Scienza e Pace
Science and Peace
In this paper, I present Stories that Reconnect (StR), an emerging methodology designed to sustain cultures of peace in times of polycrisis. Taking an autobiographical approach, I offer a reflective account of the birth of StR during my work as facilitator and trainer. StR emerged from the need for connection, the call to be honoring pain, and the commitment of making hope – even amidst increasing violence and polarization. First, I situate StR within the current polycrisis through the lens of Theory U and frame peace as envisioned by Johan Galtung and Elise Boulding. I illustrate the three key frameworks – Focusing, the Work That Reconnects, and Theory U – that shape StR’s approach, language, map, and matrix. StR unfolds within an aesthetic space, where social arts enable the co-sensing of present reality and its highest future potential. At the heart of the process lies a call to connection, compassion, and courage – enhancing the capacities for empathy, self-empathy, staying-with, imagination, and creativity; through practices such as grounding, storylistening (deep listening), and collective story creation. This paper lays the groundwork for peace education training, and reconciliation processes, acknowledging that this work – like a motion-blurred photograph – is fluid, ever-evolving, and deeply rooted in lived experience.
This article analyses the new forms of mobilisation that, especially after the global crisis of 2008, have been called “strikes”, with the aim of clarifying their nature and understanding their relationship with traditional labour and trade union strikes, which are a typical form of class conflict in mature capitalist societies. The cases examined will be the climate strike and the feminist strike: these, in fact, share not only their recent emergence but also some of their characteristics and their global dimension. Specifically, we will examine whether these phenomena, regardless of the semantic element, present elements that allow them to be traced back to the concept of strike. In particular, the focus will be on examining the theoretical frameworks and concrete practices adopted to measure the distance and novelty of the new forms of strike compared to traditional ones, but the composition of the new strikes and the characteristics of their respective promoters will also be considered. The examination will be supported by the analysis of documents produced by the promoters of these new forms of strike, compared with several interviews conducted with activists involved in associations and trade unions.
This paper surveys, from an international law point of view, some activities carried out by United Nations in order to deal with the several problems which harass Yemen for a long time now. Following the chronological order of the events, some reflections will be proposed about the international legal framework of some initiatives of Secretary General and of Security Council as well, trying to verify their effectiveness.
This article examines the implementation of the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) Agenda within the armed forces of Italy and Sweden, two European countries characterised by distinct defence models and approaches to gender equality. Drawing on a multi-level, human-rights-based analytical framework and combining document analysis with semi-structured interviews, the study investigates how WPS principles, prevention, protection, participation, and relief and recovery, are translated into military structures, cultures and practices. The analysis explores how the WPS Agenda has shaped women’s leadership and participation in both military institutions, revealing persistent gaps between formal commitments and operational realities. While Sweden has historically pursued a feminist and proactive integration of gender perspectives in defence and security policies, the recent rollback of its Feminist Foreign Policy highlights the fragility of such commitments even in progressive contexts. Italy, by contrast, continues to adopt a more reactive and externally driven approach, with WPS implementation often linked to peacekeeping deployments. Set against a rapidly evolving security environment marked by rising militarisation across Europe, the article argues that meaningful WPS implementation requires intersectional, rights-based and context-sensitive reforms capable of transforming military institutions beyond symbolic inclusion.
The paper looks at how the war in Ukraine is affecting the Ottawa and Oslo Conventions. It talks about how Finland, Poland, and the Baltic Republics pulled out of the agreements between 2024 and 2025. They did this because of strategic needs and self-defence, as a response to the threat from Russia. The article reconstructs the legal basis for these decisions, highlighting the regulatory implications and tensions between national sovereignty and international obligations. The article also explores the role of the military industry and global production of anti-personnel mines. Despite the predominance of Asian companies, the widespread use of this type of weapon in the Russian-Ukrainian conflict and the US supply to Ukraine represent two dangerous precedents that risk undermining the legitimacy of international humanitarian law and the process of universalising ICW treaties.
The objective of this essay is to analyze the evolution of the political culture of the moderate left in the last decades. The starting point is the focus on values and strategies affecting domestic and foreign policy of the left in the phase of “modernity”: that is, during the Cold War. Johan Galtung has been the intellectual leader of the “constructivist” wing of political sociology, emphasizing values like peace, non-violence, participatory democracy, welfare state… After 1989, the left has partially modified its political strategies. The West was living a transition process from modern to post-modern societies. The left has chosen multi-culturalism as its core value in the decision-making processes over migration flows and conflict management among different nations. The politically correct ideology has become the new leftist “anchor” to post-modernity, and has played the role of “prevailing” (but not dominating) political culture in the West. This essay will evaluate if the political strategies of constructivist and politically correct lefts are compatible, starting from the teachings of Johan Galtung.
This paper illustrates Galtung's intellectual life against the background of the birth and development of non-violent thinking in Western society. His impressive ability to suggest decisive ideas for a theory of peace and non-violent conflict resolution pioneered structural non-violent thinking. However, after 1989 he did not complete his innovations, choosing instead an eclectic vision. Nevertheless, he was able to predict the fall of each of the two superpowers that dominated the world at his time.
"The past has to be taken seriously: it is too serious to be left to historians." Peace scholar Johan Galtung wrote that because he understood how intellectuals in the West "are trained to abstain from criticism, constructivism, and action unless they happen to be in certified applied sciences." For historians, this means writing as if unbiased and disinterested. There is no socio-political agenda allowed. Stay neutral (on a moving train). Peace Studies, though, as conceived by Galtung, is "an applied social science, with an explicit value orientation" — against violence. "Critical Peace Studies takes explicit stands."Peace scholars get to care. A Peace historian, then, is one who writes with the transparent intent of reducing violence. In that sense, a historian can be a Peace worker, understanding that an immense Peace is made of lots of little Peaces, including little Peaces of culture. [...].
Johan Galtung is a towering figure in the realm of Peace Research. For over six decades, he has passionately explored and meticulously investigated the complex facets of peace and conflict. Throughout this time, he has not only provoked thoughtful discussions and critical debates but has also actively engaged with diverse communities and audiences. By challenging established norms and pushing the boundaries of conventional thinking, he has educated countless individuals, fostering a deeper understanding of the root causes and solutions to global conflicts. His pioneering work introduced innovative concepts (such as structural and cultural violence, negative and positive peace, just to mention a few of the most famous concepts) which became foundational in the field. [...]. However, Galtung's intellectual journey throughout his life would not have been the same without the numerous encounters with influential and inspirational figures whose ideas and philosophies profoundly influenced his work. Among these individuals, each remarkable in their own realm, we have selected three who offered fresh perspectives, deep insights, and critical guidance to Galtung’s approach to peace and conflict studies. From the moral and social teachings of his father, August Galtung, to the ecological philosophy of Arne Naess, the practical wisdom and the spiritual values of Daisaku Ikeda, each played a vital role in shaping his vision and commitment to peace.