Peace Research: A Latin American Perspective* by Howard Richards and Maria Alacantra

When ref lect ing on research for peace i n Latin America, one ought to consider, i n the f i r s t place, that t h i s discipl ine as it has been generally conceived i n Europe and the United States u n t i l the decade of the seventies does not have s imilar s ign i f i - cant academic antecedents i n the region.

The reasons for the absence i n Latin America of research for peace, inspired by the aberration of war, are his tor ical . imposed on European and North American academics was not imposed with the same force on the i r Latin American colleagues. destruction of the works created by man and the degradation of human beings as a species to the point of pursuing the i r own self-destruction, were presented to Latin Americans intel lectual ly , as problems that a f fec t many members of mankind i n general, but i n the f ina l analysis world war was a stranger t o the i r own concrete social r e a l i t i e s .

The moral burden tha t the world wars and the i r resu l t s

The effects of warlike phenomena, i n terms of the

Concrete social r e a l i t y was able, on the other hand, to make a para l le l motivation for the Latin American academic, who f e l t moved by the same ideals of recuperation of human dignity and so l idar i ty that the i r European and North American colleagues had already honored by giving a place of importance to investigation for peace. Latin American social environment, fundamentally referred to social jus t ice and doing away with a wide se t of injust ices , range from the systems of p o l i t i c a l domination and economic exploitation on the level of the concrete social formations of the region t o the social forms and mechanisms of the integration of the economies of the region i n the global economic system, including the exploitative character of the l a t t e r and t h e i r role as conditions determining the internal structures of Latin American economies and Latin American society as a whole.

Such ideals i n the

It is because of the i r central concerns that researchers i n the northern hemispbere de- fined as they did the contents of investigation for peace. peace research as understood i n the northern hemisphere was not found among the developed research f ie lds i n Latin America during the f i f t i e s and s ix t ies . The concept of investi- gation for peace maintained i t s e l f pract ical ly unregionaliaed during t h i s period and, therefore, Latin Americans neither constructed ins t i tu tes o r organizations, nor took peace as the object of t h e i r work. i n th i s time period that had a direct re la t ion with the problems that occupied the in- vestigators for peace i n Europe and North America was participation i n World Peace Council. This involved promoting campaigns against war, denouncing the armaments race, and similar things. Such ac t iv i t ies could not be considered research.

Except for limited exceptions,

The only ac t iv i ty that developed i n the subcontinent

This does not mean that peace research has not existed in Latin America during the f i f t i e s and s ix t ies nor can it be affirmed that i t doesn't ex is t now. principles and ideals defined two different types of specif ic objectives -- each deter- mined by the social environment of the investigators of Europe and North America on the one hand and those of Latin America on the other. Both types of a c t i v i t i e s , each an e f for t to or ient action by means of investigation, are similarly grounded and define a se t of topics that can be considered to form a unity. What has happened, i n consequence, i s that the investigation for peace i n Latin America has a conceptual def ini t ion different from that which predominated for more than two decades in the northern hemisphere.

The same inspiring

36Thie paper i s an abridged translation of La Investigacion para la Paz en America Latina, published by the Consejo Latinoamericano de investigacion para l a Paa i n Mexico C i t y i n 1979; translation and abridgement are by Maria Alacantra and Howard Richards.

Copyright 1981 PEACE AND CHANGE

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The l a s t point implies a process extending t h e perspec t ive of peace research t o include t h e search f o r a capac i ty t o expla in soc ia l phenomena beyond the narrow l imits imposed by dedication exc lus ive ly t o t h e phenomenon o f war between na t ions . In terms of t h i s process, t he p rac t i ce of research i n Latin America, although no t i d e n t i c a l t o the concept of inves t iga t ion f o r peace t h a t preva i led i n the northern i n t e l l e c t u a l t r a d i t i o n , has tended t o co inc ide with t h e i n t e l l e c t u a l evolution of peace research in t h e world as a whole. It is probable, therefore , t h a t t he confluence of t he evolution of t h e concept of t he inves t iga t ion f o r peace i n the northern hemisphere and the p u r i f i c a t i o n of t h e imp l i c i t conception o f t he inves t iga t ion f o r peace i n Lat in America, w i l l c r e a t e a new force t h a t permits a much r i che r and more c rea t ive development o f i nves t iga t ion f o r peace i n t h e whole world.

That we a r e speaking of a process a l ready i n progress has been recognized f o r example i n the r epor t of t he UNESCO conference held i n 1978 at Paris, which s t a t e s :

To the extent t h a t research f o r peace i n t h e "north" began t o move toward concern with t h e top ic of economic development a t t h e beginning of t h e sevent ies , t h e r e were e f f o r t s made t o a s soc ia t e with these inves t iga t ions scholars of t he a reas d i r e c t l y a f f ec t ed by underdevelopment. The receptiveness of academics of t h e Third World t o inves t iga t ion f o r peace as a spec i f i c f i e l d of i nves t i - ga t ion previously had been l imi ted by t h e i r c l e a r l y j u s t i f i e d i n t e r e s t - i n working on t h e i r l oca l p r i o r i t i e s i n a s p i r i t o f self suf f ic iency , by t h e moral connotations o f t h e expression "peace research" and by t h e i r perception of i t a s a sub jec t con- cerning pr imar i ly East-West r e l a t ions . There developed then what can be charac te r ized a s a symbiotic r e l a t ionsh ip charac te r ized by t h e enlargement o f t h e perspec t ive o f t h e count r ies o f t he "north" t o the extent t h a t they learned from the people o f t h e Third World about t h e r e a l i t i e s of underdevelopment, a t t h e same time t h a t La t in American researchers found some o f t he methodological cont r ibu t ions and empirical methods o f peace research more re levant t o t h e i r needs than the t r a d i t i o n a l inves t iga t ions es tab l i shed d i s c i p l i n e s had produced.

But what has been and i s t h e s p e c i f i c content of inves t iga t ion f o r peace i n t h e Lat in American context? of t he con t r a s t with t h e more t r a d i t i o n a l conception of t he d i s c i p l i n e i n Europe and the United S ta t e s . We a r e ab le t o say t h a t , although Lat in Americans sha re the o r i g i n a l i n sp i r a t ion i n the p r inc ip l e s of human d ign i ty and the s o l i d a r i t y of men, t h e concept of peace (and therefore the concept of i nves t iga t ing i ts c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s and the conditions t h a t permit s o c i e t i e s t o reach and t o maintain i t ) is perceived i n t h e Lat in American i n t e l l e c t u a l t r a d i t i o n t o l i e not i n c o n f l i c t between na t ions but i n those phenomena t h a t convert man i n t o the enemy of man, t h a t is , i n s o c i a l conf l i c t . In t h i s context, i nves t i - gation f o r peace i n Latin America has been more preoccupied with the problem of t h e domi- na t ion of some men over o the r s than with the domination of some count r ies over o the r s ; i t has been concerned with oppression, explo i ta t ion , and repression among human beings more than with oppression, explo i ta t ion , and repress ion among na t ions .

A f i r s t approximation t o a more rigorous d e f i n i t i o n takes advantage

Nevertheless, t h i s de f in i t i on i s s t i l l too broad. Thus f o r example, it i s poss ib l e t o ask oneself i f a l l s o c i a l e t h i c a l o r r e l ig ious c o n f l i c t between i s o l a t e d ind iv idua ls o r even t h e i n t e r n a l c o n f l i c t s of man ought t o be considered ob jec t s of peace research. And, on t h e o ther hand, t h e question can be r a i sed whether i f a l l s o c i a l ana lys i s , and not only t h a t which can be defined as peace research, can be considered ana lys i s o f soc ia l c o n f l i c t .

The necess i ty of focusing i n a more prec ise manner on an ob jec t of research f o r peace gives r ise t o t h e pmposa l t o study the soc ia l s t ruc tu res t h a t de f ine and maintain

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inequalities. Latin American context can be conceived as the ac t iv i ty that defines as i t s objects of analysis social structures of a l l orders -- economic, po l i t i ca l , and cul tural , national as well as international -- that es tabl ish the conditions of social inequality by per- mitting the maintenance of privileges and the domination of some men over others. studies the concrete mechanisms of social domination and the ways to overcome it through changing the structures of society i t s e l f .

Star t ing from such a focus, we can say tha t research f o r peace in the

It

Said in another manner, peace research in Latin America has studied the social determinants of inequality, and the mechanisms that would permit humankind to reach and maintain t rue equality -- the mechanisms tha t would permit the achievement of authentic democracy. And t h i s i s without doubt an essent ia l point, f o r denrocracy and its projection in the jur idical regulation of re la t ions between s t a t e s a re the r e a l guarantees of the maintenance of peace both within nations and in international society as a whole. It i s necessary, nevertheless, that we detain ourselves f o r a moment in the discussion of democracy to specify i t s content, since w e cannot f in i sh defining the con- cept of peace research i n the Latin American context unless we define also the concept of democracy that i s linked to it.

Democracy, as a form of organization of s ta tes that postulates equality among men, Effective democracy defines i ts center ought to express i t s e l f in a l l human relations.

of interest , i t s origin, and i t s ultimate purpose i n the human being as an individual and as a species, i n human l iber ty , dignity, and f u l l realization. Consequently democracy is violated by a l l forms of social relationships that are established on the basis of inequality, a l l relationships of the kind that define a s i tuat ion of pr ivi lege and lead inevitably to antagonistic divisions between the dominant and the subordinated. s i b i l i t y of democracy is implicit in man as a social being, not in exclusive individual- i s m ; the primary condition for the l iberat ion and f u l l real izat ion of man as an indivi- dual res t s , i n consequence, on f ree and f u l l social development.

The pos-

It follows that on the level of economic relations, democracy ought t o manifest i t s e l f in a social s t ructure that excludes a l l possibi l i ty of exploitation of man by man -- on the national level as well as on the international level -- and guarantees h is material subsistence i n an equitable manner. In the sphere of culture democracy implies the elimination of the use of culture as an instrument of manipulation and social control, and the development of the capacities of each person. available to a l l the products of creative work, making the benefits o f a r t , science, and technology the common inheritance of a l l the human race. Finally, concerning social problems s t r i c t l y so-called, democracy means the f u l l real izat ion of a l l human r ights and the def ini te elimination of s t ructural violence which, as Galtung has noticed, only d i f - fe rs from the violence of a war in that it k i l l s slowly.

When through social change a l l the mechanisms of domination have been def ini t ively surpassed and consequently an authentic s i tuat ion of democracy has been reached, then there w i l l have developed also the necessary conditions for the establishment of a t rue peace between men and nations; t h i s peace w i l l have a significance much more broad and profound than the momentary absence of the bellicose confl ic t ; it must be founded on a real harmony and sol idar i ty among human beings. That is why research for peace i n the Latin American intel lectual t radi t ion has been, i s , and ought t o continue to be research for democracy.

Tha social s t ructure ought to make

The Present State of Research for Peace in Latin America

Research for Peace i n the General Context of the Social Sciences in Latin America

In the preceding pages we have defined the concept of investigation f o r peace a s it applies t o the Latin American intel lectual tradition. A more detailed description of the

present s t a t e of inves t iga t ion f o r peace i n the subcontinent ought t o be based on the advances a l ready made i n research, never the less , from t h e double viewpoint o f what fo r purposes of exposit ion we s h a l l c a l l "European and Lat in American Tradi t ions" -- under- standing t h a t t he European view i n question charac te r ized t h e f i r s t years of t h e d i s c i - p l ine , no t t he new conception being developed i n Europe.

A first indica tor t o consider before attempting a de t a i l ed ana lys i s of t he more s ig- n i f i can t inves t iga t ions ca r r i ed out i n the present decade, including those t h a t are now i n progress, i s the work of t h e Consejo Latino American0 de Ciencias Socia les (CLACSO). CLACSO is the l a r g e s t p rofess iona l assoc ia t ion i n t h e f i e l d of La t in American s o c i a l sciences, bringing together i n s t i t u t i o n s and inves t iga to r s of a l l t h e s o c i a l sc ience d i sc ip l ines t h a t a r e prac t iced i n the region. It cons t i t u t e s a barometer f o r measuring the d i f f e ren t new tendencies t h a t appear and grow i n t h e Latin American s c i e n t i f i c com- munity. The by-laws of CLACSO declare:

. . . the purpose of co l labora t ive a c t i v i t i e s and j o i n t p ro j ec t s on themes of p r i o r i t y i n t e r e s t for the researchers and the cen te r s of inves t iga t ion t o which they belong.

In CLACSO severa l working commissions have been formed: "Sciences, Technology, and Development ,'I "Urban and Regional Development, "Education and Development," "Studies of Dependency, "Rural S tudies , "Economic History, " In tegra t ion and National Development. The f i r s t commission, "Science, Technology, and Development," def ines i t s ob jec t ive i n terms of study "of problems generated i n Latin America by an i n s u f f i c i e n t s c i e n t i f i c and technological development, and t h e cont r ibu t ions of t h e s o c i a l sciences t o t h e formula- t i on of a coherent po l icy concerning those problems." i t s work included i n inves t iga t ion for peace, ne i the r i n i t s "European and North American t r ad i t i on" nor i n the "Latin American t r ad i t i on . " The same can be sa id of t h e commission on "Urban and Regional Development," on "Economic History," on "Population and Development," and the "Special Regional Soc ia l Science Program" 'I. . . aiming t o achieve an improvement of t h e academic conditions f o r education and research."

The commission can not consider

In t h i s manner only four of t he n ine commissions can be considered l inked t o inves t i -

Thus the commission on "Education and Development" def ines i t s ob jec t ive a s gation f o r peace, but none of them i n t h e "European and North American Tradi t ion" of t h e concept. I!. . . t o provide the soc io logica l and psychological bases indispensable f o r the inves t i - gation of t he pedagogical problems t h a t a r e posed by the education of the popular urban sec to r s , " thus proposing f o r i t s e l f ob jec t s of study with c h a r a c t e r i s t i c elements of what Professor Galtung c a l l s " s t ruc tu ra l violence," i .e. t h e mechanisms fo r t h e maintenance of t he submission of t h e majority t o t h e dominant minority, including t h e s t r u c t u r a l ob- s t a c l e s t h a t limit The working commission on "Stu- d ies of Dependency" was c rea ted (I. . . with t h e ob jec t of promoting and car ry ing o u t ana ly t i c and empirical s tud ie s t o determine the conditions of economic and soc io-cul tura l dependence, studyLng Lat in American p o l i t i c s i n r e l a t i o n t o ex t ra - reg iona l cen ters of making dec is ions . This ob jec t ive , it should be noted, mentions t h e mechanisms of domi- na t ion on an in t e rna t iona l s ca l e i n connection with t h e i r e f f e c t s on t h e i n t e r n a l s t ruc tu res of Latin American soc ia l formations. undertakes !I. . . t he ana lys i s of t h e s ign i f icance o f t he a g r i c u l t u r a l s ec to r and t h e peasantry i n t h e processes of na t iona l transformation . . . .I1 It i s concerned with the ro l e of a pa r t i cu la r economic and s o c i a l s ec to r i n t h e transformation o f t h e economic and p o l i t i c a l s t ruc tu res of domination. and Development" proposes If. . . t o formulate na t iona l models of development wi th in the context given by a framework of regional i n t eg ra t ion . . . .I1 I n o the r words, t h i s last-mentioned commission formulates pos i t i ve ly and i n a cons t ruc t ive sense t h e s o c i a l c r i t i q u e impl i c i t i n t h e themes of t he former commissions.

t he major i ty ' s access t o education.

The commission on Viural S tudies"

F ina l ly , t h e commission on "National In t eg ra t ion

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The Future Prospects of Investigation fo r Peace in Latin America

The previous discussion points out that the investigation for peace characterizes an important part of social science in Latin America. Nevertheless, for reasons that have been noted formerly, the idea itself of research for peace, even though objectively the discipline is practiced by a considerable number of academics, still does not have a significant following. for peace do not identify themselves with that concept nor do they consider it a general definition of their object of study.

In other words, a good part of the academics who do investigation

This situation, whose basic explanation is the lack of knowledge on the part of Latin American researchers of the conceptual development of peace research in the northern hemisphere, including lack of knowledge of many of its important practical expressions, proves to be negative in two respects. In the first place, investigation for peace in general and especially the possibilities for action that are implicit in its principles are limited on a worldwide scale by the absence of participation of Latin American re- searchers in the international community of peace research. ment, since it implies a restriction of their possibilities for exploiting the theoreti- cal production of one of the most important intellectual currents of the contemporary world.

This restricte their own bvelop-

One of the first tasks encountered in the development of research for peace in the subcontinent, therefore, consists precisely in the achievement of significant identifi- cation of Latin American investigators with the concept, its significance, and the con- crete advances in knowledge of social reality that peace research has achieved. One of the ways this objective can be reached is through the divulgence of the significance of investigation for peace among the academics of the region, and fundamentally, through the stimulation of links between Latin American investigators and the international com- munity of peace researchers.

El Consejo LatinAmericano de Investigacion para la Paz (CLAIP) has assumed the task of representing the Latin American academic community in the international peace research community formed by the International Peace Research Association, of which CLAIP has formed a part since December, 1977.

Recently there have been signs of progress in the tasks indicated above, which, al- though small,a-e significant, Institutions of Research on Peace and Conflict of UNESCO, which in its edition of 1972 listed only seven Latin American institutions. commissioned CLAIP to do the Latin American part of the survey for the new version of the Directory, with the result that 19 institutions in eight countries plus several of a regional character agreed to be listed. Their response reveals a growing process of identification among the academic investigators of the subcontinent with research for peace, which while not of tremendous size is significant and above all a promise of much more important advances in the future.

One such sign concerns the International Directory of

During the present year (1979) UNESCO

NOTES

1. "Preliminary Considerations for the Discussion on Possible Arrangements for Coordi-

(Paris: UNESCO, SS-78/Conf. 628/col. 1, 19781, p. 5. nation Between Researchers and Institutions on a Regional Basis for the Carrying out of Peace Research Projects,I1

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LATIN AMERICAN PEACE RESEARCH ORGANIZATIONS*

CONSEJO LATINOAMERICANO DE INVESTIGACION PARA LA PA2 Apartado Postal 20-105 Mexico D.F., MEXICO

FACULTAD LATINOAMERICANA DE CIENCIAS SOCIALES Secretary General: Apartado 5429 Sen Jose, COSTA RICA

FEDERACION DE UNIVERSIDADES DE AMERICA CENTRAL Y PANAMA 12 Calle 2-04, Zona 9, Ediflcio Plaza del Sol, 50 Nivel Oficina 408 GUATEMALA

INSTITUTO LATINOAMERICANO DE ESTUDIOS TRANSNACIONALES Apartado Postal 85-025 Mexico 20, D.F. MEXICO

CENTRO DE INVESTIGACIONES EN CIENCIAS SOCIALES Defensa 665-5C 1065 Buenos Aires, ARGENTINA

INSTITUTO TORCUATO DI TELLA 11 de Septiembre 2139 1428 Buenos Aires, ARGENTINA

CENTRO BRASILEIRO DE ANALISE E PLANEJAMENTO Rua Morgado de Mateus, 615 04015 Sao Paulo SP BRAZIL

DEPARTAMENTO DE CIENCIA POLITICA - FACULDADE DE FILOSOFIA E CIENCIAS HUMANAS DE UNIVERSIDAJIE FEDERAL DE MINAS GERAIS Rua Carangola, 288 andar, 30.000 Belo Horlzonte Minas, BRAZIL

ASOCIACION CHILENA DE INVESTIGACIONES PARA LA PA2 Casilla 80 Correo Miramontea Santiago, CHILE

INSTITUTO DE ESTUDIOS INTERNACIONALES University of Chile Avda. Condell 249, Santiago Casllla 14187, Sucursal 21 CHILE

CORPORACION INTEGRAL PARA EL DESARROLM CULTURAL Y SOCIAL Carrera 21 No. 56-33, Apartado Aereo 20439 Bogota, COLOMBIA

INSTITUTO DE INVESTIGACIONES DE LA UNIVERSIDAD LA GRAN COLOMBIA Cra. 6a No. 13-40, Oficina 207 Bogota, D.E., COLOMBIA

*From World Directory of Peace Research Institutions, 4th ed. revised, 1981, UNESCO.

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CASA DE CHILE EN MEXICO Av. Universidad No. 1134, Colonia del Valle Mexico 12, D.F., MEXICO

CENTRO DE ESTUDIOS ECONOMICOS Y SOCIALES DEL TERCER MUNDO Corl. Porfirlo Diaa No. 50, San Jeronimo Lidice Mexico 20, D.F., MEXICO

CENTRO DE ESTUDIOS INTERNACIONALES Colegio de Mexico, Guanajuato 125 Mexico 7, D.F., MEXICO

CENTRO DE INVESTIGACIONES SUPERIORES DEL INSTITUTO NACIONAL DE ANTROPOLOGIA Gral. Victoria No. 75 Tlalpan 22, D.F., MEXICO

DIVISION DE ESTUDIOS SUPERIORES, FACULTAD DE ECONOMIA, DE MEXICO

UNIVERSIDAD NACTIONAL AUTONOMA

Ciudad Universitaria Mexico 20, D. F., MEXICO

INSTITUTO DE INVESTIGACIONES ECONOMICAS Universidad Nactional Autonoma de Mexico Villa Obregon, Apartado Postal 20-721 Mexico 20, D.F., MEXICO

INSTITUTO DE INVESTIGACIONES SOCIALES Universidad Nactional Autonoma de Mexico Torre de Humanidades, 2-70 Piso, Ciudad Universitaria Coyoacan 20, D.F., MEXICO

CENTRO DE ESTUDIOS LATINOAMERICANOS "JUST0 AROSEMENA" Calle Uruguay, Esquina con Calle 49 Bella Vista, Panama City, PANAKA

DEPARTAMENTO DE CIENCIAS HUMANAS, UNIVERSIDAD NACIONAL AGRARIA, LA MOLINA Apartado 456 Lima, PERU

CENTRO DE ESTUDIOS DEL DESARROLLO CENDES Caracas, VENEZUELA