Document Type : Original Article
Abstract
Peace in the classic sense has been interpreted as the "absence of war” which today is called "negative peace". UN Charter acknowledges this concept of peace and paragraph 1 of article 1 of the Charter clearly states the main goal of the organization as “maintaining international peace and security”. On the other hand, paragraph 3 of Article 2 of the UN Charter asks all members to settle their disputes by peaceful means in such a manner that international peace and security, and justice, are not endangered.
After the establishment of United Nations and from 1945 onwards, the so-called modern international law in universities, including academic system of teaching in Iran, is originated from the same pattern referred to in paragraph 3 of Article 2 of the Charter and what is considered as peace, is often the negative concept of peace that whenever in conflict with justice, it prevails in order to overcome threats to international security. However, the concept of peace is inclusive of "negative peace" and "positive peace"; in the context of "positive peace” not only justice is not in conflict with peace, but it is necessary to have structural peace. This inclusive approach is the core of Peace Studies that according to Johan Galtung who is the founding father of peace studies, has gradually found its way to academic debates and circles and become one of the most important discourses in higher education.
In peace education, in addition to the content, context and form of education are also of great importance. Therefore to transmit the above-mentioned concepts the education system should be peace oriented and devoid of structural violence. As a result, identifying and resolving structural violence elements in higher education should happen along with modifying the content.
In this article while emphasizing on the importance of peace studies for enhancement of higher education system for International law and human rights law in Iran, we will provide recommendations for improving the quality and modifying patterns of peace education and peace studies in the Iranian universities.