From Theory to Practice: Inaugural Positive Peace Conference

Monday, October 5, 2015
8:00 AM - 8:00 AM
(Pacific)

Paul Brest Hall

555 Salvatierra Walk

Stanford University 

For more information, please visit: http://positivepeace2015.splashthat.com/


Positive Peace is a transformative concept. It constitutes a new approach to building peace by focusing attention on the attitudes, institutions and structures of more peaceful nations. Countries with higher levels of Positive Peace are less likely to slip into major conflicts, experience less violence, and are better equipped to bounce back from internal or external shocks such as a civil war or natural disaster.

Despite this great promise, Positive Peace has yet to reach its full potential. In 2014, over 13 percent of the global economy was spent on containing or dealing with the consequences of violence yet by comparison little is spent on strengthening Positive Peace factors such as good governance, the creation of a sound business environment, acceptance of the rights of others and control of corruption. And despite a rhetorical commitment to prevention – investing in countries before they descend into violence and chaos – all too often the global policymaking community careens from one crisis to another, intervening too late to make any meaningful impact. By contrast, Positive Peace offers a road map for building an environment in which peace can flourish over the long haul.

The inaugural Positive Peace conference will be held at Stanford University’s Paul Brest Hall on October 5, 2015. This daylong event is meant to kickstart a conversation about the role Positive Peace can play in tackling some of the most difficult problems faced by the world today.

Influenced by the Global Peace Index and other groundbreaking research, a growing number of academics, practitioners and policymakers are working on Positive Peace, defined as the attitudes, institutions and structures of more peaceful nations. The inaugural Positive Peace conference is meant to bring together leading Positive Peace practitioners together with policymakers, business leaders and representatives of other related fields like atrocity and conflict prevention and humanitarian assistance. An estimated 100 participants will gather to address a series of fundamental questions, such as:

  • How do you build support for longer-term investments in Positive Peace in a world dominated by crisis response?

  • Does Positive Peace provide a potential road map for more effective humanitarian, and business, investments?

  • How can the principles of Positive Peace be used in designing interventions for countries that are currently undergoing conflict?

  • What lessons can be learned from countries that have avoided descents into chaos and despair despite facing similar risk factors to those that have?

  • And how is information about Positive Peace best communicated in a way that is understandable and useful?