Teach the world to sing, and all will be in perfect harmony - or so the songs tell us. Music is widely believed to unify and bring peace, but the focus on music as a vehicle for fostering empathy and reconciliation between opposing groups threatens to overly simplify our narratives of how interpersonal conflict might be transformed. This Element offers a critique of empathy's ethical imperative of radical openness and positions the acknowledgement of moral responsibility as a fundamental component of music's capacity to transform conflict. Through case studies of music and conflict transformation in Australia and Canada, Music Transforming Conflict assesses the complementary roles of musically mediated empathy and guilt in post-conflict societies and argues that a consideration of musical and moral implication as part of studies on music and conflict offers a powerful tool for understanding music's potential to contribute to societal change.

In 1999 the Israeli conductor Daniel Barenboim and the Palestinian writer Edward Said organised a concert in Weimar in which half the performers were Palestinians and the other half Israelis.The performance itself and the rehearsals which preceded it had a lasting effect on all the participants. How far can the relationship between music and politics be used to promote a more peaceful world? That is the central question which motivates this challenging new work by some of the leading musicians and music scholars of our time. Combining theory from experienced academics such as Johan Galtung, Cindy Cohen and Karen Abi-Ezzi with compelling stories from musicians like Yair Dalal, the book also includes an exclusive interview with folk legend Pete Seeger. In each instance, practical and theoretical perspectives have been combined in order to explore music's role in conflict transformation. The book is divided into five sections. The first, 'Frameworks', reflects in-depth on the connections between music and peace, while the second, 'Music and Politics', discusses the impact of music on society. The third section, 'Healing and Education', offers examples of the transformative power of music in prisons and settings of conflict-resolution, while the fourth, 'Stories from the Field', tells true stories about music's impact in the Middle East and elsewhere. Finally, 'Reflections' encourages the reader to consider a personal evaluation of the work with a view to further explorations of the power of music to promote peace.

An exploration of the role of music in conflict situations across the world, this study shows how it can both incite violence & help rebuild communities.

An exploration of how the theory and practice of integrated peacebuilding can be applied across diverse disciplines

This clearly articulated statement offers a hopeful and workable approach to conflict—that eternally beleaguering human situation. John Paul Lederach is internationally recognized for his breakthrough thinking and action related to conflict on all levels—person-to-person, factions within communities, warring nations. He explores why "conflict transformation" is more appropriate than "conflict resolution" or "management." But he refuses to be drawn into impractical idealism. Conflict Transformation is an idea with a deep reach. Its practice, says Lederach, requires "both solutions and social change." It asks not simply "How do we end something not desired?" but "How do we end something destructive and build something desired?" How do we deal with the immediate crisis, as well as the long-term situation? What disciplines make such thinking and practices possible? This title is part of The Little Books of Justice and Peacebuilding series.

Using real-world case studies and examples, Hunsinger and Latini helpfully guide pastors and lay leaders through effective and compassionate ways to deal with discord.

How can a just peace be built in sites of genocide, massive civil war, dictatorship, terrorism, and poverty? In Strategies of Peace, the first volume in the Studies in Strategic Peacebuilding series, fifteen leading scholars propose an imaginative and provocative approach to peacebuilding. Today the dominant thinking is the "liberal peace," which stresses cease fires, elections, and short run peace operations carried out by international institutions, western states, and local political elites. But the liberal peace is not enough, the authors argue. A just and sustainable peace requires a far more holistic vision that links together activities, actors, and institutions at all levels. By exploring innovative models for building lasting peace-a United Nations counter-terrorism policy that also promotes good governance; coordination of the international prosecution of war criminals with local efforts to settle civil wars; increasing the involvement of religious leaders, who have a unique ability to elicit peace settlements; and many others--the authors advance a bold new vision for peacebuilding.