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PJSA Issues Statement in Support of USIP

As a community of scholars and educators pursuing development of and critical reflection on knowledge that can contribute to the achievement and maintenance of peace, we believe the recent house vote (HR 1, amendment 1) eliminating all federal funding of the United States Institute of Peace to have been ill advised and detrimental to U.S. and international peace and security interests. USIP was established in 1984 to provide “analysis, training and tools that prevent and end conflicts, promote[s] stability and professionalize[s] the field of peacebuilding.” In its 26+ years, USIP has played an important role in peacebuilding, sponsoring critical research and education and providing training to governments and civil society organizations. Their work has had an impact in nearly every area of the world. As an independent organization they have made peacemaking contacts that governmental and ordinary political channels cannot. USIP has also made important contributions to reducing US dependency on military intervention....

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PJSA Statement On Holder vs. Humanitarian Law Project

In response to the recent US Supreme Court ruling in Holder vs. Humanitarian Law Project that supports a broad-ranging law that allows Americans who offer advice to banned organizations, including legal assistance and information on conflict resolution, to be prosecuted as terrorists, the Peace and Justice Studies Association makes the following statement: "We scholars, educators, students and professionals who have devoted our careers to understanding how violence in the world can be reduced and how security can be attained believe, as a matter of conscience, in the right of all individuals to support both humanitarian aid to all people in need, and the teaching of nonviolent means for resolving conflicts without regard to lists of terrorist organizations provided by any agencies or governments. We are convinced that waging war cannot meet the security needs of people in a globally interconnected world, and that waging peace is a more effective strategy for addressing the roots of terrorism and promoting the inherent dignity of all members of the human family. We view efforts to restrict peacemaking activities as contradictory to the goals of combating terrorism and as an infringement of our right to express views consistent with both our knowledge and our moral and spiritual commitments to a world of peace."

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PJSA Issues Statement on FBI Raids

The Peace and Justice Studies Association, in keeping with its mission and values, is opposed to all governmental intimidation. Disturbed by apparent FBI harassment of US-based nonviolent activists, which appears to be politically motivated, we call on all of our members and colleagues to stand firm in our commitment to freedom of speech, expression, and assembly, in order to preserve a diversity of opinions and perspectives in our work for a more peaceful and just world. We are concerned that these actions are part of a growing trend to narrow the space for civil society, and we resolve that our nonviolent efforts for peace will only be increased in these trying times.

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PJSA Statement on Connecting Militarism and Climate Change

Our unconditional organizational commitment to the inherent dignity of all forms of life applies evenly to the rejection of all forms of violence, including violence against the earth.

We acknowledge that at this moment there is no more immediate threat to life on the planet than the progressive distortion of the planetary climate by human (industrial) activity, and we recognize that the threat posed by the war system (which is largely in place to protect industrialization) is perhaps the chief contributor to climate change and that deconstructing it will require the outgrowing of violence at all levels of engagement.

We believe that the eternal human desire for peace can only succeed if it is attained both “on earth” and “with earth” as inherently interconnected ends. Today we are faced with crises including perpetual warfare and runaway climate change; in this critical time, we understand these as deeply related phenomena that cannot be managed separately but whose mutual resolution promises to usher in an era of genuine peace and prosperity.

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PJSA Issues Statement Condemning Arizona Immigration Law

As one of the leading professional organizations in the fields of Peacebuilding, Conflict Studies, and Social Justice, the Peace & Justice Studies Association (PJSA) has issued a strong condemnation of Arizona’s new immigration law, SB 1070. Joining with other academic and educational associations in related fields, we believe that the law is draconian and ill-advised, and that its application threatens to inflame anti-immigrant sentiments and undermine constructive solutions to the challenges faced by communities in Arizona and across the nation.

Below is a statement unanimously endorsed by the Board of Directors of the PJSA, which has been delivered to Arizona Governor Jan Brewer calling upon her to rescind this unjust law. In so doing, we recall the words of Martin Luther King, Jr. in his landmark essay Letter from a Birmingham Jail, following the teachings of St. Augustine: “‘An unjust law is no law at all.’… Any law that degrades human personality is unjust.” SB 1070 is such a law, and accordingly we join with myriad others in calling for its immediate rescission.

(Postscript: the PJSA is presently part of a consortium of professional/academic associations united in opposition to SB 1070 and related state policies; a joint statement is being prepared, and a group press conference will be held at the Arizona State Capitol on Wednesday May 19, 2010.)

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News from the Field

Peace Studies Take Off! (10/14/08)

Reprinted recently by the New York Times, an investigative news article summarizes the growth and development of the field: "Peace studies, incorporating anthropology, sociology, political science, theology and history, aim to uncover the roots of conflict, transform the underlying causes, develop preventive strategies and teach resolution skills. More than 400 universities and colleges worldwide now offer undergraduate or graduate degrees, as well as individual courses and certificates. Most peace studies degrees are conferred at undergraduate level. The Peace and Justice Studies Association, a group for scholars in the field, says student enrollments in university-level courses have surged in recent years." READ THE WHOLE ARTICLE

Divisions Over Peace Studies (8/10/10)

A featured article appearing in Inside Higher Ed discusses the implications of a new United States Institute of Peace (USIP) report on the relationship between academic programs and employment outcomes: "Randall Amster, executive director of the Peace and Justice Studies Association, agreed with the findings and lauded the report’s recommendations for bringing more field-based education to the classroom and for employers adjusting the way in which they engage the programs' graduates. 'The [PJSA] would encourage a synergistic approach in which the perspectives of graduates in the field are invited straightforwardly into the policy-making and organizational frameworks developed by peace-related employers,' he wrote in an e-mail. 'I would further urge that the field develop with due regard not only to needs of organizations and employers, but also to those of the graduates themselves and the academic institutions.'" READ THE WHOLE ARTICLE

International Conference Welcomes Peacebuilders to Winnipeg (9/22/10)

A press release from Canadian Mennonite University about the annual PJSA conference in Winnipeg: "The Peace and Justice Studies Association (PJSA), an organization headquartered in the United States and affiliated with the International Peace Research Association, will hold its 8th Annual Conference this October 1 and 2, with Menno Simons College and UWinnipeg's Global College serving as hosts for this important international conference. 'This will represent the PJSA's first international gathering, as we strive to develop a truly North American association to address the many shared challenges before us, and we are extremely pleased to convene this annual conference in Winnipeg,' says PJSA Executive Director Randall Amster. 'The notion of "crossing borders" is particularly poignant in these times, given the present struggles over immigration in the U.S. and the hemispheric nature of the issues at hand. We firmly believe that by coming together to explore just and peaceful strategies for achieving security and honoring identity, we can help foster a climate in which our differences are seen as strengths, and the crises we face become opportunities for mutual engagement and innovation.'" READ THE WHOLE MEDIA ADVISORY

Not Giving Peace (Institute) a Chance (2/21/11)

Another featured article in Inside Higher Ed discusses the implications of Congress cutting off funding for the USIP: "Randall Amster, a professor of peace and justice studies at Prescott College and executive director of the Peace and Justice Studies Association, said that even if peace studies scholars can apply to other agencies, there is value in having one funding source 'with a specific mandate and mission to support projects that foster peace-making and peace-building around the world.' All the federal funds going to this research are 'just a drop in the bucket' of the federal budget, he said, such that the damage done by removing federal support for the institute will hardly eliminate the deficit. 'Why would the House go after something like this?'" READ THE WHOLE ARTICLE

Death of Osama bin Laden Makes Peace Groups Ask 'What Next?' (5/5/11)

An assessment by Truthout of the implications for war and peace issues going forward: "The cynical, disappointed and isolated feeling among peace and justice activists following bin Laden's death should not be surprising, writes Randall Amster, a professor at Prescott College and [Executive Director] of the Peace and Justice Studies Association. The peace and justice community has 'struggled with the full implications of the post-9/11 era,' he writes in an email to Truthout. 'Perpetual warfare, contravention of the rules of war, an expanding war economy, and the militarization of nearly all aspects of our lives -- the forces at work behind these eventualities have shown themselves to be largely undeterred by protest, legality, oversight, or ethics. Thus, for many who have been confronting these issues directly for the past decade, the cynicism is palpable -- and with good reason.' So, he continues, the 'pro-war sense of victory and nationalism coming through the official pronouncements, media spin, and public celebrations of bin Laden's death' irked many activists, in part because, 'those in the peace and justice community are aware of how such attitudes can be folded back into the impetus for more war, and how they can easily be manipulated to vindicate the rampant militarism we've seen in recent years.' Amster writes that when it comes to the death of bin Laden, many activists paint it on a larger plane. 'The death of a single individual -- itself an expression of vengeance and not justice -- cannot surmount the totality of the historical moment in which we find ourselves.'" READ THE WHOLE ARTICLE

Teaching Peace (9/19/11)

An inspiring essay by Colman McCarthy in The Nation, discussing the state of the field and the need for focused peace education at all levels: "In 1970 only Manchester College, a Church of the Brethren school in Indiana, offered a degree in peace studies. The Peace and Justice Studies Association, based at Arizona's Prescott College, estimates that more than 500 undergraduate, master's and doctoral programs are now being offered on US campuses. The schools include American University, Manhattan College, Hobart, Guilford, Tufts, Wellesley, Earlham, Goucher, Colgate, Goshen, Berkeley and the University of Colorado. Costa Rica has the University of Peace. The Rotary Foundation funds up to seventy master's degree fellowships in peace studies annually. Before her death in 2003, McDonald's heiress Joan Kroc gave generous financial support to the University of San Diego and the University of Notre Dame to create peace studies degree programs. I've visited both in recent months. They are thriving." READ THE WHOLE ARTICLE

Peace studies blossoming at Utah universities (12/13/11)

Positive developments in Utah, from the Salt Lake Tribune: The Salt Lake Tribune, December 13, 2011: "In the last decade we have seen a remarkable rise in these programs. They have moved from a luxury or curiosity to something people perceive as essentials," said Randall Amster, executive director of the Peace and Justice Studies Association based at Arizona’s Prescott College. "There is a science of peace and how to achieve justice." ... "We feel our programs are mutually beneficial. We have strengths that reinforce each others’ programs," said Michael Minch, an associate professor of philosophy and a board member for the Peace and Justice Studies Association. READ THE WHOLE ARTICLE



Speaker's Bureau

Are you interested in finding a keynote speaker, presenter, trainer, or consultant related to the broad areas of peace and social justice? Consider one of our highly qualified, dynamic Speaker's Bureau members!

We have launched an exciting new venture that will highlight the incredible work of our members, and advance the workings of the "peace and justice" fields as well. The primary intention of the Speaker's Bureau is to help carry the mission and values of the PJSA to a broader audience. Understanding that various groups and organizations are often seeking trainers, workshop facilitators, presenters, keynote speakers, and the like, the new PJSA Speaker's Bureau will allow us to address these needs while showcasing the many talented scholars, educators, and activists among our membership.

PJSA members can apply below to be part of the effort, and general queries may be addressed to: speakers(at)peacejusticestudies(dot)org.



Book Corner

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