Approaches to Peace: A Reader in Peace Studies

by David Philip Barash

Book Overview

Approaches to Peace provides a unique and interdisciplinary sampling of classic articles and short literary selections focusing on the diverse aspects of peace and conflict studies. Readings cover the causes of war and proposed means of preventing it, so called negative peace, and also reflect upon the universal concern for positive peace. The material examines nonviolence movements, peace movements, religious inspirations, and our future prospects...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0195123867
• ISBN13: 9780195123869
• Release Date: July 1999
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
• Length: 288 Pages
• Weight: 1.15 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 10.0" x 7.0"

Customer Reviews

One of the best, but still falls a bit short

I've used David Barash's _Approaches to Peace_ several times in my college classes on peace and justice. This is unusual in itself, because I rarely use anthologies, preferring instead to go straight to the original sources themselves. I like Barash's approach, though, because it tries to be inclusive as possible. The anthology begins by looking at the definitions and possible causes of war, moves on to analyses of how to prevent war (negative peace), then to considerations of how to create structures of justice that eliminate the necessary conditions for war (positive peace). The rest of the book is devoted to readings that discuss nonviolence, religious pacifism, and historical peace movements. All of these general categories are exactly what one would want in a "peace studies" text.The problem is that the readings included in each category aren't always the best (or at least aren't the ones I would've selected). The single best two sets of readings are in the chapters on positive peace and nonviolence. The single worst (and I do mean *worst*!) set of readings are when Barash deals with religious pacifism (it's as if he feels uncomfortable in this arena). In the section on peace movements, Vaclav Havel's essay is the single best piece, but one wonders why it (and perhaps the entire chapter) doesn't serve as the prologue to the anthology.Still, no anthology perfectly pleases everyone. Barash's is the best one out there I've discovered. Perhaps some changes will be made in a second edition. Regardless, I highly recommend this book.