Existential Risks in Peace and Conflict Studies


Book Description

This book explores the topic of peace and the long-term survival of the human species. Drawing on Existential Risk Studies (ERS), the book lays out a theoretical framework for drawing new perspectives and approaches for looking toward the future and addressing existential risks related to the complexity and dynamics of conflict. Looking at five research lines in Peace and Conflict Studies (PCS); (1) Great Powers Conflict, (2) Peace, Pandemic, and Conflict, (3) Climate, Peace, and Conflict, (4) Emerging Technologies, Peace, and Conflict and (5) Totalitarianism, the chapters discuss how these lines are defined and discussed, how they are understood in ERS, and what approaches would be beneficial to adapt and integrate into PCS. By drawing on ERS and grounding the discussion in lines of research that will be important to the field of PCS, this book suggests that long-term perspectives are needed in the field, especially in regard to existential risk and their implications of conflict.




Peace and Conflict Studies


Book Description

Peace and Conflict Studies introduces learners to this critical topic via a comprehensive exploration and analysis of 21st-century world events. The text examines current conflicts, explores the important aspects of positive peace, individual violence, nationalism, and terrorism.







Environmental Nanotoxicology


Book Description

Environmental Nanotoxicology: Combatting the Minute Contaminants is a comprehensive guide to the rapidly evolving field of nanotoxicology and its implications for environmental health and safety. This book results from the collaborative efforts of leading experts and researchers from diverse disciplines, aiming to thoroughly understand the interactions between nanomaterials and the environment and their potential impacts on the delicate balance of our ecosystems. Nanotechnology has witnessed remarkable innovations leading to the development of nanomaterials with novel properties and applications across various industries. Alongside these innovations, concerns have arisen about the potential risks that nanomaterials may pose to the environment and living organisms. This book addresses these concerns by comprehensively exploring the field's key concepts, principles, and methodologies. It includes case studies and offers insights into developing appropriate regulatory frameworks and guidelines for the responsible use and disposal of nanomaterials. The book is a valuable resource for researchers and professionals working in nanotoxicology on the complex challenges posed by the intersection of nanomaterials and the environment. It is also an essential reference for students studying environmental science, toxicology, and nanotechnology. Addresses risk assessment and management in nanotoxicology; Explores the life cycle assessment of nanoparticles; Sheds light on emerging technologies and future directions in environmental nanotoxicology. .




The Precipice


Book Description

This urgent and eye-opening book makes the case that protecting humanity's future is the central challenge of our time. If all goes well, human history is just beginning. Our species could survive for billions of years - enough time to end disease, poverty, and injustice, and to flourish in ways unimaginable today. But this vast future is at risk. With the advent of nuclear weapons, humanity entered a new age, where we face existential catastrophes - those from which we could never come back. Since then, these dangers have only multiplied, from climate change to engineered pathogens and artificial intelligence. If we do not act fast to reach a place of safety, it will soon be too late. Drawing on over a decade of research, The Precipice explores the cutting-edge science behind the risks we face. It puts them in the context of the greater story of humanity: showing how ending these risks is among the most pressing moral issues of our time. And it points the way forward, to the actions and strategies that can safeguard humanity. An Oxford philosopher committed to putting ideas into action, Toby Ord has advised the US National Intelligence Council, the UK Prime Minister's Office, and the World Bank on the biggest questions facing humanity. In The Precipice, he offers a startling reassessment of human history, the future we are failing to protect, and the steps we must take to ensure that our generation is not the last. "A book that seems made for the present moment." —New Yorker




Emotions in Conflict


Book Description

Social and political psychologists have attempted to reveal the reasons why individuals and societies that acknowledge that peace would improve their personal and collective well-being, and are aware of the required actions needed to promote it, are simply incapable of making this step forward. Some social psychologists have advocated the idea that certain societal beliefs and collective memories about the nature of the opponent, the in-group, the history, and the current state of the conflict distort the perceptions of society members and prevent them from identifying opportunities for peace. But these cognitive barriers capture only part of the picture. Could identifying the role of discrete emotions in conflicts and conflict resolution potentially provide a wide platform for developing pinpoint conflict resolution interventions? Using a vast array of primary sources, critical literature analysis, and firsthand personal experiences in various conflict zones (Middle East, Cyprus, Bosnia, and Northern Ireland), Eran Halperin introduces a new perspective on psychological barriers to peace. Halperin focuses on various emotional mechanisms that hamper peace processes, even when parties face real opportunities for conflict resolution. More specifically, he explores how hatred, anger, fear, angst, hope, despair, empathy, guilt, and shame, combined with various emotion regulation strategies, provide emotions-based explanations for people's attitudinal and behavioral reactions to peace-related events during the ongoing process of conflict resolution. Written in a clear and accessible style, Emotions in Conflict offers a thought-provoking and pioneering insight into the role discrete intergroup emotions play in impeding, as well as facilitating, peace processes in intractable conflicts. This book is essential reading for those who study intractable conflicts and their resolutions, and those who are interested in the ‘real-world’ implication of recent theories and findings on emotion and emotion regulation.




War is Obsolete


Book Description

In an age of frequent wars, conflicts, and existential risks that transcend borders, the old paradigm of war is a moral abomination and in effect a suicide pact for humanity. The forces of violence, tribalism, and domination are deeply entrenched. Finding peace demands a revolution of the human spirit - one that begins with each of us. War is Obsolete draws on insights from psychology, history, and inspiring peacemakers. It demonstrates the shattering costs of armed conflict, that require a roadmap to a more just and sustainable future. At its core, this book is about the choices before us as a civilization: will we remain captive to cycles of trauma, dehumanization, and escalating violence? Or bring Peace, Happiness and Prosperity to our Homelands? With chapters on transforming conflict through nonviolence, the power of diplomacy, and envisioning a peace economy, War is Obsolete offers a comprehensive roadmap. But it is more than techniques; it nurtures the qualities of empathy, compassion, and moral imagination that make peace possible. From the interpersonal to the international, it shows how we can all be agents rejecting domination and ushering in a new paradigm of partnership. Blending narrative storytelling, incisive analysis, and profound spiritual vision, War is Obsolete issues an urgent summons to our better angels. In these pages, the path of peace emerges not as a utopian dream but a practical necessity - the only way to meet our generational calling to create a just, sustainable, and truly human future. The choice is ours. To ensure broad accessibility, this book is priced affordably. It is my sincere hope that by making this resource widely available, it can have a meaningful, positive impact. If my book "War is Obsolete: How to bring Peace, Happiness, Prosperity to your Homeland, instead of war and death", can save even one life or bring a measure of happiness to a single individual, I will feel a deep sense of fulfillment and happiness myself. I will be grateful to be able to make a difference through this work.




Concise Encyclopedia of Applied Ethics in the Social Sciences


Book Description

Covering a vast array of disciplines, this prescient Encyclopedia analyzes the many roles that applied ethics plays in the social sciences. Entries scrutinize the various manifestations of ethics across a range of disciplines and subdisciplines such as animal studies, criminology, and global health.




Terrorism: Bridging the Gap with Peace and Conflict Studies


Book Description

This book opens up the discussion of the interrelation between terrorism studies, and peace and conflict studies. The aim is to examine the instances and circumstances under which both fields can benefit from each other. Even though it is often accepted that terrorism is a form of political violence, it is also quite frequent that research on the topic is dismissed when it is approached with conflict analysis frames. More importantly, policy approaches continue to inhibit, obstruct and reject frameworks that are concerned with the transformation and resolution of terrorist conflicts – partly because they see the state as the ultimate referent object to be secured. At the same time, peace and conflict studies seem to be excessively focused on problem-solving approaches, which overemphasise the role of parity during negotiations and misdiagnose the distribution of power both within conflicts as well as within conflict management, resolution and/or transformation approaches. This book was published as a special issue of Critical Studies on Terrorism.




The Elgar Companion to Digital Transformation, Artificial Intelligence and Innovation in the Economy, Society and Democracy


Book Description

This book examines when, where, how, and why artificial intelligence and digital transformation can boost innovation and transform the economy, society and democracy. It is developed based on the Cyber-D4 nexus, which is a conceptual framework of Cyber-Defense, Cyber-Development, Cyber-Democracy, and Cyber-Diplomacy. This nexus ties new national and industrial cyber strategies, including business strategies for smart cities and the Internet of Things, with the local, national, regional, and global security and economic objectives.