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In the following excerpt, Günther Gugel and Uli Jäger from the Institute for Peace Education Tübingen name the starting point for all (peace) education work - the educatability and learnability of people. They also point out that it cannot suffice to begin at the level of the individual alone.
"Numerous articles and programs quote a sentence sourced from the preamble of the UNESCO constitution from 1945 as the raison d’etre for peace education: "Since wars begin in the minds of men, it is in the minds of men that the defenses of peace must be constructed." It is of course correct to believe mankind is capable of learning, that mankind can live peacefully together and that preparations can be made for global peace based on this statement. In peace education, unlike a variety of (also scientific) myths, it is believed that no one is violent 'by nature,' and that mankind embodies a disposition which may influence his behavior, but never fully determines it. This is why education makes sense and why it is feasible.
The starting point for all forms of peace education is formed by emotional and cognitive principles of behavior and attitudes, and the behavioral forms and strategies for the action of individuals and groups developed upon this basis. But does this concept also mean that the subjective attitudes, prejudices and judgments that give rise to war and violence can be wiped out through change? It goes without saying that mankind is responsible for war and violence and could - if it wanted to and were capable of it - end and prevent it. However, transitioning from changing the attitudes of individuals to changing social and international power structures is often a long and arduous road.
The first step on this road is the ability to recognize these power structures and the various conflicts in interests between people, societies and states that lie at their foundation and the methods of solving conflicts. One of the most important findings of peace research for peace education is that it does not suffice to combat prejudices and national stereotypes responsible for the outbreak of war and violence, although they do contribute to subjective readiness for war and can also be instrumentalised.
It would therefore be pulling the wool over the eyes of peace education to concentrate solely on changes in individual attitudes, even when this is so important. The analysis of social and international power structures needs to be transformed into an indispensable component of peace education, and the focus should be to understand and deal with conflicts at all levels (...).
Studies on the social conditions of volunteers and conscientious objectors have (...) shown that education and upbringing favoring encounters with humanitarian values tend to lead them to rejecting violence and committing themselves socially and politically, as well as searching for non-violent means of expressing conflict. These values should be based on mutual and fair relationships that break the taboo of speaking about emotions and the sense and joy of life. These values should also not simply be lectured to teenagers and young adults, but rather be made an integral part of daily life.
The renowned Milgram Obedience Experiments and the subsequent studies based on these have clearly shown that a close relationship exists between the instructions of an apparent authority and the readiness to use force. What is central for peace education here is the knowledge that the ability of three-quarters of the persons involved in the tests to torture people or even kill cannot be explained away with what is referred to as an inborn instinct for aggression. 'Something more dangerous comes to light: the capacity of people to cast off their humaneness when they subjugate their individual personalities to superordinate structures. The virtues of loyalty, discipline and self-sacrifice which we value so highly in the individual are exactly the qualities that create an organized machinery of war and destruction and yoke people to an evil system of authority' (Stanley Milgram).
In conclusion, peace education should mainly be oriented towards educating people to show more scepticism for authority and to take more responsibility for their own actions."
[Günther Gugel / Uli Jäger: Gewalt muss nicht sein. Eine Einführung in friedenspädagogisches Denken und Handeln. 3. Aufl., Tübingen 1997; Internetversion: Link]
We will take a brief excursion to elaborate the Milgram Experiments. The contribution was written by Prof. Dr. Werner Stangl and describes the background of the experiment and the most important results, many of which are highly useful in the work of peace education [... Go to the text on the "Milgram Experiments"].