Searching for Peace: The Road to Transcend

"Searching for Peace: the Road to TRANSCEND" is an indispensable guide for "peaceworkers". It combines theory (e.g. "on the psychology of the TRANSCEND Approach") with concrete examples of 40 conflicts from around the world, based on 40 years of practical experience in helping conflict parties find nonviolent solutions. Instead of seeking to bring the conflict parties to the negotiating table from the beginning, which can often result in a stream of mutual accusations that exacerbates the conflict, this approach first holds extensive dialogues separately with each conflict party, to gain their trust and understand their grievances and fears, needs and desires. By presenting the parties with a richer repertoire of possible approaches, and by showing them how similar conflicts have been successfully solved elsewhere, this often helps them see a way out of a seemingly intractable situation in which they feel themselves trapped. Johan Galtung, who founded the academic discipline of peace research, and has always applied his insights to help people suffering from conflict, like a good doctor, has joined forces with Carl Jacobsen, Finn Tschudi and Kai Frithjof Brand-Jacobsen to share with us his rich experience. This book ought to be required reading for all international relations scholars, practitioners, policy-makers and peace activists.