Why War? Peace Studies in the 21st Century.
International Conference to be held as part of the 40th Anniversary Celebrations of the Division of Peace Studies, University of Bradford, 1-3 May 2014.
Keynote speakers:
Dr SaebErekat, Chief Palestinian Negotiator.
Dr Helen Frowe, Director of the Stockholm Centre for Ethics of War and Peace, University of Stockholm.
Ms LeymahGbowee, Nobel Peace Laureate and Peace Activist.
Professor John Paul Lederach, Professor of International Peacebuilding, University of Notre Dame.
Call for Papers.
Peace Studies at the University of Bradford is celebrating its 40th anniversary in 2014. To mark the occasion we are hosting an international conference, and are seeking presenters to give papers on the future of peace studies in the 21st Century. The conference is organised around eight themes: Disarmament; Participation; Conflict Resolution; Peacekeeping and Peacebuilding; War and Peace in Africa; Peace Education; Philosophy and War; and the Security-Development Nexus.
Why War? A Historical Debate
In 1931 and 1932, a correspondence occurred between two of the greatest intellects of the day, Albert Einstein and Sigmund Freud, on the question, “Why War?”[1] Einstein initiated the correspondence, as part of an initiative to promote the contribution of intellectuals to public life. The plan was to initiate debate amongst a network of intellectuals, whose ponderings would be published in the popular press, with the goal of exerting “a significant and wholesome moral influence on the solution of political problems”.
The project of harnessing theoretical and intellectual debate to the resolution of political and policy problems is one that has animated the Department of Peace Studies at the University of Bradford since its founding in 1973. Consequently, as the finale of our 40th anniversary year, we are proud to host an international conference examining the state of peace studies in the 21st Century and the contribution peace studies can make to public policy in the contemporary world.
In their original correspondence, in response to a proposal by the League of Nations, and reflecting the historical era in which they wrote, Einstein and Freud focused on the problem of inter-state war. Einstein is revealed as an idealist, proposing the establishment of an international judicial body to arbitrate disputes. Freud responded, as one might expect, with an exegesis on human nature, in which the drive to violence is described as innate. However Freud also discusses war and peace as effects of power, pointing out that wars can be prosecuted for emancipatory ends where peace – or the rule of law – is an effect of class domination. In this he prefigures Johan Galtung’s later work on structural violence and positive peace – work which has been regarded as the foundations of peace studies as a field of study. Freud also discusses the emergence of rule of law as an effect of ethnic and national identity, and points out the potential for ‘othering’ inherent in such a process.
Despite the lofty aims with which their correspondence began, it was never widely published. By the time a print run was prepared in 1933, Hitler was in power and Einstein was in exile. Freud followed him in 1938. Only 2000 copies of the correspondence were ever circulated. Interestingly, also, the correspondence is silent on many pressing problems of the day. Neither writer reflects on economy as a cause of war despite the fact that they wrote in the midst of the Great Depression. Neither comments on contemporary independence movements in colonised countries such as India, Libya and Vietnam. Although Freud comments briefly on Bolshevism, neither writer discusses the ideological struggle between fascism and communism that was about to tear Europe apart.
In its ambition and its failure and in what it says and what it ignores, the correspondence reveals much not only about war and peace but also about the potential contribution of theorists and intellectuals to public policy and to the constraints that inhibit that contribution. On the 100th anniversary of the start of the First World War and the 25th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, we would like to devote our 40th anniversary celebrations to a contemporary discussion of these questions.
Call for Papers.
We are calling for further papers to be delivered in panel sessions, which will be organised around eight themes:
Disarmament
Agency, Activism and Participation
Conflict Resolution
Peacekeeping and Peacebuilding
War and Peace in Africa
Peace Education
Philosophy and War
The Security-Development Nexus.
Within each theme, the aim is to generate discussion over the state of peace studies, future challenges and directions, and the relationship between theory and practice. The conference thus aims to emulate the spirit animating the Einstein-Freud correspondence, while focusing on contemporary theoretical and political issues.
Paper abstracts of up to 250 words should be submitted to the organising committee by 14 February 2014. The submission must state the title, author(s) name and affiliation, and the relevant thematic stream. Applicants will be notified by 28 February if their paper has been accepted for presentation at the conference.
Conference participation is free but no travel or accommodation grants can be provided.
Registration for the conference opens on 1 December 2013 and continues until 31 March 2014.
Enquiries should be emailed to
For further details see
[1] Albert Einstein and Sigmund Freud, The Einstein-Freud Correspondence, 1931-2, available at accessed 6 November 2014.