Investigating the Causes of Peace to End War: An Introduction

Peace is an active, productive political process rather than the mere absence of war. This introduction to the thematic section, “Ending War and Sustaining Peace in Pacific Societies / Mettre fin à la guerre et assurer la paix dans les sociétés du Pacifique” presents evaluative summaries of the contributing articles. It argues that anthropology can assist in achieving a lasting peace among the world’s peoples by documenting the forms peace takes and how it works cross-culturally and over time. This information aids in design and implementation of peace-maintaining strategies that are both tailored to particular cultural settings and more effective, lasting and adaptable across cultural divides.