Peace

Peace is a state where there is no fighting or violence. It means that people and groups live together without fear of harm from one another. Peace is very important because it lets everyone feel safe and live together peacefully.

Many religions, such as Buddhism, Christianity, Jainism, and Islam, teach about peace. Important leaders like Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr. worked hard to promote peace. Books like "Perpetual Peace: A Philosophical Sketch" by Immanuel Kant and "The Art of Peace" by Morihei Ueshiba also talk about the value of peace. Many ideas, called ideologies, such as Pacifism, focus on peace as well.

Symbols of peace can look different depending on where you live and what history a place has. These symbols can make people feel united and proud. Peace means different things to different people, so there is no single definition that fits everyone. Having peace in our minds and hearts, through qualities like tranquility, patience, respect, and compassion, can help us act peacefully even when things around us are difficult.

Etymology

The word "peace" comes from old languages like Anglo-French and Latin. In Latin, it is pax, meaning a time without fighting. In English, the word "peace" started being used around the year 1300, inspired by the Hebrew word shalom. Shalom means being safe, healthy, and friendly.

When people act peacefully, they are kind and fair to others. Being at peace also means feeling calm and happy inside yourself. In some cultures, words for peace are used to say hello or goodbye, like aloha in Hawaiian and salaam in Arabic.

History

Peace has sometimes been created through diplomacy, such as royal marriages. Two early examples are Hermodike I, who married the king of Phrygia around 800 BCE, and Hermodike II, who married the king of Lydia around 600 BCE. These marriages involved Greek princesses and kings from areas now part of Turkey. They helped bring important inventions, like the Greek alphabet from the Phrygians and the use of coins from the Lydians, to Greece.

Sometimes, peace has been forced by the winners of wars. The Roman historian Tacitus criticized the Roman Empire for being greedy and arrogant.

Peace can mean two things: simply a stop to fighting, or a time without war where people treat each other fairly, respect laws, and show good will. Since 1945, the United Nations and the United Nations Security Council have worked to solve problems without starting wars.

Organizations and prizes

United Nations

Main article: United Nations

See also: List of United Nations peacekeeping missions

The United Nations (UN) is a group of countries that work together. It helps keep peace, improve lives, and protect rights. The UN started in 1945 after a big war to help stop more fighting.

The UN sends helpers to places where fighting has stopped. These helpers, called "Blue Helmets," come from many countries and help keep the peace. They got a special award in 1988 for their work.

Police

Main article: Police

Police help keep peace inside a country. They are people hired to follow rules, help people, and stop crimes. Police can arrest people who break the law. They are different from soldiers, who protect the country from outside attacks.

National security

Main article: National security

Countries work to stay safe from outside threats, like other countries or groups that want to cause harm. Safety can be threatened in many ways. Keeping a country safe includes many things, like making sure people have enough food and protecting the environment.

League of Nations

The League of Nations was an early group to try to keep peace between countries. It started after a big war in 1919 but could not stop new fights in the 1930s. It was replaced by the United Nations after another world war.

Olympic Games

The Olympic Games started in 1896 to bring people together and promote peace. Many people worked hard to make this happen, led by Pierre de Coubertin.

Nobel Peace Prize

Main article: Nobel Peace Prize

Since 1901, the Nobel Peace Prize has been given each year to people or groups that do great work for peace. This prize is given by a group chosen by the Norwegian parliament. Winners help end fights, protect rights, or work to help others.

Rhodes, Fulbright and Schwarzman scholarships

The Rhodes Scholarships help students from different countries understand each other better and work together. This idea also inspired other programs like the Fulbright and Schwarzman Scholarships, which help students from around the world study and learn together.

Gandhi Peace Prize

Main article: Gandhi Peace Prize

The Gandhi Peace Prize is given each year to honor people or groups that work for change using peaceful methods, just like Mahatma Gandhi taught. It was started in 1995.

Student Peace Prize

Main article: Student Peace Prize

The Student Peace Prize is given every two years to students or student groups that do important work for peace and human rights.

Ahmadiyya Muslim Peace Prize

Main article: Ahmadiyya Muslim Peace Prize

The Ahmadiyya Muslim Peace Prize is given each year to people or groups that work hard to help peace. It was started in 2009 by a leader of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community.

Culture of Peace News Network

Main article: Culture of Peace News Network

The Culture of Peace News Network is an online news site approved by the UN. It shares stories about peace and helps people learn how to live together peacefully.

Sydney Peace Prize

Every year in November, the Sydney Peace Foundation gives the Sydney Peace Prize to someone or a group that has done a lot to help peace, protect rights, or use peaceful ways to solve problems.

Museums

See also: Peace museums

Peace museums show how people have worked for peace in the past. They also help teach others ways to solve problems without fighting. Some smaller peace groups include the Randolph Bourne Institute and the International Festival of Peace Poetry.

Religious beliefs

See also: World_peace § Religious_views

Many religions talk about big problems, like fights between people and groups. Long ago, people in areas that spoke Greek honored a goddess named Eirene for peace. Those in areas that spoke Latin honored a goddess named Pax. Artists often showed her as a woman holding things like a horn of plenty and olive leaves.

Christianity

Christians believe Jesus of Nazareth is the Jewish Messiah, called the "Prince of Peace". They find messages of peace in their holy books, like when Zechariah spoke about his son John bringing peace. Later, during a time called the Medieval era, a man named St. Francis of Assisi taught that true peacemakers stay peaceful even during hard times.

Some Christian groups, like the Mennonites and Quakers, try to live without fighting or going to war. In the Catholic Church, many leaders have said that a special prayer called the Holy Rosary can help bring peace.

Hinduism

Hindu writings share thoughts about peace. They speak of peace in the sky, air, earth, water, plants, stars, and within our own hearts.

Buddhism

Buddhists believe peace comes from ending pain and suffering. They teach that suffering comes from wanting too much, fearing loss, or being attached to things. By following the teachings of the Buddha, they aim to find inner peace.

Islam

The word for peace in Islam comes from salam. The holy book, called the Quran, teaches that remembering their beliefs brings comfort and peace to people's hearts.

Judaism

In Judaism, peace is very important. The word Shalom means peace and is one of the names for God. Jewish prayers often ask for peace in the world. They hope for a time when all people will live together in harmony, as described in their holy writings.

Ideological beliefs

Pacifism

Main article: Pacifism

Pacifism is a strong belief against using war or violence to solve problems. People who support pacifism think all conflicts should be solved peacefully. Some believe that governments should not have armies or weapons at all. Pacifism can be based on strong moral beliefs or on ideas that war causes too much harm.

Inner peace, meditation and prayerfulness

Main article: Inner peace

Inner peace means feeling calm and relaxed inside, even when things around you are stressful. Many people think this is a healthy mental state. Practices like meditation, prayer, tai chi, and yoga are ways some people try to find inner peace. Traditions such as Buddhism, Hinduism, and some Christian practices often focus on finding this inner calmness.

Non-aggression principle

The non-aggression principle teaches that it is wrong to hurt others or take their things without their permission. This includes lying or tricking people to get what you want. Followers of this principle believe that good ideas should never need force to be accepted.

Satyagraha

Main article: Satyagraha

Satyagraha is a way of standing up for what is right without using violence. It was created by Mahatma Gandhi and used in India’s struggle for independence from British rule. Gandhi believed that using peaceful methods was just as important as the goal itself. This idea also inspired leaders like Martin Luther King Jr. during the civil rights movement in the United States. Satyagraha means staying firm in the truth and refusing to use harmful actions to achieve peace.

Monuments

The following are monuments to peace:

Theories

See also: Peace and conflict studies § Conceptions of peace

Many ideas about what "peace" means exist in the study of peace studies. This study looks at ways to stop fights and end violence.

The meaning of "peace" can change depending on a person's beliefs, culture, or what they are studying.

Balance of power

Main article: Balance of power (international relations)

One old idea is that to keep order between countries, no one country should be so strong that it can control everyone else. Some famous thinkers supported this view.

Appeasement and deterrence

Appeasement is a way to try to achieve peace by giving in to an aggressive power. Deterrence is a way to try to achieve peace by using threats or small actions to stop a fight from getting bigger.

Speaking truth to power

Main article: Speaking truth to power

Speaking truth to power is a quiet way to stand up against unfair or controlling governments. Many people have used this quiet way to fight for a better world.

The idea started with a pamphlet called Speak Truth to Power: a Quaker Search for an Alternative to Violence, published by the American Friends Service Committee in 1955.

Free trade and interdependence

Some thinkers believed that when countries trade with each other, it helps keep peace. They thought that if countries depend on each other, they are less likely to fight.

Democratic peace theory

Main article: Democratic peace theory

The democratic peace theory says that countries with democratic governments are more likely to live in peace with each other.

Territorial peace theory

Main article: Territorial peace theory

The territorial peace theory says that peace helps countries become democratic. It says that when countries stop fighting over land, they are more likely to develop fair governments.

Peace war game

The Peace and War Game is a way to study how peace and fights are related using games and computer programs.

Socialism and managed capitalism

Socialist and communist thinkers argued that unfair economic systems caused wars. Some believed that fair sharing of resources would lead to peace.

International organization and law

Main article: League of Nations

One strong idea is that peace can be helped by creating groups of countries that work together and follow rules. This idea led to the creation of groups like the United Nations.

Trans-national solidarity

Many thinkers have said that peace can grow when people feel connected across country lines.

One way to build this connection is by letting students from different countries study together. Another idea is that managing water resources well can help countries live in peace.

Day

World Peace Day, celebrated on 21 September, is a special day to honor peace. It is a time to remember the importance of living together without fighting or harming each other, and to celebrate harmony and kindness among all people.

Studies, rankings, and periods

Peace and conflict studies

Peace and conflict studies is a special area of learning that looks at how people behave, both in fights and in peaceful ways. It helps us understand how to make the world better. One type of this study, called peace studies or irenology, tries to stop fights and solve problems without using force. This is different from war studies, which looks at how to win battles. Many different subjects are part of these studies, like politics, geography, economics, psychology, sociology, international relations, history, anthropology, religious studies, and gender studies.

Measurement and ranking

Even though peace can feel hard to measure, some groups have tried to give it numbers. The Global Peace Index, made by the Institute for Economics and Peace, looks at 23 different things to decide how peaceful countries are. In 2015, it ranked 163 countries. In 2017, Iceland was named the most peaceful country, while Syria was the least peaceful. The Fragile States Index, created by the Fund for Peace, looks at how likely a country is to have trouble. It uses 12 different things to measure this. In 2015, South Sudan was the most fragile, and Finland the least. The University of Maryland also makes a report called the Peace and Conflict Instability Ledger, which looks at the chance of political problems in the next three years. In their latest report, Slovenia was the most peaceful, and Afghanistan the most troubled. Other groups, like George Mason University, also make lists ranking countries by how peaceful they are.

Long periods

See also: List of periods of regional peace

Some countries have had long times without war. Sweden has been at peace and neutral since 1814, and Switzerland since 1815. This happened during times of calm in Europe and the world, called Pax Britannica (1815–1914), Pax Europaea/Pax Americana (since the 1950s), and Pax Atomica (since the 1950s).

Other long peaceful times include:

• the Edo period in Japan from 1603 to 1868 (265 years)
• Pax Khazarica in the Khazar Khanate from about 700–950 CE (250 years)
• Pax Romana in the Roman empire for 190 or 206 years.