OJPCR: The Online Journal of Peace and Conflict Resolution is intended as a resource for students, teachers and practitioners in fields relating to the reduction and elimination of destructive conflict. It desires to be a free, yet valuable, source of information to aid anyone trying to work toward a less violent and more cooperative world.



Service Learning and Conflict Resolution Education

Dismantling Domination: An Epidemiological Approach

Culture and Conflict in the Middle East: Western Correspondents' Perceptions of the Egyptian and Israeli Cultures

Beyond Mediation: The Integral Role of Non-Governmental Approaches to Resolving Protracted Ethnic Conflicts in Lesser-Developed Countries

New publications of interest


OJPCR: The Online Journal of Peace and Conflict Resolution


Publications of Interest

The Bombing, a film by Simone Bitton, First Run Icarus Films. Available for sale and rental.

In The Bombing, Simone Bitton examines a suicide bombing in Jerusalem from the perspective of the families of the victims and the bombers. On September 4, 1997, three Palestinian men detonated bombs on Ben Yahuda Street, killing five Israeli citizens, including three teenage girls. Bitton interviewed the families of the men and the teenage girls and presents these interviews along with news footage from the bombing and a recounting of the events leading up to the attack.

Although it would be impossible for a filmmaker to illustrate these events without moral comment, Bitton lets the participants (or more accurately, their families) tell their stories with a minimum of narrative intervention. As a result, The Bombing presents a very human perspective on an event many would characterize as inhuman.

There are a number of interesting interactions caught on film, including a trip by the parents of one victim to speak with a Palestinian psychologist about the psychology of suicide bombers and the final scene in which the families of a victim and a bomber meet. This film would succeed as simply a description of the events leading up to the bombing and the bombing itself, but exceeds expectations by addressing sensitively the aftermath of such actions for both the victims and their families and the families of the bombers as well.


The Banning of Anti-Personnel Landmines: The Legal Contribution of the International Committee of the Red Cross 1955-1999. Edited by Louis Maresca and Stuart Maslen. 2000. Cambridge University Press. Cloth, $90.00. 670 pages with index.

This book provides a collection of important documents related to the work of the International Committee of the Red Cross toward the banning of interpersonal land mines. This reference includes speeches, working papers, and position papers developed by the ICRC through an important stage of the development of international humanitarian law. This book will prove invaluable to researchers seeking insight into these developments.


The Business of PeaceThe Business of Peace: The Private Sector as a Partner in Conflict Prevention and Resolution. By Jane Nelson. 2001. The Prince of Wales Business Forum, International Alert, and the Council on Economic Priorities. $24.00 from the Council on Economic Priorities or ksmith@cepnyc.org.

The Business of Peace is the first comprehensive examination of the role corporations can play in minimizing and resolving international and intranational violent conflict. By using the terminology of both business and conflict resolution, this report addresses the role of business in violent conflict from both perspectives, with an eye toward engaging business to assist in the development of peace.


The Middle East Military Balance 2000-2001. Edited by Shai Feldman and Yiftah Shapir. MIT Press. Cloth, $37.95. 450 pages.

The Middle East Military Balance is an annual report prepared by the Jaffee Center for Strategic Studies in Tel Aviv, Israel. It contains sections on both regional issues and processes as well as individual assessments of country military capabilities. This series is known for containing information from sources not available to other research institutes and will prove invaluable for the scholar or practitioner who needs up-to-date, accurate information on military capabilities in the area. Of special interest are the chapters on the peace processes and regional security issues.


Culture and Conflict ReaderThe Culture and Conflict Reader. Edited by Pat K. Chew. New York University Press. Cloth $70.00, Paperback $25.00. 304 pages.

This excellent introduction to the scholarship on culture and conflict includes selections from many important articles and books. Although the reader format can be frustrating for students looking for comprehensiveness, this book will prove a useful textbook, providing an overview of current thought in the field.


Environmental Consequences of WarThe Environmental Consequences of War: Legal, Economic, and Scientific Perspectives. Edited by Jay E. Austin and Carl E. Bruch. Cambridge University Press. Hardback, $95.00. 691 pages.

This exhaustive look at the environmental effects of war begins with an analysis of the current law of war in relation to the environment. Economic and scientific perspectives are mixed with examination of other legal regimes to formulate proposals for an international regime to address the environmental effects of war, yielding, in one case, to the proposition of "environmental crimes" as a class of behavior alongside the more recognizable war crimes. To its benefit, The Environmental Consequences of War looks outside the legal field for information and perspectives to develop its legal argument, in addition to containing thorough legal analysis.


Moral VictoriesMoral Victories: How Activists Provoke Multilateral Action. By Susan Burgerman. Cornell University Press. Cloth, $29.95. 185 pages.

Moral Victories discusses the international activist response to human rights violations in El Salvador and Guatemala. This pressure led the UN to send observers who were effective in curtailing violations. Burgerman illuminates the mechanisms by which individuals, acting collectively, were able to influence international policy. This book should be on interest to scholars of peace and justice movements as well as to activists themselves.


Testimony of a Bosnian. By Naza Tanovic-Miller. Texas A&M University Press. Cloth, $32.95. 304 pages.

Tanovic-Miller is a mathematics professor at the University of Sarajevo who taught in Sarajevo until fleeing for the United States in 1992. Her book is separated into two sections: The Slaughter of Bosnia and The Lies About Bosnia. The Slaughter addresses Tanovic-Miller's time during the war in Sarajevo, while The Lies addresses common misconceptions about the conflict based on her efforts to encourage international action while in the US. Testimony of a Bosnian is a more intimate view of the Yugoslav conflict than most works by journalists or scholars and serves its topic well.


Testament of a RevolutionA Testament of Revolution. By Bela Liptak. Texas A&M University Press Cloth, $29.95. 224 pages.

Liptak wrote this account of his experiences in the 1956 Hungarian Revolution against Soviet occupiers while in an Austrian refugee camp. The events of the protests are rendered in an involving narrative and supplemented by Liptak's additions as a man looking back from 2000.


In addition to publishing occasional book and media reviews, OJPCR: The Online Journal of Peace and Conflict Resolution will make notice of recent publications that may be of interest to our readers. Publishers wishing to inform OJPCR of new publications should send copies to:

Derek Sweetman, editor
OJPCR: The Online Journal of Peace and Conflict Resolution
4514-C Connecticut Ave NW Washington, DC 20008

Should you wish to purchase any of these publications, we would suggest you use GreaterGood.com or iGive.com. Both of these services will allow you to access the major online sellers, but also donate a portion of their profits to the Tabula Rasa Institute, which publishes OJPCR. Your purchases will help us ensure we are able to keep bringing you OJPCR free-of-charge.

Tabula Rasa Institute

The Online Journal of Peace and Conflict Resolution is published by the Tabula Rasa Institute.


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