There are people who do what they call peace journalism and cover stories that, well, deal with peace. Here, I present the ideas of another set of journalists who may offer us even more, because they are grappling with the best ways to cover conflict that can lead to more constructive options.
When I was a student, the words peace and the military were rarely uttered in the same sentence. I was for peace. That meant I wanted nothing to do with the military. When it came time for the draft, I became a conscientious objector. Fifty years later, I talk about peace and the military together a lot. In fact, I spend a good bit of my time building bridges with current and former members of the American military. It started out on a quirky way. I reconnected with a childhood friend who had been a career officer and ran a think tank to help people in the defense community think outside the clichéd box. We realized we had a lot in common and ended up doing the q and a session at a launch party for one of my books two days after 9/11.
LinkedIn asked its regular posters to think about what it calls #BigIdea2019. I don't normally make New Year's resolutions or predictions. But here's my big wish. I'll do what I can to make it happen.
As I get read to write about where the peacebuilding world has to head next in finishing my textbook, I find myself thinking about the business world. There are groups like the Norwegian based Business for Peace which are trying to draw explicit links between the corporate and peacebuilding worlds. That’s obviously important. However, I think it’s even more important that we take some management ideas from that world and apply them to ours.
