National Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies, University of Otago

14/06/2024

The NZPSA stands in solidarity with students and academics in support of their academic freedom and their right to protest on and off university campuses. We call on all university administrators in Aotearoa New Zealand to show respect, care, and support for students and academics as they make their voices and demands heard in response to the violence they are seeing. The lack of effective political response to Israel’s assault has generated a global mobilisation of students demanding action from their institutions and governments. Many student and faculty protestors have themselves faced the excessive and unwarranted use of police force as their university administrators have sought to remove them from their campuses. As educators in political studies, we respect the right of our students and academics to speak and organise for causes that are meaningful to them. While all protests transgress normal rules and expectations, we have seen no evidence to suggest that student protestors in Aotearoa New Zealand have behaved in ways that are discriminatory or unethical. Calling for an end to genocide should not be controversial and should not be a punishable offence; indeed, it is something that all university leaders should actively support.

The NZPSA calls upon the Government of Aotearoa New Zealand to take stronger and more decisive actions in response to this crisis.

Read the full statement here:

12/06/2024

06/06/2024

In sum, addressing the bus hub attack and its social and personal ripple effects requires the people of Dunedin to consider creative forms of restorative communication, layered responsibility, and cultural action. This means acknowledging our community has lost many futures to the attack.

First and foremost is the victim and his family, their school community, and other circles of relationship. As well, having compassion for the young person responsible for the attack, their lost future, and that of their family, is encouraged by spiritual and cultural values.

Efforts going forward should build on community-based dialogues already begun where young people and adults contribute their everyday expertise in identifying needs, repairing harms, and preventing future violence, both now and in the years to come.

Community dialogue is the key to moving forward after the bus hub death, Jeremy Simons writes. Everyone froze as the knife skittered across the...

12/05/2024

For more than 40 years, Bangladeshi photojournalist Shahidul Alam has chronicled social movements, political turmoil and human rights abuses. He was imprisoned and tortured for criticising his government’s response to student protests. In 2018, he became a Time Magazine Person of the Year.

A former MP in Nelson Mandela’s first democratic government, Andrew Feinstein resigned over his party’s refusal to allow an investigation into a $6.2bn arms deal. Ever since, he has become a leading expert on corruption and the global arms trade.

In this episode, Alam and Feinstein discuss their journeys into activism and how to bring about social and political change.

For more than 40 years, Bangladeshi photojournalist Shahidul Alam has chronicled social movements, political turmoil and human rights abuses. He was imprison...

13/04/2024

The long-running radio show and podcast "Community or Chaos" with Marvin Hubbard is now available on Spotify!

tinyurl.com/CommunityorChaosApr24

This week Marvin was joined by Kevin Clements, a renowned expert in Peace and Conflict Studies, to talk about strengthening gun control regulations in New Zealand.

Tune in every Tuesday at 11am or catch the podcast on all major platforms including Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Don't miss out!

CAMA - Community Access Media Alliance
NZ On Air
National Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies, University of Otago

15/03/2024

In the coming weeks, I hope and pray that Kiwis of goodwill can accomplish at least one concrete action that will buoy hope for a better world not only for the people of Christchurch, but the nation, and the world.

https://www.odt.co.nz/opinion/week-focuses-positive-futurehttps://www.odt.co.nz/opinion/week-focuses-positive-futurehttps://www.odt.co.nz/opinion/week-focuses-positive-future

25/02/2024

Te Ao o Rongomaraeroa | the National Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies condemns Israel’s genocidal attacks on Palestinians and calls for an immediate ceasefire, and to end Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestine.

We stand for peace. We stand for humanity. We stand with the Palestinian people, we deplore the violence, and we acknowledge that there is never any excuse for such acts of aggression. We stand in solidarity with those living in terror not knowing what the next day will bring. We adhere to the principle of Do No Harm, and this conflict continues to harm innocent people – children, women and men – daily as we watch it live on our screens. We call for immediate ceasefire and the ongoing support for those killed, injured, displaced and traumatised by the events of the past months.

We know that it is civilians who bear the brunt of this conflict, as they bear the brunt of all conflicts. We acknowledge the courage of many across the globe, including the brave voice of many Israeli and Jewish people, who are risking themselves to express their strong opposition to this situation. And we acknowledge that this will continue long after our media cycle has moved on.
We express our concern that in this time, this violence is cascading beyond Gaza, and our very international order is under threat along with Gaza. We call on the international systems and instruments, such as for the UN system to live up to their core responsibilities of saving generations from the scourge of war, for all people to live with human rights, dignity, justice and respect, calling on the Responsibility to Protect and adhere to the Laws of War. We need to increase our support for both the prevention of and non-violent resolutions to violent-conflict, and we need to strengthen our international laws and systems so that we are more readily and rapidly able to respond to such blatant acts of aggression in the future. In addition, we lament how much more dangerous this situation is because of the presence of nuclear weapons in our world, and we continue our call for global nuclear disarmament.

Peace must belong to all people, not only to those who have something to offer us. In the words of our precious Māori proverb, He aha te mea nui? He tāngata, he tāngata, he tāngata. What is the most important thing in the world? It is people, it is people, it is people. We are one.

We stand in solidarity with the people of Gaza in their time of trial. This world must stand for peace. We must strengthen our international systems for peace, and we call on the New Zealand government to contribute towards this.

Te Ao o Rongomaraeroa | The National Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies (NCPACS)
Student Association President, Sally Angelson

26 February 2024

02/12/2023

As wars continue in Gaza, Ukraine, and other parts of the world, a new book questions whether New Zealand ought to have a military force at all.

Professor Richard Jackson, Griffin Leonard and Joseph Llwellyn of The National Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies, at the University of Otago, are co-authors of Abolishing the Military - Arguments and Alternatives.

So how could New Zealand ensure its security and promote international peace in alternative, non-violent ways?

Maintaining a national military is almost taken for granted, but there are other options, and there are good reasons for questioning the status quo, Jackson tells Saturday Morning.

As wars continue in Gaza and Ukraine, and other parts of the world, a new book questions whether New Zealand ought to have a military force at all. Professor Richard Jackson, Griffin Leonard and Joseph Llwellyn of The National Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies, at the University of Otago, are co...

15/11/2023

It’s vital not to equate Hamas with all Palestinians or Muslims. It’s imperative not to equate Israel’s military response with all Israelis or Jews. It’s crucial to extend empathy, respect, and manaakitanga to all affected neighbours, colleagues, friends and constituents.

I reject any suggestion of equivalent conduct or suffering between the parties.

OPINION: New Zealand should press for the release of all hostages, an immediate ceasefire, and humanitarian relief.

24/10/2023

Pacifism and nonviolence should be taken seriously for a number of compelling analytical and normative reasons, including the failure of current norms to regulate international violence, the growing literature on the effectiveness of nonviolence, and the insights from it on the interdependence between means and ends. In this keynote lecture, IAS Visiting Fellow Professor Richard Jackson (University of Otago) will elaborate on these themes and on the challenges facing the expanding scholarship on the topic. His lecture will provide a taster of the content of the inaugural issue of the new Journal of Pacifism and Nonviolence, which Dr Alex Christoyannopoulos (Loughborough University) launched earlier this year. Guest Speaker Professor Berit Bliesemann de Guevara (Aberystwyth University) and IAS Visiting Fellow Dr Felicity Gray (Nonviolent Peaceforce) will then briefly introduce their recently-published special issue of the journal on ‘unarmed civilian agency in violent conflicts’.

Pacifism and nonviolence should be taken seriously for a number of compelling analytical and normative reasons, including the failure of current norms to reg...