Are our projects contributing to positive peace? Ask IEP
How do you know if a society is truly peaceful? How can you measure the benefits of peace, and the cost of violent conflict ($1.7 trillion dollars, by the way)? And for our roles as peacebuilders, how can we assess if our organizations and projects are making a real difference?

IEP, the Institute of Economics and Peace ( www.economicsandpeace.org ) to the rescue!

I had the privilege of meeting with Michael Collins from IEP last week, and even though I was familiar with IEP’s work, our session with Michael was nonetheless a tremendous learning experience.

I had known about IEP’s groundbreaking work producing an annual Positive Peace Report (https://www.economicsandpeace.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/PPR-2019-web.pdf) which evaluates countries for their levels of positive peace by measuring what they call pillars of peace—well functioning government, free flow of information, human capital, good relations with neighbors, acceptance of the rights of others, low levels of corruption, equitable distribution of resources. and sound business environment. 

Positive Peace Pillars

What I hadn’t thought of is how valuable these pillars of peace are when used as an assessment tool for any peace project. For example, in my projects at the Center for Global Peace Journalism, am I having an impact in each of these eight pillar areas? The same with the Greater Kansas City Peacebuilding Conference we co-sponsor each fall with Johnson County Community College: Are we positioning the conference so that we can have an impact across all eight peace pillar domains? For both my center and the conference, the answer is that we hit some of the peace pillars, but not all.

IEP, based in Australia with five other offices worldwide, has also produced another invaluable resource for peacebuilders—a report dedicated to Covid 19 and Peace (https://www.economicsandpeace.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/PPR-2019-web.pdf). Among its many findings: 

--The pandemic raised tensions between the US and China over the role of the World Health Organization (WHO), trade disputes, and the origins of the virus
--The Global Peace Index is expected to deteriorate although military expenditures could drop as countries redirect resources to propping up their economies.
--As economies contract due to shutdowns, countries will find it more difficult to repay their existing debt.
--“The economic downturn will impact food security. A total of 113 million people in 53 countries were already on the brink of starvation even before the onset of the pandemic. Countries such as Venezuela, Burundi and Yemen will see deepening food shortages.”

For peacebuilders, peace studies instructors, and anyone just interested in peace, the IEP’s resources are an invaluable tool for those navigating this complex, dynamic field.