NEWSLETTER May 14, 1990 IPRA/CONSORTIUM SEMINAR REPORTS _______________________________________________________________________ IPRA (The International Peace Research Association) and the Consortium sponsored several talks this spring which directly relate to our Justice Without Violence project. These included talks by Solomon Nkiwane who is Dean of Social Sciences at the University of Zimbabwe; Kevin Clements, Professor of Sociology at the University of Canterbury, New Zealand, and by Longin Pastusiak, from the Polish Institute of International Affairs. All three gave delightful and informative presentations, summaries of which are included below. SOLOMON NKIWANE (February, 1990 Seminar) Dean of Social Sciences, University of Zimbabwe: Mr. Nkiwane was asked to discuss the current status of peace research in southern Africa. He reported that the current climate in southern Africa is not conducive to peace research. He attributes this climate partly to the fact that children have been taught to resolve conflicts through violence for many years. For instance, in 1976, an entire generation of children decided to take the law into their own hands and began to riot as a way to protest against apartheid. They have grown up believing this to be the only way to fight discrimination. White children have also been taught, through the education department of South Africa, to use violence. Both male and female high school students have been given physical training with weapons because the government believed that at some point, whites would be called upon to defend the country against blacks. Additionally, the syllabi in schools do not include peace education; rather, they reflect the government's philosophy of military vigilance. While Mr. Nkiwane is currently writing a chapter for a book on the role of the church in attaining peace in southern Africa, he has found southern African governments and regimes to be very resistant to peace research in general. Since the activities of various groups doing peace research are not coordinated, governmental resistance is effective. Additionally, political instability makes peace research difficult. It is easier for centers in Africa to communicate with outside countries than with one another. Governments contribute to this by assuring that academics aren't able to successfully communicate with one another. Mr. Nkiwane also pointed out that it is very difficult for researchers to get permission to interview in educational institutions. One of the primary topics associated with peace research is development. Money received from outside countries for development in Africa is currently diverted to military expenses. Therefore, for development to take place, the country must first achieve a state of peace. Mr. Nkiwane sees the churches as being somewhat more accepted currently, which may make it a good time for them to become more involved in peace research. In summary, Mr. Nkiwane believes that in order to bring about peace in southern Africa, it is essential to first bring about political stability so that people can travel freely and work without the threat of being attacked. Additionally, tribal conflicts must be dealt with through racial and ethnic conflict resolution. Finally, the countries need to provide for human needs such as food. He believes that in the case of South Africa, economic problems must be resolved before conflict can be dealt with. KEVIN CLEMENTS (February, 1990 Seminar) Department of Sociology, University of Canterbury, New Zealand: Kevin Clements, is actively involved with the New Zealand Government Defense Committee of Inquiry which is working to determine the best type of defense policy for New Zealand in light of the country's anti-nuclear stance. The national agenda includes forming a unilateral stance on anti-nuclear issues and determining ways to make smaller countries heard about such issues. While peace education is strongly emphasized throughout the country, peace research is conducted in addition to other jobs, especially at universities. The government also encourages the media to advance peace in the way it reports the news. The government recently implemented a peace education curriculum in the schools. The New Zealand Foundation for Peach Studies, an organization which has promoted interest in peace education, helped establish curriculum guides entitled, "Learning Peace Relationships, Extending Peace Relationships." Peer and teacher mediators have been taught conflict resolution skills in the middle schools and high schools. Many of the universities have their own peace programs. The University of Canterbury has an interdisciplinary peace studies program. Aukland University has a Center for Peace Research and Sydney, Australia has a Peace and Conflict Studies Program. Mr. Clements discussed four major problems confronting peace researchers in New Zealand: the difficulty in making the government more responsive to the people, ecological degradation, creating partnerships with other nations, and creating legitimization with other countries. The government must learn how to deal with the Maori (indigenous) people since they are 12% of the population of New Zealand. There is a recognition that the Maori people can teach high-consumption societies alternative lifestyles which may be better suited to today's world of limits. The government is also now giving land back to the Maori people in an attempt to make reparations and rectify past wrongs (a process referred to by Clements as "ethnic healing"). The government is also developing pre- schools, etc. for the Maori people. The consumption patterns creating holes in the earth's ozone layer is also a concern of the New Zealand people. Such ecological degradation has resulted in daily burn warnings which require people to limit their outside daily exposure to as little as 15 - 20 minutes. The country is interested in forming partnerships with countries in the region to the mutual benefit of all for social and economic justice. Mr. Clements said that the U.S. persuaded Japan, China, and other countries that New Zealand was unpredictable after it took its anti-nuclear stance. Since the Asian Pacific region is key to the accomplishment of global peace, New Zealand now must find ways in which the South Pacific Weapons-Free Zone may spread to the North Pacific and other South Pacific regions. Clements said that the way in which peace policy is engaged in is a problem. There needs to be a policy of "constructive engagement" in which listening, communication and negotiation skills are used. Currently, the entire range of concerns are not being addressed by researchers because they are not listening to others who are not researchers (such as the military). Taking the opportunity to listen to others' needs and concerns, according to Clements, induces humility and a better understanding of the problems to be solved. LONGIN PASTUSIAK (March, l990 Lecture) Professor, Polish Institute of International Affairs: Dr. Pastusiak said the causes of the rapid changes in Eastern Europe are two-fold. First there is the universalism and interdependence of the contemporary world. Everyone and every place is tied together now. There is no security, no place to escape. The world is an island. Second, there is a universalization of values. Class interests, he feels, have become subservient to the interests of human survival. Global consciousness, and fear of global annihilation is incompatible with class consciousness and even national consciousness. One aspect of this change is the decreasing role of ideology in international relations. Ideology is still important in domestic policy, but it has lost its significance as a driving force in foreign policy. In addition, there is a declining perception of threat in the world, particularly in Europe. The enemy image is disintegrating; it is being replaced with a broadening global consciousness. Another factor which has contributed to the changes in Eastern Europe is the decline of the utility of military power as an effective tool of foreign policy. Not only does military power fail to yield desired military outcomes, but high military spending limits the probabilities of success in domestic endeavors. More and more people are coming to understand this, leading to a gradual change in priorities. Interest is moving away from military power to domestic power. People want to utilize the "peace dividend." Also important in the changes is the declining influence of the superpowers on their allies. The bipolar system is becoming more and more loose. The dominant powers can't influence their allies as much as they previously did. The allies have more maneuverability. The superpower-ally relationship is becoming more of a partnership of equals than a dominant-subservient relationship. These changes have increased the importance of conflict resolution research and increased the functional role of diplomacy. If the changes in Eastern Europe are successful, Europe may become a very important center of world politics--replacing the USSR/US bipolar world power structure. Pastusiak noted that political and economic modernization tend to not proceed at the same pace. Some nations excel in one, but lag behind in the other. Increases in political freedoms may cause rising expectations. If the economic system cannot deliver, this leads to tensions. On the other hand, China advanced much more than many Eastern European countries in the economic realm, but lagged behind those nations in political reforms. The result was Tiananmen Square. Hungary is another example of this. By and large, though, politics are manipulated more easily than economics, so it is easier to advance politically than economically. One of Dr. Pastusiak's major points was that the changes in Eastern Europe are precedent setting in that they came about through evolution, not revolution. Usually such major political change happens after a major war. For instance, after the Napoleonic Wars we got the Vienna International Order. This survived until World War I. After World War I, the Vienna Order was replaced with the Versailles Order. Nazi Germany challenged this order, which resulted in World War II and then the Yalta-Postdam International System. Now, for the first time, this system is crumbling, not from war, but from evolutionary changes of the world political and economic system. The move from central planning to capitalism is very painful; it will require severe sacrifices. In the early 1980s, Poland's GNP dropped over 25% in four years, a drop comparable to that of the Great Depression. The result was widespread criticism of the government, and the creation of Solidarity. This led eventually to the restoration of parliamentary democracy and a roundtable process for making major political and economic changes. (The roundtable, Longin said, has become the Polish National Furniture.) Despite all the political changes, economics remains a severe problem. Last year's inflation rate was 700%! January 1990 saw a 75% inflation rate--just for that month. The goal of the current government is to bring this rate down to 3% by June. They hope to do this with wage controls, control of the money supply, withdrawing of subsidies and reducing the deficit. The result will be a grave burden to be borne by all Polish citizens. But so far, they seem to be facing the changes calmly. The government has strong support and legitimacy. Nevertheless, achieving a 3% inflation rate is going to be very difficult. Poland also must adjust to other problems of a capitalistic system, such as unemployment. There used to be no unemployment in Poland, now 1/16 of a million are unemployed. People in Poland used to have lots of money, but there was nothing on the shelves to buy. Now the shelves are full, but no one has money. Yet social justice and social equality are part of a philosophy that runs deep in Poland. All human beings have the same need to eat. Capitalism will come to Poland in a way the reflects this--the government will retain a strong control over the distribution of income. But right now the problem is how to distribute poverty. The standard of living is lower this year than 1, 2, 3, 5, even 10 years ago. It is 20-30% lower just this year because of the withdrawal of government subsidies. Only five food items plus transportation and rent continue to be controlled and subsidized; 4% of the prices are controlled by the government. Ecology is another serious problem in Poland. The Polish government used to believe that ecology was a phony issue taking attention away from social problems. They now recognize that ecology is a serious problem in socialized countries too. But Poland cannot yet afford to do what it should to protect the environment. It signed an international treaty limiting sulfur emissions, but it did not ratify it--it couldn't afford to meet the standards. On the topic of German reunification, Dr. Pastusiak said the Poles have a high level of anxiety. Kohl has not agreed to honor Polish borders--implying that the borders of a reunified Germany should be those in place in 1937. This would include 1/3 of the current state of Poland. Pastusiak feels that it is not in anyone's interest to reopen the Pandora's box of these territorial claims. The current borders must be ratified before German reunification.