Peace and Democratic Society - cover image

Book Series

Copyright

Amartya Sen

Published On

2011-06-20

ISBN

Paperback978-1-906924-39-3
Hardback978-1-906924-40-9
PDF978-1-906924-41-6
HTML978-1-80064-441-0
EPUB978-1-906924-48-5
MOBI978-1-906924-49-2

Language

  • English

Print Length

166 pages (vii + 158)

Dimensions

Paperback156 x 9 x 234 mm(6.14" x 0.35" x 9.21")
Hardback156 x 11 x 234 mm(6.14" x 0.44" x 9.21")

Weight

Paperback530g (18.70oz)
Hardback905g (31.92oz)

OCLC Number

1086515017

LCCN

2019467812

BIC

  • JPA
  • JPV

BISAC

  • POL003000
  • POL035000
  • SOC051000

LCC

  • JZ5538

Keywords

  • Amartya Sen
  • peace
  • democracy
  • violence
  • Commonwealth Commission on Respect and Understanding
  • terrorism
  • organised violence
  • war
  • Civil Paths to Peace
  • Commonwealth Secretariat
  • prejudice
  • identity

Peace and Democratic Society

  • Amartya Sen (editor)
Recent acts of terrorism and the current unrest in the Middle East remind us how important it is to understand the relationship between violence, peace and democracy. In a challenging and insightful essay, Amartya Sen explores ideas around 'organised violence' (such as war, genocide and terrorism) and violence against the individual. Highlighting the inadequacies of some of the widely accepted explanations for violence—including the idea that the world is experiencing a 'clash of civilisations'—Sen makes a plea for a global, multilateral debate on the causes of conflict, and an understanding of the multiple identities of the individuals involved. The introductory essay draws on the findings of the Commonwealth Commission on Respect and Understanding, which was chaired by Sen, and established to promote mutual communication and understanding among all faiths and communities in the Commonwealth. Its timely report, "Civil Paths to Peace", suggests that governments, media and educators—indeed, everyone—must take the time to understand the complexities around violent behaviour and its causes, without prejudging what these might be.

Reviews

Sen’s introductory essay to Peace and Democratic Society is similar to his work on poverty and famine in that it deals with a matter—the eruption of violence in society—of very great urgency. [...] The Commonwealth report does not definitively solve the question of "Why violence in democracy?” Nevertheless, [it] does illustrate how an approach to violence in democracy can be fashioned without relying on dangerous over-simplifications. It offers a way forward without rushing to answers. [...] Sen’s essay—and the report that it accompanies—is well worth the reading.

Neal Leavitt

"Sen, Amartya, ed. Peace and Democratic Society". IMPACT: The Journal of the Center for Interdisciplinary Teaching and Learning, vol. 1, no. 1, 2012.

Full Review

Contents

  • Amartya Sen
  • Commonwealth Commission on Respect and Understanding
  • Commonwealth Commission on Respect and Understanding
  • Commonwealth Commission on Respect and Understanding
  • Commonwealth Commission on Respect and Understanding
  • Commonwealth Commission on Respect and Understanding
  • Commonwealth Commission on Respect and Understanding
  • Commonwealth Commission on Respect and Understanding
  • Commonwealth Commission on Respect and Understanding
  • Commonwealth Commission on Respect and Understanding

The Way Forward

(pp. 123–133)
  • Commonwealth Commission on Respect and Understanding

Afterward

(pp. 135–137)
  • Amartya Sen
  • Commonwealth Commission on Respect and Understanding

Contributors

Amartya Sen

(editor)
Thomas W. Lamont University Professor and Professor of Economics and Philosophy at Harvard University