JOHAN GALTUNG
Johan Galtung is one of those rare individuals who manages
to integrate rigorous scholarship and research, the development
of innovative educational programs around the world, social
activism, and high level consultation/mediation in many of
the world's major trouble spots. He is generally regarded
as the father of modern peace research and education, having
founded the world's first Peace Research Institute in Oslo
in 1959, which remains one of the leading institutes of its
kind. Over the past 40 years his bibliography requires a book
in itself, identifying 95 books and over 1000 articles. One
of the many innovative concepts and terms developed by Professor
Galtung that has become widely known is that of structural
violence, first articulated in his book by that title. His
writings reflect original thinking across an incredibly broad
range of issues - the European Community as an emerging superpower,
violence and imperialism, terrorism, non-violent defence,
Gandhi, alternatives to NATO, the SALT Negotiations, methodology
in sociology, economic sanctions, peace culture, and the role
of the media in peace and conflict situations - to name but
a few.
His scholarship and personal support have led to the development
of many university based peace study programmes around the
world. He currently holds academic positions in Germany, Japan,
Italy, China, Sweden and Norway. His training programmes have
been provided to various UN missions, as well as government
officials, NGOs, and journalists around the world. However,
Professor Galtung is no armchair academic. His involvement
in advising governments and conflict protagonists span four
decades, and inform his conceptual works. Professor Galtung
understands the real life practical aspects of deadly conflicts,
and the difficulties of both preventing violence from occurring,
as well as attempting to return to normalcy after violence
has erupted.
He has acted as an expert consultant in such diverse conflict
situations as Somalia, Yugoslavia, Northern Ireland, South
Caucasus, the Basque area in Spain and France, Lebanon, Sri
Lanka, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and those dealing
with China, Tibet and Taiwan. He has been involved in over
20 visits to both North and South Korea since 1972. His last
two visits were with Kim Dae Jung as President of South Korea,
where issues of reconciliation were discussed. (In August,
Professor Galtung is scheduled to conduct training sessions
in Pyongyang and on the PeaceBoat during a cruise from Japan
to North Korea and back-on conflict transformation and reconciliation).
Professor Galtung was also instrumental in helping to bring
a peaceful end to the series of four border wars between Peru
and Ecuador - his suggestion of transforming the disputed
territory into a jointly administered nature park was written
into a treaty between the two countries in 1999. In addition
to being recognized with various honorary degrees, Professor
Galtung is also the recipient of the Right Livelihood Award
(aka the Alternative Nobel Peace Prize) in 1987, the Norwegian
Humanist Prize in 1988, the Socrates Prize for Adult Education
in 1990, the Bajaj International Award for Promoting Gandhian
Values in 1993, the Alo'ha International Award in 1995, and
ten honorary doctorates. Early in his career, Professor Galtung
was an active journalist, and has since collaborated with
the BBC World Service.
He is currently the Director of TRANSCEND, an international
Peace and Development Network. Click
here for the TRANSCEND website . For more about Johan
Galtung click
here . |
