Characteristics of a Culture of Peace

Peaceful nations demonstrate certain characteristics or attributes. Nations at the top of the Global Peace Index manage to balance the interests of the private and public sectors in ways that result in most people feeling that they have a "stake" in the State and social system.

These components are best secured by the State being committed to creating a positive environment for business and by business supporting the State. Both need to be committed to promoting the public good and reasonable degrees of equity and or equality of opportunity for all peoples in the system.

Peaceful nations embrace the concept of inclusiveness. If we extend this concept to humanity as a whole, it presents a starting point for the beginnings of global peacefulness.

Most peaceful societies tend to have a range of formal and informal mechanisms for dealing with grievances, conflicts of interest, and questions of marginalisation and exclusion. In particular, they have deliberate and intentional mechanisms for balancing majority prerogatives and minority rights. They also tend to have mechanisms for containing conflict which is inevitable and essential to the effective functioning of all systems. Many would argue that creative friction constructively channelled is the fuel of progress.

Peaceful societies have strong sanctions against direct violence. This is reflected in an independent and an effective police, legal and judicial system which is capable of controlling and preventing direct violence. It is also reflected in high levels of sensitivity against violence as an acceptable way of settling disputes. What is interesting is that some of the nations ranking in the top twenty have not always been peaceful. They have changed over the years. This means that violent behaviour is not permanent: it can be reversed. Decision-makers can realise that violence is not the most effective instrument for advancing national interests.

The top twenty nations of the Global Peace Index also tend to have quite modest military systems that are largely non-offensive, even if some of them such as Japan are large in per capita terms. Most also tend to pursue what can be called cooperative or common security strategies, advancing national interests and pursuing national security in collaboration with others. They also tend to play active and responsible roles in regional and multilateral institutions. They view the United Nations as the cornerstone of a critical set of global institutions for generating what can be called the international rule of law and the peaceful settlement of disputes.

An awareness of the attributes of peace can provide politicians and decision-makers with a tool to develop peace initiatives, and to create and sustain more peaceful societies. The effectiveness of government actions can then be measured through the Global Peace Index. This information allows governments to better understand what they can do to reduce violence and conflict. And, with this awareness, business could make more confident investment decisions on the basis of actual and predicted stability in a community or nation.