Critical Review of Sustainable Peace, Mediative Dialogue and Social Media

Abstract

This paper attempts a critical review of the interplay between social media, sustainable peace and mediative dialogue. The paper is grounded in efforts to achieve Goal 16 of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals: Peace Justice and Strong Institutions. It is the aim of Goal 16 of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals to promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, give justice to all and make possible effective, responsible and all-encompassing institutions at all levels. The paper traced the history of the Sustainable Development Goals to the United Nations (UN) Conference on the Human Environment held in 1972 in Stockholm, Sweden. The Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations are developed from the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and other earlier initiatives of the United Nations. Peace is singled out among these goals, and mediative dialogue is a means to achieving this goal. The advent of the Internet, among other technologies, has significantly changed the ways people communicate globally. Social media in particular is taking a significant role in the ways people, groups and nations resolve conflicts. Through philosophical reflections and qualitative analysis, the paper recommends a framework for deploying mediative dialogue, through social media, for sustainable peace. It is, therefore, concluded that harnessing the strength of the philosophies of the phenomena of social media, sustainable peace and mediative dialogue is a veritable tool for conflict resolution and also for actualizing the aspirations for global peace as inspired by Goal 16 of the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations.