Peace on Earth-- Good News, for a Change?

I received an email with the latest update about research on peace around the planet from Vision of Humanity. We pray for peace, sing of peace, and celebrate Christ as the Prince of Peace from week to week. But does the climate of peace in our world actually change for the better?  I found encouragement in this update. WEDNESDAY 31ST AUGUST 2016 Positive Peace: New & Updated for 2016

Today we launch ‘Positive Peace 2016’, our latest report which presents a compilation of IEP’s most advanced research to-date. The report investigates the eight domains of Positive Peace, why they are important, and how they work together to reduce levels of violence and improve resilience and peacefulness. Without a deeper understanding of how society operates it will not be possible to solve humanity’s major challenges. Positive Peace, combined with systems thinking, provides us with a unique framework from which to better manage human affairs. Read the full report here.

POSITIVE PEACE 2016 Report Highlights, Key Themes

The updated report places special emphasis on the systemic nature of peace, societal development and resilience, collating IEP’s best work to date on systems thinking and Positive Peace and its ability to affect change at a country level. Here are some of the highlights: Highlight 1: Positive Peace has been improving steadily since 2005. One-hundred and eighteen of 162 countries ranked in the Positive Peace index, or 73 per cent, have shown an improvement to 2015. Highlight 2: Democracies consistently have the strongest level of Positive Peace and along with high-income countries, dominate the top 30 countries in the Positive Peace index. Highlight 3: Ninety-one per cent of all violent resistance movements took place in countries with low levels of Positive Peace.