REFERENCE

The Psychology of Peace

An Introduction
by Rachel M. MacNair
The Psychology of Peace: An Introduction. 2d ed. Praeger. 2011. 268p. bibliog. index. ISBN 9780313397233. $48. Online: ABC-CLIO eBook Collection REF
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Incorporating fresh research and examples from wars and other events since the release of the first edition in 2003 (but just missing out on the Occupy Wall Street movement), MacNair's (director, Inst. for Integrated Social Analysis; Working for Peace: A Handbook of Practical Psychology and Other Tools) survey offers a psychological perspective on the causes and effects of violence and nonviolence. The work also provides insight into general principles of conflict resolution; the (MacNair claims) understudied field of "assertive nonviolence," or, as she puts it even more colorfully, "loving aggression"; and the wide range of activities under the purview of public policy, from terrorism to hate crimes and economic sanctions to abortions. The book closes with guidelines for promoting "Gentle Lives and Culture" and an overview of history-of-peace studies.
VERDICT Despite basing her presentation at least as much on academic sources as on recent history, MacNair writes with sufficient force and clarity to keep general readers, even young ones, engaged: "To keep any horror going, it helps to think of it as numbers and abstract principles on a page." Furthermore, aside from the problem of a large bibliography shoveled into a single alphabetical list, the unusually broad scope of her analysis will provide a valuable intellectual structure for further study of the roots and branches of war and peace at all levels, from the individual to worldwide.
Reviewed by John Peters, formerly with NYPL , Mar 15, 2012
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