Military Review English Edition May-June 2014 | Page 56

Tactical peace building occurs mainly at the micro
level. Tactical peace building includes the interpersonal, grassroots, and community contexts. This is
where the rubber meets the road. Students gain handson experience in conflict transformation work and
peace building. Skills such as mediation, negotiation,
group problem solving, restorative practices, community building, and facilitation are major components
of a conflict studies curriculum at the tactical level.

The Curriculum

Pursuing just peace connects to the military ethos
captured in the United States Military Academy
motto, “duty, honor, country.” We suggest a curriculum informed by this ethos. Peace and conflict
studies can contribute to a new type of force based
on Gen. Odierno’s suggestion that military units, in
the near future, may need to be configured based
on expertise.10 We ask, “Why not a unit schooled
in conflict management? What might be included
in a peace and conflict studies curriculum? What
competencies might be addressed?” These questions can inform an expanded dialogue regarding
peace building within an evolving military context.
Just policing introduces an approach to conflict
transformation and management configured similarly to a methodology employed by the Metropoli-

tan Police Service in London. Unit members rely
primarily on conflict resolution skills to confront
issues within communities. The word service
replaces force as a way of communicating a new
role within a military context. Armed military
forces can be held in reserve as a way of contributing to a graduated response to conflict. Gerald W.
Schlabach suggests that Reserve Officer Training
Corps programs could build closer relationships
with justice and peace studies programs and that
this collaboration can create “think tanks for transarmament from potentially lethal and military
forms of defense to nonviolent civilian-based
defense.”11
Language and, perhaps most important, sustained dialogue are key. Developing a common
language of peace and conflict studies can contribute to a seamless integration of humanitarian
organizations in peace operations. Shared competency in a common language can help break
down barriers of mistrust, which sometimes exists
between military professionals and humanitarian
organizations. Integrating peace and conflict studies into Army professional development can also
contribute to an increased competency in working
with the nongovernmental humanitarian organizations increasingly present in intrastate conflicts.

U.S. Army 2nd Lt. Paul Knudtson speaks to a Shah Joy village elder during a shura at the Shah Joy District Center in Afghanistan’s Zabul Province on
26 January 2011. (Staff Sgt. Brian Ferguson, U.S. Air Force)
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May-June 2014

MILITARY REVIEW