Peace

Peace means societal friendship and harmony in the absence of hostility and violence. In a social sense, peace is commonly used to mean a lack of conflict (such as war) and freedom from fear of violence between individuals or groups.

"Psychological peace" (such as peaceful thinking and emotions) is less well-defined, yet perhaps a necessary precursor to establishing "behavioural peace". Peaceful behaviour sometimes results from a "peaceful inner disposition". It has been argued by some that inner qualities such as tranquility, patience, respect, compassion, kindness, self-control, courage, moderation, forgiveness, equanimity, and the ability to see the big picture can promote peace within an individual, regardless of the external circumstances of their life.

Etymology

The term 'peace' originates from the Anglo-French , and the Old French , meaning "peace, reconciliation, silence, agreement" (11th century). The Anglo-French term itself comes from the Latin , meaning "peace, compact, agreement, treaty of peace, tranquility, absence of hostility, harmony."

The English word came into use in various personal greetings from as a translation of the Hebrew word , which, according to Jewish theology, comes from a Hebrew verb meaning 'to be complete, whole'. Although "peace" is the usual translation, it is an incomplete one, because , which is also cognate with the Arabic , has multiple other meanings in addition to peace, including justice, good health, safety, well-being, prosperity, equity, security, good fortune, and friendliness, as well as simply the greetings, "hello" and "goodbye".

On a personal level, peaceful behaviours are kind, considerate, respectful, just, and tolerant of others' beliefs and behaviors – tending to manifest goodwill. This understanding of peace can also pertain to an individual's introspective sense or concept of her/himself, as in being "at peace" in one's own mind, as found in European references from . The early English term is also used in the sense of "quiet", reflecting calm, serene, and meditative approaches to family or group relationships that have a absence of quarreling, disturbances and agitation; but seek clarity of conversation, and tranquility.

In many languages, the word 'peace' is also used as a greeting or a farewell, for example the Hawaiian word , as well as the Arabic word . In English the word peace is occasionally used as a farewell, especially for the dead, as in the phrases "rest in peace" or " peace out".

History

Peace was forged through diplomacy in the form of royal marriages, both in the distant past and in modern times. Two early examples of royal marriages being used to establish diplomatic relations are Hermodike I, who married the king of Phrygia around 800 BCE, and Hermodike II, who married the king of Lydia around 600 BCE. Both marriages involved Greek princesses from the house of Agamemnon and kings from what is now Turkey. The marriages between the Greek princesses and the kings of Phrygia and Lydia had a significant impact on the region, leading to the transfer of important technological innovations from Anatolia to Greece. In particular, the Phrygians introduced the Greek alphabet, while the Lydians pioneered the use of coinage as a form of currency. Both inventions were rapidly adopted by surrounding nations through further trade and cooperation.

Peace has not always been achieved through peaceful means; in many cases, it has been enforced by the victors of war, often through the use of violence and coercion. In his work '' Agricola'', the Roman historian Tacitus, writes passionately and critically about the greed and arrogance of the Roman Empire, portraying it as a ruthless and self-serving power. One, that Tacitus says is by the Caledonian chieftain Calgacus, ends with: "" ("To ravage, to slaughter, to usurp under false titles, they call empire; and where they make a desert, they call it peace." —Oxford Revised Translation).

Discussion of peace is therefore at the same time an inquiry into its form. Is it simply the absence of mass organized killing (war), or does peace require a particular morality and justice? (''just peace'').
Societal peace can be seen at least in two forms:
# A simple silence of arms, absence of war.
# Absence of war accompanied by particular requirements for the mutual settlement of relations, which are characterized by justice, mutual respect, respect for law, and good will.

Since 1945, the United Nations and the United Nations Security Council have operated under the aim to resolve conflicts without war. Nonetheless, nations have entered numerous military conflicts since then.

Organizations and prizes

United Nations

The United Nations (UN) is an international organization whose stated aims are to facilitate cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achieving world peace. The UN was founded in 1945 after World War II to replace the League of Nations, to stop wars between countries, and to provide a platform for dialogue.

After authorization by the Security Council, the UN sends peacekeepers to regions where armed conflict has recently ceased or paused to enforce the terms of peace agreements and to discourage combatants from resuming hostilities. Since the UN does not maintain its own military, peacekeeping forces are voluntarily provided by member states of the UN. The forces, also called the "Blue Helmets", who enforce UN accords are awarded United Nations Medals, which are considered international decorations instead of military decorations. The peacekeeping force as a whole received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1988.

Police

The obligation of the state to provide for domestic peace within its borders is usually charged to the police and other general domestic policing activities. The police are a constituted body of persons empowered by a state to enforce the law, to protect the lives, liberty and possessions of citizens, and to prevent crime and civil disorder. Their powers include the power of arrest and the legitimized use of force. The term is most commonly associated with the police forces of a sovereign state that are authorized to exercise the police power of that state within a defined legal or territorial area of responsibility. Police forces are often defined as being separate from the military and other organizations involved in the defense of the state against foreign aggressors; however, gendarmerie are military units charged with civil policing. Police forces are usually public sector services, funded through taxes.

National security

The national security apparatus of a nation is responsible for providing peace and security against foreign threats and aggression. National security can be threatened by a range of factors, including actions by other states (such as military or cyber attacks), violent non-state actors (such as terrorist attacks), organized criminal groups (such as narcotic cartels), and natural disasters (such as floods and earthquakes). Systemic drivers of insecurity, which may be transnational, include economic inequality and marginalisation, political exclusion, climate change, and nuclear proliferation. In view of the wide range of risks, the preservation of peace and the security of a nation state have several dimensions, including economic security, energy security, physical security, environmental security, food security, border security, and cyber security. These dimensions correlate closely with elements of national power.

League of Nations

The principal forerunner of the United Nations was the League of Nations. It was created at the Paris Peace Conference of 1919, and emerged from the advocacy of Woodrow Wilson and other idealists during World War I. The Covenant of the League of Nations was included in the Treaty of Versailles in 1919, and the League was based in Geneva until its dissolution as a result of World War II and replacement by the United Nations. The high hopes widely held for the League in the 1920s, for example amongst members of the League of Nations Union, gave way to widespread disillusion in the 1930s as the League struggled to respond to challenges from Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy, and Japan.

The prominent scholar, Sir Alfred Eckhard Zimmern, who is widely regarded as one of the most influential intellectuals of the League of Nations, drew inspiration for his studies from the classics, along with other British scholars such as Gilbert Murray and Florence Stawell. This group of scholars is often referred to as the "Greece and peace" set, due to their shared interest in ancient Greek civilization and the promotion of peace.

The creation of the League of Nations, and the hope for informed public opinion on international issues (expressed for example by the Union for Democratic Control during World War I), also saw the creation after World War I of bodies dedicated to understanding international affairs, such as the Council on Foreign Relations in New York and the Royal Institute of International Affairs at Chatham House in London. At the same time, the academic study of international relations started to professionalise, with the creation of the first professorship of international politics, named for Woodrow Wilson, at Aberystwyth, Wales, in 1919.

Olympic Games

The late 19th century idealist advocacy of peace which led to the creation of the Nobel Peace Prize, the Rhodes Scholarships, the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, and ultimately the League of Nations, also saw the re-emergence of the ancient Olympic ideal. Led by Pierre de Coubertin, this culminated in the holding in 1896 of the first of the modern Olympic Games.

Nobel Peace Prize

Since 1901, the Nobel Peace Prize has been the world's most prestigious honor given to individuals or organizations who have made significant contributions to peace. The prize is awarded by the Norwegian Nobel Committee, a group of five individuals chosen by the Norwegian parliament. Nominees for the prize come from around the world, and are often those who have worked to end conflict, protect human rights, or promote humanitarian efforts. It is awarded annually to internationally notable persons following the prize's creation in the will of Alfred Nobel. According to Nobel's will, the Peace Prize shall be awarded to the person who "...shall have done the most or the best work for fraternity between nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies, and for the holding and promotion of peace congresses."

Rhodes, Fulbright and Schwarzman scholarships

In creating the Rhodes Scholarships for outstanding students from the United States, Germany and much of the British Empire, Cecil Rhodes wrote in 1901 that 'the object is that an understanding between the three great powers will render war impossible and educational relations make the strongest tie'. This peace purpose of the Rhodes Scholarships was very prominent in the first half of the 20th century, and became prominent again in recent years under Warden of the Rhodes House Donald Markwell, a historian of thought about the causes of war and peace. This vision greatly influenced Senator J. William Fulbright in the goal of the Fulbright fellowships to promote international understanding and peace, and has guided many other international fellowship programs, including the Schwarzman Scholars to China created by Stephen A. Schwarzman in 2013.

Gandhi Peace Prize

The International Gandhi Peace Prize, named after Mahatma Gandhi, is awarded annually by the Government of India. It was launched as a tribute to the ideals espoused by Gandhi in 1995 on the occasion of the 125th anniversary of his birth. This is an annual award given to individuals and institutions for their contributions towards social, economic and political transformation through non-violence and other Gandhian methods. The award carries Rs. 10 million in cash, convertible in any currency in the world, a plaque and a citation. It is open to all persons regardless of nationality, race, creed or sex.

Student Peace Prize

The Student Peace Prize is awarded biennially to a student or a student organization that has made a significant contribution to promoting peace and human rights.

Ahmadiyya Muslim Peace Prize

The Ahmadiyya Muslim Peace Prize, is awarded annually "in recognition of an individual's or an organisation's contribution for the advancement of the cause of peace". The prize was first launched in 2009 by the Ahmadiyya Muslim Peace Prize Committee under the directive of the caliph of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, Mirza Masroor Ahmad.

Culture of Peace News Network

The Culture of Peace News Network, otherwise known simply as CPNN, is a UN authorized interactive online news network, committed to supporting the global movement for a culture of peace.

Sydney Peace Prize

Every year in the first week of November, the Sydney Peace Foundation presents the Sydney Peace Prize. The Sydney Peace Prize is awarded to an organization or an individual whose life and work has demonstrated significant contributions to:

The achievement of peace with justice locally, nationally or internationally

The promotion and attainment of human rights

The philosophy, language and practice of non-violence

Museums

A peace museum is a museum that documents historical peace initiatives. Many provide advocacy programs for nonviolent conflict resolution. This may include conflicts at the personal, regional or international level.

Smaller institutions include the Randolph Bourne Institute, the McGill Middle East Program of Civil Society and Peace Building and the International Festival of Peace Poetry.

Religious beliefs

Religious beliefs often seek to identify and address the basic problems of human life, including conflicts between, among, and within persons and societies. In ancient Greek-speaking areas, the virtue of peace was personified as the goddess Eirene, and in Latin-speaking areas as the goddess Pax. Her image was typically represented by ancient sculptors as a full-grown woman, usually with a horn of plenty and scepter and sometimes with a torch or olive leaves.

Christianity

Christians, who believe Jesus of Nazareth to be the Jewish Messiah called Christ (meaning Anointed One), interpret as a messianic prophecy of Jesus in which he is called the " Prince of Peace". In the Gospel of Luke, Zechariah celebrates his son John: "And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High; for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways, to give knowledge of salvation to his people by the forgiveness of their sins. By the tender mercy of our God, the dawn from on high will break upon us, to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace."

As a testimony of peace, Peace Churches in the Anabaptist Christian tradition (such as the Mennonites and Quakers), as well Holiness Methodist Pacifists (such as the Immanuel Missionary Church), practice nonresistance and do not participate in warfare.

In the Catholic Church, numerous pontifical documents on the Holy Rosary document a continuity of views of the Popes to have confidence in the Holy Rosary as a means to foster peace. In the Encyclical '' Mense maio'', 1965, in which he urged the practice of the Holy Rosary, and as reaffirmed in the encyclical ''Christi Matri'', 1966, to implore peace, Pope Paul VI stated in the apostolic
Recurrens mensis
', October 1969, that the Rosary is a prayer that favors the great gift of peace.

Hinduism

Hindu texts contain the following passages:

Buddhism

Buddhists believe that peace is attained by ending pain and suffering. They regard pain and suffering is stemming from cravings (in the extreme, greed), aversions (fears), and delusions and suffering is attachments to outcomes. To eliminate such pain and suffering and achieve personal peace, followers in the path of the Buddha adhere to a set of teachings called the Four Noble Truths — a central tenet in Buddhist philosophy.

Islam

Islam derived from the root word which literally means peace. Quran states "those who believe and whose hearts find comfort in the remembrance of Allah. Surely in the remembrance of Allah do hearts find comfort." and stated "O believers! When you are told to make room in gatherings, then do so. Allah will make room for you ˹in His grace˺. And if you are told to rise, then do so. Allah will elevate those of you who are faithful, and ˹raise˺ those gifted with knowledge in rank. And Allah is All-Aware of what you do."

Judaism

The Judaic tradition associates God with peace, as evidenced by various principles and laws in Judaism.

, the biblical and modern Hebrew word for peace, is one of the names for God according to the Judaic law and tradition. For instance, in traditional Jewish law, individuals are prohibited from saying "" when they are in the bathroom as there is a prohibition on uttering any of God's names in the bathroom, out of respect for the divine name.

Jewish liturgy and prayer is replete with prayers asking God to establish peace in the world.
The Shmoneh Esreh, a key prayer in Judaism that is recited three times each day, concludes with a blessing for peace. The last blessing of the Shmoneh Esreh, also known as the Amida ("standing" as the prayer is said while standing), is focused on peace, beginning and ending with supplications for peace and blessings.

Peace is central to Judaism's core principle of Moshaich ("messiah") which connotes a time of universal peace and abundance, a time where weapons will be turned into plowshares and lions will sleep with lambs. As it is written in the Book of Isaiah:

This last metaphor from Tanakh