Centre for Peace Studies, Tromsø
Encyclopedia
The Centre for Peace Studies started out as a research and co-ordination project in Peace and Conflict Studies
at the University of Tromsø
, Norway
. The project was initially funded for the period 2002-2006 and became permanent in 2007.
Inspired by the conference Higher Education for Peace on 4-6 May 2000, dreams, ambitions and hopes for such a project saw results when in November 2001 The Norwegian Parliament awarded the funds needed to establish a national and international centre for Peace Studies. In the assignment letter from The Department it is stated that “the Centre is to establish new competence within the field of peace- and conflict-studies, and within such areas as ethnicity and democracy-building. The centre is to have a co-ordinating role for the field, both nationally and internationally.”
The Centre is also in charge of a two-year Master's Programme in Peace and Conflict Transformation at the University of Tromsø, which has been taught since August 2002.
In the field of Peace Research, the centre's main position is to focus on non-violent forms of conflict resolution
, emphasizing the task of building a positive, sustainable peace. In other words, the centre's task is not primarily to analyze wars or keep an account of wars, armament or civil wars, but rather to focus how – and on what basis – a civil and transnational, sustainable peace can be built. In November 2002 this work started with a symposium on non-violence, where leading experts on Peace Research from all continents met in Tromsø
to establish the current status of the field and point the way ahead.
Peace and conflict studies
Peace and conflict studies is a social science field that identifies and analyses violent and nonviolent behaviours as well as the structural mechanisms attending social conflicts with a view towards understanding those processes which lead to a more desirable human condition...
at the University of Tromsø
University of Tromsø
The University of Tromsø is the world's northernmost university. Located in the city of Tromsø, Norway, it was established in 1968, and opened in 1972. It is one of eight universities in Norway. The University of Tromsø is the largest research and educational institution in northern Norway...
, Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
. The project was initially funded for the period 2002-2006 and became permanent in 2007.
Inspired by the conference Higher Education for Peace on 4-6 May 2000, dreams, ambitions and hopes for such a project saw results when in November 2001 The Norwegian Parliament awarded the funds needed to establish a national and international centre for Peace Studies. In the assignment letter from The Department it is stated that “the Centre is to establish new competence within the field of peace- and conflict-studies, and within such areas as ethnicity and democracy-building. The centre is to have a co-ordinating role for the field, both nationally and internationally.”
The Centre is also in charge of a two-year Master's Programme in Peace and Conflict Transformation at the University of Tromsø, which has been taught since August 2002.
In the field of Peace Research, the centre's main position is to focus on non-violent forms of conflict resolution
Conflict resolution
Conflict resolution is conceptualized as the methods and processes involved in facilitating the peaceful ending of some social conflict. Often, committed group members attempt to resolve group conflicts by actively communicating information about their conflicting motives or ideologies to the rest...
, emphasizing the task of building a positive, sustainable peace. In other words, the centre's task is not primarily to analyze wars or keep an account of wars, armament or civil wars, but rather to focus how – and on what basis – a civil and transnational, sustainable peace can be built. In November 2002 this work started with a symposium on non-violence, where leading experts on Peace Research from all continents met in Tromsø
Tromsø
Tromsø is a city and municipality in Troms county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the city of Tromsø.Tromsø city is the ninth largest urban area in Norway by population, and the seventh largest city in Norway by population...
to establish the current status of the field and point the way ahead.