Building peace through systemic compassion

Abstract

More than an individual emotion experienced by conflict resolution practitioners, compassion constitutes a primary norm of the field of peacebuilding. Three domains of peacebuilding practice are showcased: first, the human rights agenda of the United Nations, second, the practices of everyday peace, and third, the strategies among professionals of interactive conflict resolution. Motivated by the compassion‐related programs in these domains, we propose that peacebuilders develop strategies that are intended to foster compassion among the conflict parties. The notion of systemic compassion is introduced and illustrated with examples within current practice.

Restorative validity and healing through inquiry: A visual ethnographic case study in Guatemala

“…• an orientation toward relationships-operating as a community of care (Rothbart & Allen, 2019) through a relationality grounded in humility (Limes-Taylor Henderson & Esposito, 2017) and mutual understanding (Call-Cummings, 2017;Habermas, 1984), which pushes us to consider compassion (Giri, 2011;Rothbart & Allen, 2019) and responsibility (Collins, 2010) for one another as human beings first and research participants second. • an orientation toward justice-within research and beyond, requiring a recognition of different ways of knowing (Hopson, 2014), and the harms done to participants by oppressors within academia (Fricker, 2007) and beyond (Bush & Folger, 2005).…”

“…In addition to Zehr's work, the concept of restorative validity (Dazzo, 2022) is inspired by the terms used by co‐researchers in our collective and supplemented by literature. As a heuristic, it is categorized across three researcher orientations, and related themes, that we should work toward to sustain and maintain restoration through inquiry: an orientation toward relationships—operating as a community of care (Rothbart & Allen, 2019) through a relationality grounded in humility (Limes‐Taylor Henderson & Esposito, 2017) and mutual understanding (Call‐Cummings, 2017; Habermas, 1984), which pushes us to consider compassion (Giri, 2011; Rothbart & Allen, 2019) and responsibility (Collins, 2010) for one another as human beings first and research participants second. an orientation toward justice—within research and beyond, requiring a recognition of different ways of knowing (Hopson, 2014), and the harms done to participants by oppressors within academia (Fricker, 2007) and beyond (Bush & Folger, 2005). an orientation toward liberation—for inquiry that advocates self‐determination (Tuhiwai Smith, 2012) and positive freedoms, that is, the idea of doing good, rather than the negative freedom of simply doing no harm (Fromm, 1941; Galtung 1969, 2001).…”

From perpetrator to peacebuilder: Rethinking education in conflict-affected societies

“…understanding, that is, compassion for the enemy's vulnerability, hardship and su ering (Rothbart and Allen, 2019). Speci cally, the neuropeptide oxytocin enables cognitive and emotional empathy and plays a substantial role in empathic exibility towards ingroup and outgroup members (Shamay-Tsoory et al, 2013).…”

Compassion for enemy militants?: A case study

“…I am not referring to momentary feelings of individual peacebuilders. Going beyond the obvious psychological point that many individual practitioners in this field are personally motivated by their compassion for the suffering of vulnerable population groups, I believe that compassion represents a defining norm of certain peacebuilding practices, a norm that reflects a tacit value judgment regarding the morally appropriate responses to suffering (Rothbart & Allen, 2019). In general, any field of skillful practice is determined, in part, by organizing norms that guide practitioners in their actions, decisions, and adjustments in the face of unexpected circumstances (Bourdieu, 1980, Chapter 5).…”

“…Systemic compassion underpins the following three fields of peacebuilding practice (Rothbart & Allen, 2019). First, the human rights agenda of the United Nations rests on the principle that dignity is a birthright of each human being (Beyleveld & Brownsword, 1998).…”