What is structural violence?

Galtung's concept of harm built into social structures (e.g., poverty, oppression) that prevents people from meeting basic needs, even without direct physical force.

Peace and Conflict Studies

Peace and conflict studies analyses the causes of violent conflict and the conditions and means of building peace.

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Scope

It covers theories of conflict and violence, conflict resolution and peacebuilding, structural and direct violence, and nonviolence.

Core questions

What causes violent conflict?
What is peace, beyond the absence of war?
How can conflicts be resolved and peace built?
How does structural violence operate?

Key concepts

Direct and structural violence
Negative and positive peace
Conflict resolution
Peacebuilding
Nonviolence
Reconciliation

Key theories

Structural violence and positive peace: Galtung distinguished direct from structural violence and negative from positive peace.
A general theory of conflict: Boulding analysed conflict and its dynamics across social systems.

History

Peace and conflict studies was founded by Galtung's distinctions (structural violence, positive peace) and Boulding's conflict theory, developing conflict-resolution and peacebuilding scholarship.

Debates

Negative versus positive peace: Whether peace is merely the absence of violence or requires social justice and the absence of structural violence.

Key figures

Johan Galtung
Kenneth Boulding

Seminal works

galtung-1969
boulding-1962

Frequently asked questions

What is structural violence?: Galtung's concept of harm built into social structures (e.g., poverty, oppression) that prevents people from meeting basic needs, even without direct physical force.