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Summary
This article introduces the concept of diplomatic peace. It starts by developing a heuristic frame for identifying understandings of peace embraced by the actors we study. This frame encompasses three faces of peace — restraint, compromise and polylogue — and further differentiates different degrees of each of these faces (induced, co-operative and categorical restraint; profitable, principled and iterated compromise; extended, communal and deliberative polylogue). Then, this heuristic is applied to key United Nations General Assembly declarations and conventions that have passed unanimously since 1946. Studying how diplomats define peace yields remarkable results. Diplomats make far-reaching promises about the kind of peace they purport to pursue, strongly endorsing co-operative restraint, principled compromises and deliberative polylogues. The added value of this article is threefold: it systematically enquires into the nexus of diplomacy and peace, develops a multifaceted concept of peace, and reminds scholars and practitioners of how far-reaching already existing diplomatic promises of peace are.
Abstract
Child abuse is a common phenomenon in Africa, and Ghana is no exception. Where child abuse exists, the appropriate response is child protection. Child protection involves policies, structures and practical steps to ensure children are safeguarded. The Church of Pentecost is one of the fastest-growing Church in Ghana, with a local congregation in almost every community. Winneba, a predominantly fishing community, is affected by several forms of child abuse – child labour, child prostitution, child neglect and trafficking. The Church has 37 local congregations across the length and breadth of the Winneba municipality. In recent times, churches have been recognized as strategic partners in child protection efforts in the communities which they serve. This paper examines the child protection ministry of the Church of Pentecost in Winneba in relation to insights from biblical and practical perspectives on child protection. The findings point to insufficient child protection in the Church of Pentecost congregations in Winneba. The current situation only views children in terms of God’s salvific plan that includes children (conversion and sanctification). The paper posits that something far broader is required in the light of child abuse throughout the world and in Winneba. Consequently, certain recommendations are made to enable the churches to take more concrete measures to safeguard children.
Abstract
COVID-19 heightened interest in faith partnerships as governments and international agencies sought rapid behavior change to reduce the spread of the pandemic. It illuminated the unique capacity of local faith groups to reach people quickly, effectively, and relevantly. To increase resilience to future crises, the qualities of effective, ethical partnerships must be identified and developed.
To support this effort, the Joint Learning Initiative on Faith and Local Communities facilitated a learning process that explored key success factors and barriers to effective partnerships for eight faith actors (national and international organizations and networks) who responded to COVID-19, 2020–2021. Four themes recurred. Firstly, there were mixed views about the quality of partnerships with international agencies, some feeling instrumentalized in times of crisis. Secondly, where colonial exploitation has left mistrust of Western “experts,” effective programming with faith communities to counter misinformation requires either skilled, long-term investment in relationships or supporting faith groups already trusted by local communities. Thirdly, many of the most effective responses to COVID-19 emerged when local faith groups took the initiative and responded using their own assets. Finally, although technology facilitated connection, it also excluded, mediating the kinds of partnerships that were possible.
The participating faith actors identified the need to build and sustain trusted relationships with local faith groups, increasing resilience by equipping them with asset-based approaches to take the initiative in their own context. They call on international agencies to value their complementary capacities and develop long-term structures for cross-sectoral engagement, supported by flexible funding.
Abstract
This article compares two central pillars of China’s space programme and observes that Chinese space diplomacy is not uniform regarding international scientific co-operation either in its approaches or in results. In the case of the Chinese Space Station programme, the China National Space Administration went through existing United Nations (UN) channels and successfully attracted international partners. However, the International Lunar Research Station has avoided UN channels and used national and bilateral platforms. This bifurcation in approaches and results offers an intriguing puzzle concerning international co-operation: practices of institutionalised multilateral co-operation and areas of state-centric bilateral co-operation co-exist in this case and further complicate the issue of space diplomacy. To propose a potential explanation, it is argued here that a crucial intermediate variable — institutional density — requires further theorising, as it seems to influence strategic choices about space diplomacy, which may lead to success or failure.
Summary
International military alliances have developed to deter potential foes from initiating war and, when deterrence fails, to defeat enemies. From the earliest days of spaceflight, US military leaders have partnered with other nations for various purposes. With the space domain becoming more congested and contested in the early 21st century¸ the US defence establishment has begun expanding and strengthening space-related relationships with like-minded international partners to deter irresponsible, adversarial space behaviour and perpetuate peaceful uses of the outer space domain for civil and commercial purposes.
Summary
A quantum leap is under way in space as a domain of human activity. The global space economy has rapidly reached almost USD450 billion in size and is projected to grow to over USD1 trillion by the 2040s. There are hundreds of actors involved, from space agencies to private companies to start-ups. Over 70 countries have space programmes and 14 have launch capabilities. These developments have involved intense transnational and international co-operation and competition, across both the public and private sectors. With such rapid changes underway, this article takes stock of how these developments impact international relations. Overall, this is the first special issue in the field of international relations to use theories of diplomacy to bring to light the various ways in which experts, scientists, astronauts, space enthusiasts and professional diplomats, among others, have shaped the formal and informal interactions among states in this key area of foreign policy.
Abstract
Despite their personal commitment to peace, anthropologists have an ambivalent relationship to pacifism and nonviolence. This is partly because violence is pervasive at all levels of interpersonal, intergroup, and international relations anthropologists routinely study. Ethnographic records show that violence of all kinds is part and parcel of human relationality. While there are many fine-grained analyses of conflicts, disputes, injustices, and inequalities, and their complex, and often long-term, consequences, pacifism and nonviolence have not been among the discipline’s explicit ethnographic or theoretical concerns. In this article I discuss the concept of “peace resources,” recently introduced by Japanese anthropologist Oda Hiroshi, as a possible starting point for more ethnographic and practical engagement with pacifism and nonviolence. I use my ethnographic observations of various activities aimed at the abolition of nuclear weapons taking place alongside the annual commemoration of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki on August 9th to examine the concept’s promise.
Abstract
This reflection explores some of the reasons why the current historical moment provides an ideal opportunity to launch a new journal on pacifism and nonviolence. It goes on to argue that there are a number of compelling analytical and normative reasons for taking pacifism and nonviolence seriously, such as the failure of just war theory to regulate international violence, the power-resistance cycle, and the insights from social theory about the connection between the means and ends of social action. The reflection concludes with a warning about some of the key challenges facing the field, including the inevitable resistance from the vested interests in war and militarism, the challenge of decolonising Eurocentric social science, and the challenge of living up to the radicality of pacifist values.
Abstract
Pacifism and nonviolence are ethical, political, and practical policy/strategy arguments that articulate alternative visions of politics, security, and social relations. They bring different perspectives to the problem of aggression and resistance to it, such as in the Ukraine war, and to the longer term climate crisis. Because pacifism and the potential efficacy of nonviolent action challenge militarist assertions about the morality and effectiveness of military force, they provide tools for an effective critique of the war system, not only at the fringes where one is debating policy alternatives, but at the core. Research should explore the spectrum of pacifism and nonviolence—from peaceful societies to nonviolent direct action and defensive defense. The non-participation of US soldiers in the Sand Creek Massacre illustrates both the bravery and limits of non-participation and the potential importance of the philosophical links between pacifism and cognate movements in shaping the motivation to resist violence.
Abstract
The shared materiality of all living entities on the planet and their connectivity becomes an invitation to rethink pacifism to explore new forms of being in the world. This paper asks how we can think about the environment, violence, and pacifism when the older conceptions of violence do not capture all of its complex and interrelational features in the Anthropocene. Feminist new materialism moves away from anthropocentrism and offers an alternative trajectory for thinking about the environment and practicing pacifism in light of environmental, slow, and epistemic violence. It emphasises that since we are always already part of the world and thereby ethically responsible for the intra-actions we share with all beings, we bear a ‘response-ability’ (, 206–207). As a radical theory and practice, feminist environmental pacifism makes visible the violent socio-political complexities of human – nature connections and suggests caring about earthly co-existence with all beings.