Differences Between War and Peace are Big

Children from Yugoslavia and the United States Describe Peace and War

Bibliographic Data

ID12439416
AuthorsKaren S Myers‐Bowman (corresponding author), Karen S Myers-Bowman, Kathleen Walker (0000-0003-1910-0055), Judith A Myers-Walls, Judith A Myers‐Walls
Year2005
Volume11
Issue2
Pages177-198
Publication date2005-06-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenuePeace and Conflict Journal of Peace Psychology (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1078-1919 • E-ISSN: 1532-7949
PublisherAmerican Psychological Association (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1207/s15327949pac1102_4
OpenAlexW2094172893
LanguageEN
Citations received8
References cited10

This article presents children's descriptions of peace and war from two very different sociocultural environments: Belgrade, Yugoslavia, and the midwestern United States. Interviews were conducted shortly after the 1999–2000 NATO-Yugoslavian active conflict; therefore, one meaningful contrast between these two contexts is the exposure these children had to political violence. The children from Belgrade directly experienced the bombing of their city, whereas the U.S. children observed the political violence from a distance (if they knew of it at all). Children from both countries expressed overwhelmingly similar ideas of peace and war; however, there also were striking differences between their answers, some of which may be a result of their level of exposure to war. Implications for peace research and education are provided

Development economics · Economic history · Economics · Peace and conflict studies · Political science · Educator Training and Historical Pedagogy · History · Law · Peace and Human Rights Education · Values and Moral Education