Category Archives: Introductions

Prospects for Democracy in the Middle East

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Introduction to IJWP, June 2017 This issue of IJWP focuses on the prospects for democracy in the Middle East. The larger question behind this is whether democracy is the most desirable form of government for the Middle East, or for anywhere else in the world. In the March 2017 issue, Professor Gafurov argued that democracy is a stage in social development that is higher than rule by dictatorship, the most common form of government in … Continue reading →

Social Development and the Evolution of Civil Society

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Contents Introduction to IJWP March 2017 The application of systems theory to social development has not been popular in political science for decades. Strategic thinking and conflict resolution have dominated, perhaps because they are employed to achieve immediate goals. But the refugee crisis created by the “Arab Spring” has forced some to conclude that a benevolent dictatorship is a precondition for democracy, and that toppling dictators and holding elections only brings anarchy and terror. This … Continue reading →

Creating Legitimate and Inclusive States

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Introduction to IJWP, December 2016 Table of Contents In this issue of International Journal on World Peace, three articles probe the creation of peaceful and legitimate states. Since the rise of modern democracies, people have believed that having elections would make states legitimate because every citizen would have a right to participate in governance. Such simple views fail to ask whether (1) the governance system gives all groups access to power, or (2) whether people … Continue reading →

Democratic Peace, IGOs, and Korean Unification

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Introduction to IJWP September 2016 Table of Contents This issue of IJWP has articles that discuss three topics: peace within democracies, the relationship between participation in IGOs and state military spending, and Korean unification. All of these articles relate to the issue of justice and security of groups, whether politically or culturally united. No state wants to lose its power and no cultural group wants to lose its identity or be treated as inferior. Violence … Continue reading →

“Good” and “Bad” Traditionalists and Modernists

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Introduction to IJWP, June 2016 Table of Contents One of the fundamental tensions in the contemporary world has been between traditional societies and modernity. “Traditional societies” refers to those who are connected to traditional communities or cultures. This includes accepting received religious beliefs and/or scriptures, loyalty to community leaders, and shaping one’s life based on how things were done in the past. “Modernist societies,” on the other hand, refers to those societies who have faith … Continue reading →

Pluralism and the Modern State

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Table of Contents Introduction to IJWP, March 2016 The modern world is still coming to grips with the concept of a nation-state and the degree to which states can be at peace when laws promote the cultural values of one group over another. For example, is it possible to have a religious state (e.g., a Jewish, Christian, Islamic, or a Buddhist state) that does not inhibit freedom and development by imposing a past worldview and … Continue reading →

The Influence of the Media and Globalization on Cultural Consciousness and Violence

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Introduction to IJWP, December 2015 The articles in this issue of IJWP are related to the cultural consciousness that influences group-on-group violence. The pursuit of group interest with disregard to the interests of other groups can either be the willful result of selfishness or actions based on ignorance of the situation of other groups. The photos of the body of the three-year-old son of Syrian Abdullah Kurdi washed up on a Turkish beach helped fuel … Continue reading →

Conquest or Coexistence? The Future of a post-Colonial World

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Introduction to IJWP, September 2015 This issue of IJWP looks at contemporary centers of conflict where the goal of protagonists appears to be conquest rather than coexistence. Conquerors insist on imposing their will on others by force and want to control as much of the world as possible. They often justify the conquest by arguing that they are carrying out the will of God, or that they have a superior plan for the world and … Continue reading →

Violence, Truth, and Culture

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Introduction to IJWP, June 2015 This issue of IJWP looks at the relationship of violence to what might be called “maturity of truth,” or personal and cultural wisdom. “Truth” is both individual and social. It is individual when it refers to a person’s attainment of an awareness of others as equally valuable and worthy of life in a shared world, and the knowledge and skills necessary to achieve a happy and fulfilling life through productive … Continue reading →

Politics or Principles of Good Governance?

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Introduction to IJWP, March 2015 All three articles in this issue of IJWP are concerned with interest group influence on state policy and the negative effects it creates. In On War, Carl von Clausewitz described war as “politics by other means.” In this assertion, he recognized that “politics” is a contest of power over control of governance and resources and not necessarily “governance” itself. Politics tends to be about who controls power and not about … Continue reading →