Peace is a Strategy, Not a Guessing Game

Throwing spaghetti on the wall to see what sticks is NOT a strategy, it simply means you are not grounded in values or guided by principles. You are hoping for luck; however, in the business of peace, there is no such thing as luck.

This week at the Center for Peace Education (CPE), our students are learning that peace does not come from random guessing. 

We are teaching them to stop throwing spaghetti and start using a map, their values, and a GPS, their principles, to guide their attitudes and behaviors.

People are suffering and dying simply because of a lack of genuine conflict resolution strategy. Peace CANNOT be left to chance. Absolutely, there is NO such thing as a windfall in ending conflict and building lasting peace.

Why the "Quick Fix" Often Fails in Conflict Resolution

"A hot-tempered person digs their own grave.” (East African Proverb). When we react in anger; through temper tantrums or unrestrained behavior; we do not resolve conflict amicably; we often make it worse.

At the Center for Peace Education (CPE), we believe that lasting peace is never built on a foundation of impulsiveness.

When we react with unhinged emotions or temper tantrums during a conflict, we aren't just destroying properties, hurting others, and/or killing innocent people; we are burying the possibility of a peaceful solution.

This week at CPE, our students are learning an important lesson: values and principles are not expressed through impulsive reactions, but through thoughtful and disciplined actions.

In other words, our students are exploring the vital difference between reaction and resolution. In essence, peace is NOT built-in moments of reaction, nor a reflex of emotion, OH YES, but in moments of sober reflection guided by strong values, YES Indeed!

From Values to Action: How We Live What We Believe

Shifting one’s principles and values before, during, or after conflict is like a chicken running without its head (i.e., frantic, chaotic, and without direction) Oh NO! When we abandon what we believe in, we lose our sense of purpose and judgment!

Conversely, standing firm in our principles and values; no matter the circumstances; BUILDS confidence, strengthens trust, and fosters social cohesion.

Over the past week at the Center for Peace Education, our students have been learning an important lesson: COMPROMISING one’s principles and values can have serious consequences. 

It can DAMAGE one’s integrity and standing in society, and in many cases, it can ESCALATE conflict, leading to the destruction of property and even the loss of innocent lives; WHAT A SHAME, STOP NOW, & LEARN FROM THE EXPERTS!

That is why we are intentionally equipping our students with the knowledge, skills, and attitudes to understand this truth: OUR PRINCIPLES AND VALUES DEFINE WHO WE ARE! They reflect our identity, shape our character, and guide how we live and interact with others in our global community.

As we said in last week post, in essence, they are our internal compass (i.e., GPS), OH YES, guiding us toward the RIGHT PATH, even in the most difficult moments.

#PeaceEducation #Principles #Values #SocialCohesion #CPE #BuildingPeace

Principles and Values: Our Compass to Peace

 

Article: Indigenous Cultural Practices to Build Peace Following Violent Conflict: A Literature Review

We are proud to announce that, Mainlehwon Ebenezer Vonhm, PhD., our Founder & Executive Director's Scholarly work has been published in the Journal of Indigenous Social Development, a leading international platform for Indigenous research and scholarship.

https://doi.org/10.55016/ojs/jisd.v13i3.81584

APA:

Vonhm, M. E. (2025). Indigenous Cultural Practices to Build Peace Following Violent Conflict: A 

Literature Review. Journal of Indigenous Social Development, 13(3), 175-201. 

https://doi.org/10.55016/ojs/jisd.v13i3.81584  

Cultural Practice On How To Seek Forgiveness Following Violent Conflict In Non-Western [indigenous] Societies

 Immediately following violent conflict (after peace agreement and disarmament), victims often continue to harbor deep sense of resentment and suspicion toward former rebel fighters (perpetrators / victimizers). One of the strategies to alleviate tension and/or social division is for former perpetrators / victimizers to seek forgiveness.

 

Within the predominant literature on conflict resolution and peacebuilding, the act of seeking forgiveness, mostly originating from the global north, involves former perpetrators / victimizers standing straight up or sitting in upright position, looking directly at the victim(s), and offering a firm handshake to ask for forgiveness. Whilst there is nothing wrong with such a peacebuilding mechanism originating from Western industrialized societies, such a strategy is inadequate to restore a sense of living together after violent conflict, especially, in non-Western industrialized post-conflict contexts, such as in African societies. 

 

The approach to peacebuilding in some non-Western societies is different, however. In certain African societies or indigenous societies, for example, restoring broken relations after conflict often starts with a deep expression of remorse by the perpetrator of violence and atrocities through certain acts such as the perpetrator or victimizer laying down on the floor, confessing his or her atrocities, expressing remorse, and seeking forgiveness. The perpetrator does not stand looking straight or sitting in an upright position looking directly into the victim’s eyes and offering a handshake to ask for forgiveness.

 

During a part of the training session in Kigali, Rwanda, I laid on the floor to demonstrate the act of seeking forgiveness, which is only one small step towards restoring a sense of living together amongst victims and their victimizers. Laying on the floor is a ritual practice that symbolizes acknowledgement of guilt, expression of remorse, and recognition of the need for social cohesion.

 

Unfortunately, such cultural practices of peacebuilding are not widely discussed in the predominantly western-produced literature on conflict resolution and peacebuilding in post-conflict societies in the global south, as such, they are under-researched and/or unutilized.

Citing this blog post in APA format:

Vonhm, M. E. (2003, July). Cultural Practice On How To Seek Forgiveness Following Violent Conflict In Non-Western [indigenous] Societies. Center for Peace Education. http://peacefulliberia.blogspot.com