Johan Galtung 1

Johan Galtung

Johan Galtung

Johan Galtung in May 2011 at the 41st St. Gallen SymposiumBorn 24 October 1930

Oslo, Norway

Fields Sociology, peace and conflict studies, Mathematics

Institutions Columbia University, University of Oslo, Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO)

Alma mater University of Oslo

Known for Principal founder of peace and conflict studies

Notable awards Right Livelihood Award (1987)

Johan Galtung (born 24 October 1930) is a Norwegian sociologist, mathematician and the principal founder of thediscipline of peace and conflict studies.[1] He founded the Peace Research Institute Oslo in 1959, serving as itsdirector until 1970, and established the Journal of Peace Research in 1964. In 1969 he was appointed to the world'sfirst chair in peace and conflict studies, at the University of Oslo. He resigned his professorship in 1977 and hassince held professorships at other universities. He was awarded the Right Livelihood Award in 1987,.Galtung is known for contributions to mathematics and sociology in the 1950s, political science in the 1960s,economics and history in the 1970s, macro history, anthropology and theology in the 1980s. He has developedseveral influential theories, such as the distinction between positive and negative peace, structural violence, theorieson conflict and conflict resolution, the structural theory of imperialism, and the theory of the United States assimultaneously a republic and an empire.[2]

BiographyGaltung was born in Oslo. He earned the cand. real. (PhD)[3] degree in mathematics at the University of Oslo in1956, and a year later completed the mag. art. (PhD)[3] degree in sociology at the same university.[2] Galtungreceived the first of nine honorary doctorates in 1975.Galtung's father and paternal grandfather were both physicians. The Galtung name has its origins in Hordaland,where his paternal grandfather was born. Nevertheless, his mother, Helga Holmboe, was born in central Norway, inTrøndelag, while his father was born in Østfold, in the south. Galtung has been married twice, and has two childrenby his first wife Ingrid Eide, Harald Galtung and Andreas Galtung, and two by his second wife Fumiko Nishimura,Irene Galtung and Fredrik Galtung, the co-founder and chief executive of Tiri.[4]

Upon receiving his mag.art. degree, Galtung moved to Columbia University, in New York City, where he taught forfive semesters as an assistant professor in the Department of Sociology.[5] In 1959, Galtung returned to Oslo, wherehe founded the Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO). He served as the institute's director until 1969, and saw theinstitute develop from a department within the Norwegian Institute of Social Research into an independent researchinstitute with enabling funds from the Norwegian Ministry of Education.[6]

Johan Galtung 2

In 1964, Galtung led PRIO to establish the first academic journal devoted to Peace Studies: the Journal of PeaceResearch.[6] In the same year, he assisted in the founding of the International Peace Research Association.[7]

In 1969 he left PRIO for a position as professor of peace and conflict research at the University of Oslo, a position heheld until 1978.[6] He then served as the director general of the International University Centre in Dubrovnik, alsoserving as the president of the World Future Studies Federation.[8] He has also held visiting positions at otheruniversities, including Santiago, Chile, the United Nations University in Geneva, and at Columbia, Princeton and theUniversity of Hawaii.[9] He has served at so many universities that he has "probably taught more students on morecampuses around the world than any other contemporary sociologist".[8] Galtung is currently teaching courses in theHuman Science Department at Saybrook University.[10]

He is a member of the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters.[11]

Mediation for peaceGaltung experienced World War II in German-occupied Norway, and as a 12 year old saw his father arrested by theNazis. By 1951 he was already a committed peace mediator, and elected to do 18 months of social service in place ofhis obligatory military service. After 12 months, Galtung insisted that the remainder of his social service be spent inactivities relevant to peace, to which the Norwegian authorities responded by sending him to prison, where he servedsix months.[5]

While Galtung's academic research is clearly intended to promote peace, he has shifted toward more concrete andconstructive peace mediation as he has grown older. In 1993, he co-founded TRANSCEND: A Peace DevelopmentEnvironment Network,[12] an organization for conflict transformation by peaceful means. There are four traditionalbut unsatisfactory ways in which conflicts between two parties are handled:1.1. A wins, B loses;2.2. B wins, A loses;3.3. the solution is postponed because neither A nor B feels ready to end the conflict;4.4. a confused compromise is reached, which neither A nor B are happy with.Galtung tries to break with these four unsatisfactory ways of handling a conflict by finding a "fifth way", where bothA and B feel that they win. The method also insists that basic human needs – such as survival, physical well-being,liberty, and identity – be respected.

Major ideasGaltung first conceptualized peacebuilding by calling for systems that would create sustainable peace. Thepeacebuilding structures needed to address the root causes of conflict and support local capacity for peacemanagement and conflict resolution.[13]

Galtung has held several significant positions in international research councils and has been an advisor to severalinternational organisations. Since 2004 he has been a member of the Advisory Council of the Committee for aDemocratic UN.He has also written many empirical and theoretical articles, dealing most frequently with issues of peace and conflictresearch. His work is distinguished by his unique perspective as well as the importance he attributes to innovationand interdisciplinarity.He is one of the authors of an influential account of news values which are the factors which determine whatcoverage is given to what stories in the news. Galtung also originated the concept of Peace Journalism, which isincreasingly influential in communications and media studies.Galtung is strongly associated with the following concepts:

Johan Galtung 3

• Structural violence - widely defined as the systematic ways in which a regime prevents individuals fromachieving their full potential. Institutionalized racism and sexism are examples of this.

• Negative vs. Positive Peace - introduced the concept that peace may be more than just the absence of overt violentconflict (negative peace), and will likely include a range of relationships up to a state where nations (or anygroupings in conflict) might have collaborative and supportive relationships (positive peace).

He has also distinguished himself in public debates concerning, among other things, less-developed countries,defence issues, and the Norwegian EU debate. In 1987 he was given the Right Livelihood Award. He developed theTRANSCEND Method described above. Economist and fellow peace researcher Kenneth Boulding has said ofGaltung that his "output is so large and so varied that it is hard to believe that it comes from a human".[14]

Galtung's theory of the U.S. as a republic/empireFor Johan Galtung, the U.S. is simultaneously a republic and an empire, a distinction he believes is highly relevant.The U.S. is on one hand loved for its republican qualities, and on the other loathed by its enemies abroad for itsperceived military aggressions.Among the former qualities are its work ethic and dynamism, productivity and creativity, the idea of freedom, orliberty, and a pioneering spirit.On the other hand its military and political manipulation are censured for their aggressiveness, arrogance, violence,hypocrisy and self-righteousness, as well as the US public ignorance of other cultures and extreme materialism.[15]

In 1973, Galtung criticised the "structural fascism" of the United States (and other Western countries) that make warto secure materials and markets, stating that: "Such an economic system is called capitalism, and when it's spread inthis way to other countries it's called imperialism", and has praised Fidel Castro for "break[ing] free of imperialism'siron grip". Galtung has stated that the United States is a "killer country" that is guilty of "neo-fascist state terrorism"and compared the United States to Nazi Germany for bombing Kosovo during the 1999 NATO bombing ofYugoslavia.[16][17]

In an article published in 2004 Galtung predicted that the US empire will "decline and fall" by 2020. He expanded onthis hypothesis in his 2009 book titled The Fall of the US Empire - and Then What? Successors, Regionalization orGlobalization? US Fascism or US Blossoming?.[18][19]

According to Galtung, the US empire causes "unbearable suffering and resentment" because the "exploiters/ killers/dominators/ alienators, and those who support the US Empire because of perceived benefits" are engaging in"unequal, non-sustainable, exchange patterns". However, Galtung added that the decline of the US empire does notimply a fall and decline of the US republic and that the "relief from the burden of Empire control andmaintenance...could lead to a blossoming of the US Republic." In the article, Galtung lists fourteen 'contradictions'that, he believes, in the next fifteen years, in 2020, will cause the 'decline and fall' of the American empire.[19]

Commenting further on these views on the radio and television program Democracy Now, he stated that he loved theAmerican republic and hated the American empire. He added that many Americans had thanked him for thisstatement (on his lecture tours) because of the great difficulty they were having in trying to resolve the conflictbetween their love for their country and their displeasure with its foreign policy.[20]

PredictionsSince the fall of the Soviet Union, Galtung has made several predictions of when the USA will no longer be a functioning superpower, a stance that has attracted some controversy. After the beginning of the Iraq War, he revised his prediction of the "downfall of the US-Empire", seeing it as more imminent.[21] He claims the U.S. will go through a phase as a fascist dictatorship on its path down, and that the Patriot Act is a symptom of this. He claims the election of George W. Bush cost the U.S. empire five years – although he admits that this estimate was set a bit arbitrarily. He now sets the date for the end of the American Empire at 2020, but not the American Republic. Like

Johan Galtung 4

Great Britain, Russia and France, he says the American Republic will be better off without the Empire.Galtung has made predictions which have failed to materialize. For example, City Journal claims that in 1953,Galtung predicted that the Soviet Union's economy would soon overtake the West.[22]

CriticismDuring the course of his career, some of Galtung statements and views have drawn criticism. A 2007 article byBruce Bawer published in City Journal magazine and a subsequent article in February 2009 by Barbara Kay in theNational Post criticised some of Galtung's statements.Both authors criticized Galtung's opinion that while Communist China was "repressive in a certain liberal sense",Mao Zedong was "endlessly liberating when seen from many other perspectives that liberal theory has neverunderstood" because China showed that "the whole theory about what an 'open society' is must be rewritten,probably also the theory of 'democracy'—and it will take a long time before the West will be willing to view Chinaas a master teacher in such subjects." The authors also criticized Galtung's opposition to Hungarian resistance againstthe Soviet invasion in 1956 and his description in 1974 of Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn and Andrei Sakharov as"persecuted elite personages".[16][17]

Both of the above articles alleged that he has suggested that the annihilation of Washington, D.C., would be a fairpunishment for America's arrogant view of itself as "a model for everyone else". However, Galtung has called theSeptember 11 attacks "criminal political violence".[23]

Alleged anti-Semitism

Galtung has been accused of anti-Semitism for suggesting the possibility of a link between the 2011 Norway attacksand the Mossad, claiming that Jews largely control the US media, and claiming that anti-Semitism in post–WorldWar I Germany was partly caused by Jews holding influential positions.[24]

Galtung denies being anti-Semitic. In May 2012 TRANSCEND International, an organisation co-founded by him,released a statement attempting to clarify his opinions.[25] The comparison of Haaretz's article (see above) andGaltung's full interview let appear some differences between them.On August 8, 2012, the World Peace Academy in Basel, Switzerland announced it was suspending Johan Galtungfrom its organization. The reason for this action by the group that is connected to the University of Basel was givenas "reckless and offensive statements to questions that are specifically sensitive for Jews".[26]

Selected worksGaltung has published more than a thousand articles and over a hundred books.[27]

• Statistisk hypotesepröving (Statistical hypothesis testing, 1953)• Gandhis politiske etikk (Gandhi's political ethics, 1955, with philosopher Arne Næss)• Theory and Methods of Social Research (1967)• Members of Two Worlds (1971)• Fred, vold og imperialisme (Peace, violence and imperialism, 1974)• Peace: Research – Education – Action (1975)• Europe in the Making (1989)• Global Glasnost: Toward a New World Information and Communication Order? (1992, with Richard C. Vincent)• Peace By Peaceful Means: Peace and Conflict, Development and Civilization (1996)• Johan uten land. På fredsveien gjennom verden (Johan without land. On the Peace Path Through the World,

2000, autobiography for which he won the Brage Prize)• 50 Years: 100 Peace and Conflict Perspectives (2008)• Democracy – Peace – Development (2008, with Paul D. Scott)

Johan Galtung 5

• 50 Years: 25 Intellectual Landscapes Explored (2008)• Globalizing God: Religion, Spirituality and Peace (2008, with Graeme MacQueen)[28]

Selected awards and recognitions• Dr honoris causa, University of Tampere, 1975, peace studies• Dr honoris causa, University of Cluj, 1976, future studies• Dr honoris causa, Uppsala University, 1987, social sciences• Dr honoris causa, Soka University, Tokyo, 1990, peace/buddhism• Dr honoris causa, University of Osnabrück, 1995, peace studies• Dr honoris causa, University of Torino, 1998, sociology of law• Dr honoris causa, FernUniversität Hagen, 2000, philosophy• Dr honoris causa, University of Alicante, 2002, sociology• Dr honoris causa, Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla, 2006, law• Honorary Professor, University of Alicante, Alicante, 1981• Honorary Professor, Free University of Berlin, 1984–1993• Honorary Professor, Sichuan University, Chengdu, 1986• Honorary Professor, Witten/Herdecke University, Witten, 1993• Distinguished Professor of Peace Studies, University of Hawaii, 1993-•• John Perkins University Distinguished Visiting Professor, 2005-• Right Livelihood Award, 1987• First recipient of the Humanist Prize of the Norwegian Humanist Association, 1988• Jamnalal Bajaj International Award for Promoting Gandhian Values, 1993[29]

• Brage Prize, 2000• First Morton Deutsch Conflict Resolution Award, 2001•• Honorary Prize of the Norwegian Sociological Association, 2001•• Premio Hidalgo, Madrid, 2005•• Augsburg Golden Book of Peace, 2006• Member of the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters• Honorary member of the Green Party, 2009• Erik Bye Memorial Prize, 2011

References[1] John D. Brewer, Peace processes: a sociological approach, p. 7, Polity Press, 2010[2] "Johan Galtung" (http:/ / snl. no/ . nbl_biografi/ Johan_Galtung/ utdypning), Norsk Biografisk Leksikon[3] http:/ / www. coe. int/ T/ d/ Com/ Dossiers/ Events/ 2002-10-interkultureller-Dialog/ CV_Galtung. asp[4] Genealogical data for Johan Galtung (http:/ / folk. uio. no/ ingeba/ family/ 1554. htm)[5] Life of Johan Galtung (in Danish) (http:/ / www. visdomsnettet. dk/ a-402-1/ )[6] PRIO biography for Johan Galtung (http:/ / www. prio. no/ page/ Project_detail/ Staff_alpha_ALL/ 9244/ 47062. html)[7] History of the IPRA (http:/ / soc. kuleuven. be/ pol/ ipra/ about/ history. html)[8][8] (E. Boulding 1982: 323)[9] Dagens Nyheter 2003-01-15. (http:/ / www. dn. se/ DNet/ jsp/ polopoly. jsp?d=1058& a=97294& previousRenderType=2)[10] Saybrook.edu (http:/ / www. saybrook. edu/ saybrookintheworld?node=1616)[11] "Gruppe 7: Samfunnsfag (herunder sosiologi, statsvitenskap og økonomi)" (http:/ / www. dnva. no/ c26848/ artikkel/ vis. html?tid=27644)

(in Norwegian). Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters. . Retrieved 26 October 2009.[12] Transcend.org (http:/ / www. transcend. org/ )[13] PEACEBUILDING & THE UNITED NATIONS (http:/ / www. un. org/ en/ peacebuilding/ pbso/ pbun. shtml) Peacebuilding Support

Office, United Nations[14][14] (K. Boulding 1977: 75)[15] Article by Dr Zeki Ergas "Out of Sync with the world: Some Thoughts on the Coming Decline and Fall of the American Empire". (http:/ /

www. stwr. org/ united-states-of-america/ out-of-sync-with-the-world-some-thoughts-on-the-coming-decline-and-fall-of-the-american-empire.

Johan Galtung 6

html)[16] The Peace Racket (http:/ / www. city-journal. org/ html/ 17_3_peace_racket. html) by Bruce Bawer, City Journal, Summer 2007.[17] Barbarians within the gate (http:/ / www. nationalpost. com/ story. html?id=1299901) by Barbara Kay, National Post, February 18, 2009.[18] Prof. J. Galtung: 'US empire will fall by 2020' (http:/ / www. youtube. com/ watch?v=rDUEJb1uz_I) Russia Today, (posted on Youtube.[19] On the Coming Decline and Fall of the US Empire (http:/ / www. transnational. org/ SAJT/ forum/ meet/ 2004/ Galtung_USempireFall.

html) by Johan Galtung, Transnational Foundation and Peace and Research (TFF), January 28, 2004.[20] Galtung on Democracy Now (http:/ / www. democracynow. org/ 2010/ 6/ 15/ i_love_the_us_republic_and)[21] Amerikas imperium går under innen 2020 (http:/ / www. adressa. no/ nyheter/ utenriks/ article7953. ece) Adressa September 23, 2004.[22] Bawer, Bruce. 2007. "The Peace Racket". City Journal. Summer 2007. (http:/ / www. city-journal. org/ html/ 17_3_peace_racket. html).[23] "September 11 2001: Diagnosis, Prognosis, Therapy" by Johan Galtung (http:/ / www. peace. ca/ September11byjohangaltung. htm)[24] Aderet, Ofer (30 April 2012). "Pioneer of global peace studies hints at link between Norway massacre and Mossad" (http:/ / www. haaretz.

com/ news/ diplomacy-defense/ pioneer-of-global-peace-studies-hints-at-link-between-norway-massacre-and-mossad-1. 427385). Haaretz. .Retrieved 7 September 2012.

[25] "TRANSCEND International's Statement Concerning the Label of anti-Semitism Against Johan Galtung" (https:/ / www. transcend. org/galtung/ statement-may-2012/ ). TRANSCEND International. . Retrieved 8 September 2012.

[26] Weinthal, Benjamin (August 9, 2012). "Swiss group suspends 'anti-Semitic' Norway scholar" (http:/ / www. jpost. com/ International/Article. aspx?id=280726). Jerusalem Post. Archived (http:/ / www. webcitation. org/ 69pi9Ogzd) from the original on August 11, 2012. .Retrieved August 11, 2012.

[27] TRANSCEND biography on Johan Galtung (http:/ / www. transcend. org/ t_database/ members. php?showcv=1& idm=112)[28] "Johan Galtung's Publications 1948-2010" (http:/ / www. transcend. org/ files/ Galtungs_Production_1948-2010. pdf). . Retrieved 8

September 2012.[29] "Jamnalal Bajaj Awards Archive" (http:/ / www. jamnalalbajajfoundation. org/ awards/ archives/ 2010). Jamnalal Bajaj Foundation. .

Sources• Bawer, Bruce. 2007. "The Peace Racket". City Journal. Summer 2007. Link (http:/ / www. city-journal. org/

html/ 17_3_peace_racket. html).• Boulding, Elise. 1982. "Review: Social Science—For What?: Festschrift for Johan Galtung." Contemporary

Sociology. 11(3):323-324. JSTOR Stable URL (http:/ / links. jstor. org/sici?sici=0094-3061(198205)11:3<323:SSWFFJ>2. 0. CO;2-D)

• Boulding, Kenneth E. 1977. "Twelve Friendly Quarrels with Johan Galtung." Journal of Peace Research.14(1):75-86. JSTOR Stable URL (http:/ / links. jstor. org/ sici?sici=0022-3433(1977)14:1<75:TFQWJG>2. 0.CO;2-H)

External links• TRANSCEND: A Peace Development Environment Network (http:/ / www. transcend. org/ )• Galtung-Institute for Peace Theory and Peace Practice (http:/ / www. galtung-institute. com/ )• Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO) (http:/ / www. prio. no/ )• Biography on Right Livelihood Award (http:/ / rightlivelihood. org/ galtung. html)

Article Sources and Contributors 7

Article Sources and ContributorsJohan Galtung  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=533745285  Contributors: 2001:700:700:8:221:9BFF:FE2D:4746, Acsrosa, Agnetesch, Altzinn, Amirvosko, Anders.Warga,Anthon.Eff, Arctos, Axezz, B.B., Bearcat, Bender235, Bjerrebæk, BobbyGalt, Bobrayner, CALR, Cgingold, Chris the speller, Clivel 0, D6, DBaba, DcJohn, Dliraful, Drbreznjev, Eintrovide,Ekabhishek, ExplicitImplicity, EyesAllMine, Familieboehm, Fat&Happy, Fearlessdog, Firsfron, Forteller, G26, Gene Nygaard, GeorgeLouis, Geschichte, Good Olfactory, Green-eyed girl,Greswik, Gunnernett, Harry, Hede2000, Houshuang, Hrousseau, Hyperionsteel, InverseHypercube, Irenegaltung, Iselilja, JFHJr, Jakemlynch@hotmail.com, JarlaxleArtemis, Jay-Sebastos, Jerry,JoanneB, JoaoRicardo, Johannes due, Johnfos, Jonund, KF, Kaihsu, Kissekatt, Kjellgno, Kooo, L Aureates, Laracroft8, Ledelste, Lotje, Lugia2453, Ly, Materialscientist, Meclee, Meco, MelEtitis, Mhym, Mike hayes, NBUPolSci F40198, Nadhika99, Nastykermit, Nick mallory, Nil Einne, Nirvana2013, Nomoskedasticity, Olegwiki, Onorem, Opr1, Orioane, Orland, Panda, Pgan002,Piotrus, Pmanderson, Previously ScienceApologist, Prof75, Redthoreau, Rick.Wicks, Ringozstarr, Rjwilmsi, RobertG, Rocketrod1960, ST47, Sam Vimes, SanDiegoIPJ, Sangandongo,Scoop0901, ScottyNolan, Seadart, Ser Amantio di Nicolao, Sfgiants1995, Sherool, Slavatrudu, Soccybrarian, Soosim, Staffordshire, Tassedethe, Tertoger, TheSoundAndTheFury, TravisAF,Ulric1313, V7-sport, Veredict, Washington irving, Wiki-vr, Williamborg, WmTyndale, Woohookitty, Wouterhagens, Zad68, 142 anonymous edits

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