thousands or millions of the unemployed poor people, also
known as the Lumpen Proletariat (in Zambia commonly called Kaponya) who
are usually easy targets for war recruiters and political extremists.

 Injustice

Wherever there is injustice peace will never prevail. This is because injustice,
which manifests itself in many ways, is the source of anger, frustration and
resentment to the existing government. Wars of independence were fought in
many parts of the world against the governments that did not practice justice. Civil
wars are civil conflicts that are caused by unjust practice of the existing
governments.

Impact of Conflicts in Africa

Although some people have different opinions on them, conflicts in whatever form
are predominantly negative to the people. The following are some of the negative
impacts of conflicts:

(a) Negative Impacts:

 Conflicts lead to killing of many innocent people especially children,

women, the disabled and old people. Apart from dying, women are
also sexually harassed during conflicts. In the end conflicts bring
frightening human suffering.

 Conflicts force people to run away from their homes to take refuge in
areas where there is no war. This can be either within the country, as
internal displacement, or outside the country as refugees. This means
that conflicts uproot people from their local area to new areas. Africa

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 has at least 350 million refugees running away from various conflicts
in their countries. Zambia has a share of these refugees in Meheba in
North-Western province, Mayukwayukwa in Western province,
Ukwimi in Eastern province and other parts of Northern and
Copperbelt provinces.

 Where conflicts take place, the infrastructure is badly damaged. These

include bridges, buildings, airports, seaports, telecommunications and
railway lines. Examples are found in Southern Sudan, Chad, DRC,
Angola and Mozambique where wars have extensively destroyed parts
of these countries. The railway line from the Copperbelt of Zambia to
the Seaport of Benguela in Angola is not in use today because it was
destroyed during the Angolan wars of independence.

 The economy of any country in conflict is negatively affected.

Agriculture and trade decline as a result of conflicts. People find it
difficult to go to their farms to cultivate and if there are crops to sell
they find it difficult to transport their produce to the markets.

 During the period of conflict, public expenditure is predominantly for

military effort. Such expenditure normally increases the national debt
as the country borrows for the war effort. Insecurity stops investors
from establishing industries in the countries experiencing conflict.

 By nature, civil conflicts or conventional wars destroy the

environment. There is environmental degradation in places of war in
Africa and elsewhere.

 Conflicts increase risky sexual behaviour of the people on the run and
the combatants. Conflicts make the situation worse as they prevent
activities to intervene in epidemics, leading to total collapse of health
systems.

 Conflict weakens governance institutions

Countries that have been through armed or civil conflicts experience a
breakdown or collapse of its social and political institutions, policy-
making processes, and communication channels of the state. In such
cases, the government becomes ineffective and unable to provide
public goods and services.

 Disruption of health services and food supplies

This is one of the most immediate effects of armed conflict. It is
asserted that during wars farmers become very fearful of working on
the fields too far from their homes. Similarly, since health facilities
remain open they are so vulnerable to looting and some are forced to
close down. This disruption in most cases affects the women and
children more than men and adults.

 Disruption of educational services –

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 In armed conflicts, not even schools are spared from attacks. In rural
parts of our continent a school may be the only substantial permanent
structure, making it highly susceptible to shelling, closure and looting.
Others have argued that teachers are in most cases prime targets
because they are important community members or hold strong
political views.

 Emergency of Child Soldiers

Children as young as 8 years are forcibly recruited, coerced and
induced to become combatants. This conscription leads to children
participating in armed conflicts as active soldiers. They are also used in
support functions such as cooks, messengers and spies. Others, mainly
girls, are forced to provide sexual services. From support roles, the
children sooner than later would become placed in the battlefront and
as some commentators have argued, due to lack of training, they have
become vulnerable.

 Refugee In-flows
Associated with armed conflicts is the refugee situation the in-flow of
refugees creates burdens and grievances in neighbouring countries and
the possibilities of spill-over conflicts.

 Small and light weapons acquisition and proliferation

In addition to the refugee situation, armed conflicts also escalate and
contribute to the acquisition and proliferation of small arms and light
weapons. These are readily available when no disarmament of the
fighters takes place before they flee as refugees.

 Group Mobilisation
In civil conflicts there is a tendency by various identity groups to form
exclusive organizations to pursue their interests and grievances (e.g.
nationalist groups, ethnic – based political parties). As a result of such
call-up, society in turn is sharply divided along ethnic, language,
religious, or class lines, thereby bringing about negative or hostile
perceptions of the other groups.

(b) Positive Gains of Conflicts:

Although conflicts are generally negative to the well-being of societies, they

are also beneficial to a number of people. How does one benefit from
conflicts?

 When one group captures the territory of the enemy, the resources such
as minerals, timber, agriculture and land are plundered by the group
that has captured the resources. The UNITA group in Angola gained
economically from the conflict by exploiting diamonds for export to

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 support the conflict. The same was true of the military group RUF in
Sierra Leone. Most of the minerals in the eastern part of Congo DRC
bordering Uganda and Rwanda are controlled and exploited by foreign
armies in control of the territory.

 Conflicts require arms (guns), ammunitions, uniforms, boots, food and

military hardware like tanks and planes. The companies producing
these materials supply them at a cost to the groups fighting each other.
In that way, the suppliers of military materials gain economically from
conflicts.

 Many conflicts have resulted in one group being defeated. Such a

defeat leads to territorial expansion by the victors in the conflict. For
example, Israeli’s territorial expansion into Syria after defeating it in a
short but decisive 1973 Golan Heights war. The same was true in the
1967 Israeli – Egypt war that led to the capture and occupation of the
Sinai peninsular by Israeli.

 If the conflict involves more groups or nations, alliances are formed in

order to defeat the other side. Such alliances created unity among the
alliance members In the DRC-Rwanda conflict, many countries joined
the conflict and, hence, creating two alliances: those against DRC such
as Uganda, Burundi and Rwanda and those supporting Congo DRC
such as Libya, Angola, Zimbabwe and Namibia. Such alliances have
cemented political unity.

 Those who work hard to bring peace in the regions of conflicts also
benefit from the conflicts. They send peace-making teams to end the
conflicts and also where necessary send peace-keeping troops to
enhance a peaceful atmosphere in the conflict zones. The international
community provided much funds to Zambia to bring about peace in
DRC. The funds were used for co-ordination in the processes of
negotiation, reconciliation and arbitration. Zambia was also given
funds to cater for the thousands of refugees who settled in the country
from the conflict zones.

Methods of Resolving Conflicts

Conflict resolution is the settlement or avoidance of disputes between individuals or

groups through solutions that avoid violence and attempt to re-unite and re-harmonise
the people in conflict. Conflict resolution is also a means to maintaining peace, which
in turn enables society to develop itself.

When a conflict occurs, it does not stop quickly. Some conflicts have taken few years
while others have taken many years. For peace to prevail, conflicts must be resolved
for the benefit of the affected communities. There are many ways of how conflicts are
resolved. Take note that there is no best conflict resolution method. All the methods
are tried from time to time to see which one is better for a particular conflict.
Different methods have been tried at the same time to resolve conflicts. Conflict
resolution methods should aim at addressing the main causes of the conflict. The

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following are not the only conflict handling skills people use. Some may apply to one
conflict, others may not.

 Counselling
This method is used normally in individual situations. The counsellor is someone
trusted by both parties. He or she explores and assesses the problem. After that the
counsellor applies an appropriate intervention to solve the problem. This helps to
relieve the conflict and the individuals change their behaviours positively.
Counselling is good for interpersonal (between persons) conflicts.

 Negotiation
This is a process conducted by a reliable and skilled negotiator directly between
the disputing parties. The dispute can only be resolved if the parties or groups
concerned reach a mutually acceptable solution that can be implemented. The
negotiations that led to peace between the Sudanese government and the Garang’s
Liberation Movement in Southern Sudan is a good example of negotiation.

 Mediation
This is a method of conflict-handling by a neutral third party acceptable to the
disputing parties or groups to arrive at an acceptable solution generated by the
parties or groups themselves. This method aims at balancing the two sides and
drawing them closer to each other by accommodating each other’s views before
reaching a resolution. The mediator is accepted by both sides. The mediation that
went on to try and solve the Lunda-Luvale conflict in Zambia is a good example.

 Arbitration
This is a conflict-handling skill undertaken by an arbitrator who is appointed by
the disputing parties or groups to resolve their differences. The arbitrator listens to
the parties and afterwards provides a decision which is binding to the parties
affected. Such a decision is normally provided in writing. The implementation
depends on both parties accepting the final decision.

 Litigation:
This is one of the conflict resolution methods that allows the parties concerned to
proceed to the public courts of law. Through legal representation, they resolve
their difference by applying the laws of the country. In this method of resolving
conflicts, a judge is empowered to make and implement decisions. Sometimes,
disputes or conflicts between countries are taken to the International Court of
Justice in The Hague to be resolved.
Creating a Culture of Peace

Peace is what should prevail in any country. But peace can only be in our hearts and
minds if we respect other human beings. At personal level, it is important to work for
justice if we want peace in our homes or communities. It starts with the individual
who is just (fair) in his/her daily activities. We should control our anger, the hate we
have for other people and control the resentment that we harbour in our hearts for
other people.

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Promotion of good governance is another important step towards the creation of a
culture of peace in a country. Bad governance breeds anger and hate that will explode
into serious conflicts. Good governance promotes justice. In an environment of
harmony, it is easy to promote positive social and economic development for the
benefit of all citizens. Civic Education aims at awakening in you and me, a peace of
the body, peace of the heart and peace of the mind. Once you grow into an adult you
should help promote peace by working for justice. The following activity, however,
illustrates the point that good governance is sometimes not easy to implement in
ordinary life.

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