Using a case study based approach, Weissmann analyses the post-Cold War East Asian security setting to demonstrate why there is a paradoxical inter-state peace. He points out processes that have been important for the creation of a continuing relative peace in East Asia, as well as conflict prevention and peacebuilding mechanisms.

This volume re-examines the notion of the East Asian peace, arguing that it requires updating for the current and near-future context of US-Chinese rivalry. The “East Asian peace” refers to the remarkable change in conflict levels in eastern Eurasia over the past 80 years or even the past 130 years or so. Prior to the late 1970s, East Asia was regarded as the most conflictual region on the planet. Although insurgencies have continued in places such as Myanmar, Thailand, and the Philippines, after the 1980s East and Southeast Asia became one of the world’s least conflictual regions. Geopolitics and economic development worked hand in hand to reduce conflict in the region and, in this respect, the East Asian peace has been a confluential peace. The general problem with a confluential peace is that the factors that shape it evolve over time, and the specific circumstances in question seem to be evolving in a different direction, with East Asia shaping up to be the most central locale of the contest between US and Chinese hegemony, both regionally and perhaps globally. This book argues that the idea of the East Asian peace now requires adjustment to the current and near-future context. The more general arguments presented here focus on alternative interpretations of how regional peace and order should be interpreted, while the more specific arguments involve interpretations of Chinese and other countries’ behavior in the context of the heightened rivalry between China and the United States. This book will be of much interest to students of East Asian politics, peace studies, foreign policy, and international relations.

Presents a two-track (inter-Korean and international) approach to Korean peninsula peace-regime building.

The annual number of battle deaths from interstate and intra-state conflicts in East Asia has declined by 95% since 1979. During the past three decades, East Asia has been more peaceful than Europe, the Americas or any continent, in terms of battle deaths per capita. When generating theories on peace and war, studies almost never look at the experiences of East Asia. Yet the region by focusing on a commitment to development, is a social reality that is less paranoid, less militaristic and more cooperative. Since 1979 there has been a commonly accepted rule to keep domestic issues domestic so that external military interference, that often caused the majority of battle deaths, was not needed. Thus the emergence of the long peace of East Asia is historically specific, and cannot be generalized by studying objective, material conditions independent of common perceptions and common interpretations. This does not mean that the East Asian experience is not relevant for other regions in the world, but that generalizations should not be attempted to be drawn from the material conditions, but rather from the lived experience and socially constructed realities of East Asia. Since East Asia is a spectacular case of pacification, and since it has not contributed much to our theories of peace and conflict, The Long Peace of East Asia is an important book for studies on peace and war.

In recent years, peace psychology has grown from a utopian idea to a means of transforming societies worldwide. Yet at the same time peacebuilding enjoys global appeal, the diversity of nations and regions demands interventions reflecting local cultures and realities. Peace Psychology in Asia shows this process in action, emphasizing concepts and methods diverging from those common to the US and Europe. Using examples from China, India, Indonesia, the Philippines, and elsewhere in the region, chapter authors illuminate the complex social, political, and religious conditions that have fostered war, colonialism, dictatorships, and ethnic strife, and the equally intricate personal and collective psychologies that need to be developed to encourage reconciliation, forgiveness, justice, and community. Peace Psychology in Asia: Integrates psychology, history, political science, and local culture into concepts of peace and reconciliation. Highlights the indigenous aspects of peace psychology. Explains the critical relevance of local culture and history in peace work. Blends innovative theoretical material with empirical evidence supporting peace interventions. Balances its coverage among local, national, regional, and global contexts. Analyzes the potential of Asia as a model for world peace. As practice-driven as it is intellectually stimulating, Peace Psychology in Asia is vital reading for social and community psychologists, policy analysts, and researchers in psychology and sociology and international studies, including those looking to the region for ideas on peace work in non-Western countries.

This three-volume anthology is a comprehensive overview of how the human yearning for peace has played out, and is playing out, on this planet. Peace Movements Worldwide is quite simply the most comprehensive work of its kind on this important subject. In its three volumes, experts document the history and growth of the peace movement, why it is important, who gets involved, and how it can succeed. Organized by major themes and issues, the work examines every facet of human striving for peace, from the global to the personal. The first volume, History and Vitality of Peace Movements, explores the meaning of peace—its historical, philosophical, and biological foundations and related spiritual, gender, social, and economic viewpoints. The second volume, Players and Practices in Resistance to War, discusses control over weapons, efforts to prevent and end violent conflict, and efforts to heal the traumatic aftereffects of violence. The third volume, Peace Efforts That Work and Why, looks at how mankind can build a new world order by building communities with a sustainable culture of peace.

A study of how and why amnesties for human rights violations remain a prevalent feature of peace processes in Asia.