Scientific evidence suggests that living in peace is both possible and replicable – but much of society’s efforts focus on preventing or ending conflict rather than building peaceful societies. In his Psychology Today blog, “The Five Percent,” TC’s Peter T. Coleman, Professor of Psychology & Education and Director of the College’s Morton Deutsch International Center for Cooperation and Conflict Resolution, and several colleagues argue that peace “is not an idealist’s dream”; that societies such as Iceland, Denmark, Norway and Canada, which define themselves as peaceful, are much more likely to behave and organize themselves in a consistent manner; and that peace comes from below as well as above, with grassroots efforts generally proving more effective and sustainable.

Click here to read the blog post at Psychology Today and click here for a related Twitter thread by Peter Coleman.

The views expressed in the previous article are solely those of the speakers to whom they are attributed. They do not necessarily reflect the views of the faculty, administration, or staff either of Teachers College or of Columbia University.