Pass path: Master definitions of Negative Peace Johan Galtung, Positive Peace Johan Galtung, and Structural Violence in Part 1. Top path: Master Positive vs Negative Peace Model in Tourism, apply Galtung’s Violence Triangle and the Human Security Framework in Part 2, contrast Negative vs Positive Peace in Part 3, and deconstruct Galtung’s Theoretical Framework in Part 4.
Part 1: Core Concepts (2 Marks)
- ★ Negative Peace (Johan Galtung): The mere absence of direct physical violence, warfare, armed rebellion, or physical assault between individuals or states.
- Positive Peace (Johan Galtung): The presence of structural social justice, economic equity, institutional transparency, fundamental human rights protection, and the total eradication of structural and cultural violence.
- Structural Violence: Systemic inequalities and institutional injustices built into political, legal, and economic structures that prevent marginalized human populations from achieving their full potential (e.g., systemic poverty, denial of schooling, caste marginalization).
- Cultural Violence: Aspects of symbolic culture—including religious dogmas, nationalist ideologies, folklore, language, and art—utilized to justify, sanitize, or legitimize direct and structural violence.
- Conflict Transformation (John Paul Lederach): An enduring peacebuilding discipline that moves beyond merely stopping violent hostilities to resolving root historical grievances, transforming destructive adversarial dynamics into constructive social relationships.
- Culture of Peace (UN Resolution 53/243): A values-based paradigm defined by the United Nations encompassing respect for human rights, democratic participation, tolerance, intercultural dialogue, and the rejection of violence.
- Human Security Framework (UNDP 1994): A people-centered security concept shifting focus from national territorial defense to seven vital dimensions of human vulnerability: economic, food, health, environmental, personal, community, and political security.
Part 2: Structural Frameworks (10 Marks)
Positive vs Negative Peace Model in Tourism
Johan Galtung’s Violence Triangle & Peace Continuum
Johan Galtung conceptualized violence as a three-dimensional continuum:
- Direct Violence (Visible Tip of the Iceberg):
- Manifested as physical violence: armed war, assassinations, bombings, physical assault, and terrorist strikes.
- In tourism, direct violence immediately halts international flight arrivals, destroys transport infrastructure, triggers catastrophic foreign travel advisories, and forces emergency evacuation of visitors.
- Structural Violence (Invisible Institutional Foundation):
- Deep-seated institutional arrangements where political power and economic resources are monopolized by ruling elites, leaving marginalized groups trapped in illiteracy, malnutrition, and unemployment.
- In tourism, structural violence is manifested when multinational corporations or urban elites exploit local indigenous mountain porters without insurance, fair wages, or medical rights.
- Cultural Violence (Invisible Legitimizing Norms):
- Cultural attitudes, racial stereotypes, gender biases, and religious doctrines that normalize or justify discrimination and economic exploitation.
- Peacebuilding requires dismantling cultural prejudices through transformative host-guest contact and intercultural education.
The Peacebuilding Continuum toward Sustainable Positive Peace
- Stage 1: Ceasefire & Cessation of Hostilities: Halting armed skirmishes achieves baseline Negative Peace, allowing humanitarian relief to flow.
- Stage 2: Disarmament, Demobilization, and Reintegration (DDR): Disarming fighters and reintegrating ex-combatants into civil life and vocational employment.
- Stage 3: Transitional Justice & Truth Reconciliation: Establishing institutional mechanisms to address human rights violations and restore public trust.
- Stage 4: Structural Transformation via Inclusive Tourism: Investing tourism capital in marginalized rural areas (homestays, trails), generating grassroots wealth, and realizing genuine Positive Peace.
Analytical Application to Nepal’s Peace Process
- 1996–2006 Armed Conflict: Direct violence devastated Nepal’s tourism economy; suspension bridges and telecom towers were destroyed; rural trekking was severely restricted.
- Comprehensive Peace Accord (CPA 2006): Achieved vital negative peace by disarming insurgent forces and halting combat.
- Tourism as an Instrument for Positive Peace: Converting former conflict epicenters (Rolpa, Rukum, Sindhupalchok) into community-based trekking corridors (The Guerrilla Trek, Indigenous People’s Trail), providing former combatants and conflict-affected families with dignified livelihoods as certified mountain guides, cooks, and homestay hosts.
Part 3: Distinction Tables
| Basis of Comparison | Negative Peace | Positive Peace |
|---|---|---|
| Foundational Focus | Mere absence of armed conflict, warfare, or physical violence | Presence of systemic justice, equity, and human dignity |
| Resilience / Stability | Highly fragile; underlying unaddressed grievances risk relapse | Exceptionally durable and resilient; resolves root causal grievances |
| Societal Climate | Suspicion, armed street checkpoints, curfew-conditioned calm | Deep social cohesion, mutual civic trust, and vibrant collaboration |
| Tourism Manifestation | Guarded tourist arrivals confined to fortified luxury city enclaves | Community-based tourism, rural homestays, and free trekking mobility |
| Theoretical Origin | Classical diplomatic ceasefires and armistices | Johan Galtung’s comprehensive peace research paradigm |
Part 4: Worked Problems & Exam Traps
★ Worked Theoretical Case: Deconstructing Johan Galtung’s Framework
- The Case Scenario: A peace treaty is signed in a multi-ethnic mountain district. Armed insurgent skirmishes cease entirely. However, indigenous youth from minority ethnic communities are systematically denied licensing opportunities as mountain guides by administrative cartels, and local forest water sources remain privatized by outside commercial developers.
- Comprehensive Peace Analysis:
- Has Negative Peace been established? Yes. The active cessation of armed fighting, shootings, and bombings achieves baseline negative peace.
- Has Positive Peace been realized? No. The persistence of discriminatory guide licensing regulations and corporate monopolization of local water rights represents severe Structural Violence.
- Strategic Prediction: Because structural grievances remain unaddressed, simmering economic disenfranchisement will eventually reignite direct civil unrest. Sustainable peace requires equitable economic inclusion through community-managed tourism development.
TU Exam Trap: Do not define peace merely as ‘the absence of war’. In modern academic peace studies and BTTM examinations, you must explicitly distinguish between Negative Peace (absence of physical fighting) and Positive Peace (presence of justice, human dignity, and the eradication of structural violence).
Students lose marks here because they define peace merely as the absence of war.