Plenary Session II
The Dynamics of Peace
Convenor:
Signe Howell, University
of Oslo
In this session we will ask
to what extent a peaceful way of life is
deemed possible. What kind
of ontology is a prerequisite for such
a belief, and which social
and cultural means are employed in
order to achieve it? Peace
as a goal may be viewed as a dynamic
process whose achievement
requires concerted efforts which,
in turn, needs to be
constituted upon a shared understanding
of the possibility of its
achievement. To what extent do faceto-
face interactions play a
significant part? To what extent may
different gender ideologies
account for differences? How may we
account for a recent
popularity in processes of atonement and
reconciliation? If
aggression and violence are part and parcel of
what it means to be human,
then how can we account for the
existence of societies
where aggressive or violent behaviour is
conspicuous by its absence?
We shall explore some attempts
at creating and maintaining
peace and of handling conflict at a
societal level. From
domestic quarrelling to feuding, persecution
and warfare, to peace and
reconciliation tribunals, various socioculturally
embedded understandings
challenge other’s (whoever
and wherever they may be)
entrenched notions of right and
wrong, of rights and
responsibilities and, ultimately, raise
questions of ontology,
psychology and personhood. Through
empirical examples from
very different parts of the world, and
addressing very different
situations of the dynamics of peace,
the papers will seek to
highlight how people seek to establish
peace and how they resolve
situations that threaten societal
equilibrium.
Charisma and Nonviolence
Richard G. Fox, Wenner-Gren
Foundation for Anthropological Research
Peace and the New Order
Bruce Kapferer, University
of Bergen
Reconciliation and
Strategies of Peace-Making: Thoughts on
South Africa’s
Truth and Reconciliation Commission
Fiona Ross, University of
Cape Town
A Delicate Web of Order:
Maintaining Peace in Village Ladakh
Fernanda Pirie, Max Planck
Institute for Social Anthropology, Halle/
Saale