An International Vision and a Common Challenge

Peace has long been one of humanity’s oldest aspirations, yet it remains one of its greatest challenges. Despite remarkable progress in many areas, our world continues to be marked by war, polarisation, social unrest and growing uncertainty about the future. The question, therefore, is not only how conflicts can be brought to an end, but how societies can develop in ways that make lasting peace possible.

Over the past decades, this question has gained an increasingly strong international foundation. As early as 1945, the Constitution of UNESCO expressed the fundamental insight that since wars begin in the minds of human beings, the defences of peace must also be constructed there. Peace cannot therefore be understood solely as the outcome of diplomacy or military security arrangements. It must also be built through education, culture, science, dialogue and international cooperation.

This vision was further developed in 1999, when the United Nations General Assembly unanimously adopted the Declaration and Programme of Action on a Culture of Peace. In this declaration, peace is understood not merely as the absence of war, but as a way of living together based on respect for human dignity, human rights, democracy, education, cultural diversity, solidarity and a commitment to resolving conflicts without violence.

The concept of a Culture of Peace therefore enjoys clear international legitimacy. It is not simply the vision of individual scholars or organisations, but a shared commitment endorsed by the Member States of the United Nations.

At the same time, an important question remains. If humanity has already embraced a common vision of a Culture of Peace, why does it remain so difficult to realise?

The purpose of this introduction is therefore not primarily to define what a Culture of Peace is, but to explore how it becomes possible.

Many scholars and international organizations have explored the political, social, economic, and cultural conditions necessary for peace. This essay does not seek to replace these perspectives, but rather to complement them by introducing an existential dimension. By the existential dimension, we ultimately refer to our understanding of the human person. The way we understand human nature shapes the way we understand society, culture, and the possibility of a lasting peace.

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An Existential Perspective on a Culture of Peace

In this context, the term existential refers to the fundamental questions of human self-understanding, freedom, responsibility, and our relationship to other people and to the reality of which we are a part. From this perspective, conflicts are not only political or economic problems; they also reflect the way human beings relate to themselves, to one another, and to the common good. A culture of peace therefore requires not only the development of just institutions and political structures, but also the cultivation of the human qualities and values that make lasting peace possible. The ambition is to follow the path that leads from the individual to culture, from culture to society, and onwards to the conditions that make peace, democracy and sustainable development possible. This also opens the way for interfaith dialogue by providing a shared ethical and existential foundation for cooperation across religious and philosophical traditions.

The starting point is that a Culture of Peace cannot be created solely through political decisions or international agreements. It grows out of the way people live together. It is shaped by the culture that characterises a society, by the process of Bildung—the lifelong formation and cultivation of human understanding—through which values are passed from one generation to the next, and by the dialogue through which people develop understanding, trust and a shared sense of responsibility.

The ambition is to follow the path that leads from the individual to culture, from culture to society, and onwards to the conditions that make peace, democracy and sustainable development possible.

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A Culture of Peace and the Liberal International Order

The liberal international order has emerged from a long intellectual tradition in which classical philosophy, the Christian understanding of the human person, and the scholastic tradition of natural law played decisive roles. Liberalism inherited and further developed many of these ideas, while reformulating them within a secular and political framework.

The liberal tradition raises important questions about how states can live together in peace, how society should be organized, and how the economy should be structured. Yet behind these questions lies an even more fundamental one: What does it mean to be a free human being? From this perspective, the liberal international order is not merely a system of institutions and rules, but also an expression of a deeper understanding of human freedom, dignity, and responsibility.

Freedom is not simply the absence of coercion or the ability to choose between alternatives. It is also the capacity to seek truth, assume responsibility, love, and contribute to peace. Human dignity, therefore, cannot be understood merely as the product of a social contract or political agreement, but rests upon a deeper ontological foundation.

Security policy is essential for addressing the threats of today. Peace policy is essential for reducing the threats of tomorrow. A sustainable international order therefore requires both a security perspective and a peace perspective. The problem arises when security policy entirely displaces the normative question of how a more peaceful world can be built.

For this reason, an analysis of peace should not begin with the question of why wars occur, but with the question of what kind of society we wish to create. Only when this normative vision is clear can we assess which institutions, policies, and cultural transformations are most likely to lead us toward that goal.

The fundamental question, therefore, is not only how conflicts should be managed, but how human beings ought to live and what kind of society we wish to build together. A culture of peace cannot grow out of fear or be sustained solely through a balance of power. It must emerge from a positive vision of the human person, society, and the future. Peace is therefore, at its core, a normative question. Ultimately, it concerns the kind of world we choose to leave to future generations.

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Human Development – The Path to a Culture of Peace

If a Culture of Peace is understood not primarily as a political project, but as a process of human and cultural development, it leads us to a more fundamental question: How is a society actually formed?

We often explain social development in terms of politics, economics, technology or legislation. All of these are important. They provide society with its external structure and establish the institutions that sustain public life. Yet behind every institution stand human beings. Societies do not emerge by themselves. They are shaped by the way people think, make moral judgements and act.

At the same time, no person develops in isolation. From our earliest years we are formed by our families, our schools, our language, our culture and the communities to which we belong. Our understanding of right and wrong, freedom and responsibility, trust and community develops through our encounters with other people. Human beings therefore shape society, even as society shapes human beings.

This reciprocal relationship is one of the keys to understanding a Culture of Peace.

We often speak about the need to transform society. Yet every lasting social transformation also depends upon the development of the people who sustain it. Laws can establish order, and institutions can protect rights and freedoms, but they cannot by themselves create trust, responsibility or compassion. Such values grow through everyday human relationships, shared experience and a willingness to assume responsibility for one another.

For this reason, the question of peace ultimately becomes a question of how we understand the human person. If every individual possesses inherent dignity, then respect for others becomes more than a moral principle; it becomes a prerequisite for a peaceful society. Where human dignity is recognised, trust can grow. Where trust grows, cooperation becomes possible.

Placing the human person at the centre does not mean overlooking the importance of social structures. On the contrary, it means recognising that human development and social development are inseparable. Neither can be fully understood without the other.

If this is true, it leads naturally to another question. What shapes people’s values, ideals and understanding of the world? What gives a society its identity and its sense of cohesion?

To answer these questions, we must turn our attention to culture. It is through culture that people’s experiences, stories and values are passed on from one generation to the next. Culture is therefore not simply a complement to social development; it is one of its deepest foundations.

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Culture – The Soul of Society

If culture gives a society its identity, a new question naturally arises: How is that culture passed on? How do the values and understanding of the human person that make a peaceful society possible continue to develop?

The answer lies in human development.

Education provides knowledge and practical skills. Human development goes further. It is the lifelong process through which people grow in understanding, wisdom and responsibility. It enables us to see connections, question our assumptions and develop the judgement needed to live well with others.

At its heart, a Culture of Peace is about discovering our common ground. It is about recognising our shared humanity while respecting the richness of our differences. It grows through relationships built on trust, compassion and a genuine concern for one another.

Education alone cannot achieve this. A society may be highly educated and yet remain divided by distrust, polarisation or indifference. Knowledge is essential, but it does not by itself answer the deeper questions of how we should live together or what responsibilities we owe to one another and to future generations.

This is also one of the deeper foundations of democracy. Democracy is more than a political system or a method of decision-making. It depends upon people who are willing to listen, think critically, respect differences and work for the common good.

The arts, literature and cultural life play an essential role in this process. Through them we encounter the experiences of others, broaden our horizons and develop empathy, imagination and moral judgement. In this way, culture itself becomes a powerful force for human development.

A Culture of Peace therefore cannot be built through isolated educational initiatives or information campaigns alone. It grows within a society where people continue to learn throughout life—in families, schools, universities, civic organisations, cultural institutions and, above all, through their encounters with one another.

Ultimately, human development is about becoming more fully human. The deeper our understanding of ourselves, of others and of the world we share, the greater becomes our capacity to live with responsibility, compassion and hope.

This leads us to a broader question. If people develop in this way, and culture develops through the people who sustain and renew it, what kind of society can emerge?

 

A Culture of Peace as a Shared Responsibility

If a Culture of Peace is to become more than a vision, it must take shape in the way people live together. Its values are tested, deepened and passed on through our encounters with one another.

Meeting others with openness is about far more than exchanging opinions. It begins with a willingness to listen and to understand, even when we do not share the same experiences, beliefs or convictions. The goal is not to eliminate differences, but to create the mutual understanding that makes it possible to live and work together despite them.

When people meet in this spirit, relationships begin to change. Prejudice can give way to curiosity, distrust can be replaced by confidence, and new possibilities for cooperation can emerge. In this way, such encounters do more than increase knowledge; they also build the relationships upon which peaceful and democratic societies ultimately depend.

From this perspective, the concept of Peace Dialogue has a broader meaning than it often carries. It is not limited to dialogue between parties in conflict. Rather, it includes all those encounters in which people seek understanding together, share experience and assume a common responsibility for the future. Academic dialogue, cultural dialogue, political dialogue, intercultural dialogue and interfaith dialogue are all expressions of the same aspiration: to build bridges between people and create the conditions for cooperation.

Interfaith dialogue has a distinctive place within this broader perspective. Religions and life-stance traditions offer different understandings of humanity and existence, yet they also preserve centuries of ethical reflection, community and responsibility. The purpose of interfaith dialogue is therefore not to erase theological differences, but to deepen understanding and strengthen cooperation among people of different beliefs. In this way, it contributes to the broader Peace Dialogue that every pluralistic society needs.

At a time when many societies are marked by increasing polarisation and distrust, this way of relating to one another becomes more than a method. It becomes an attitude towards life. It reminds us that a sustainable society is not built because everyone thinks alike, but because people learn to live together with their differences.

A Culture of Peace becomes a living reality only when it finds expression in everyday life. It is reflected in the way we meet one another, how we respond to our differences and how we assume responsibility for the common good. It is in these everyday encounters that trust grows, cooperation becomes possible and the foundations of a peaceful society are laid.

This brings us to a final question:

If a Culture of Peace ultimately depends upon the way people choose to live together, what values should guide our lives, and what kind of future should we seek to build? If these questions matter, then what responsibility does each of us bear for the future we are creating together?

A Culture of Peace fosters responsibility, cooperation, and respect for the human person, for society, and for the conditions that sustain humanity’s common future. It therefore unites peace, democracy, and sustainable development within a shared vision.

Peace on Earth and Peace with the Earth