Looking back at POV - an opportunity for critical reflection

As practitioner-scholars in the field of conflict resolution, we are inspired by the possibilities discussed in the first stage of the Point of View Process. We would not do our jobs, however, if we didn’t take a step back to provide a critical analysis as well. The following points hopefully will sharpen everyone’s critical perspective as we move forward creating possibilities by linking our desire for a more just and peaceful world with the academic and practical rigor necessary to contribute to transformative change.

Food for thought #1:

Rotary has an impressive track record of “Rotary projects”. Rotarians can rightfully point to success stories, often in terms of community initiatives. When it comes to Rotarian engagement for peace, we should avoid going too quickly to “Rotary projects”, assuming that “doing good” is inherently peace work and that it is merely a question of scaling and getting more buy-in across the Rotary ecosystem. Peace initiatives must be led by those affected by conflict and violence to avoid unintended harm through outside interventions regardless of their good intentions

Food for thought #2:

Rotarians’ connection to peace is at times too tied up in the positive peace framework developed by the Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP), an institutional partner of Rotary International. Like any other model, the positive peace framework has its limitations due to generalizations as well as other areas of more substantial critique. IEP’s framework of positive peace, for example, does not address the current global state of militarism. In fact, indicators like a sound business environment and good relations with neighbors can perfectly maintain the status quo of global business conduct, including global arms trade or the poor treatment of workers. The positive peace framework focuses on the business environment and is centered around narratives of the Global North. The framework must be questioned conceptually if in a ranking of countries’ positive peace levels Saudi Arabia sits 100 places above Yemen and Israel is ranked above Costa Rica.

Food for thought #3:

The POV Process is designed to examine the potential for meaningful Rotarian engagement for peace. At the same time, The POV Process pays particular attention to how different civil society actors, including businesses, labor organizations, churches, and other community organizations, could become active agents of conflict prevention & resolution. Moving forward, we must move the POV Process beyond Rotary and examine more broadly the role for civil society organizations and actors like Rotarians and Rotary International instead of narrowly focusing on Rotary peace projects.

Food for thought #4: