Religion: A Missing Component of Professional Military Education PKSOI Paper | Page 18

Western-centric approaches to conflict are highly
focused on transformation and resolution, both of
which are reactive. In the Pan-Western world, conflict
is accepted as a natural condition.
Conflict work occurs in the space between what is
and what can be.20 It is the creation of a context where
those in conflict can do their work in resolving their
issues. Conflict workers employ both elicitive and
prescriptive practices in preventing and resolving
conflict. It is in the transitions that conflict workers
conduct the majority of their efforts.
It is not possible to view conflict outside of the
boundaries created by negative and positive peace.
Negative peace is the absence of direct violence, while
positive peace is the absence of direct violence and the
presence of justice. Very often, conflict resolution work
ceases once a negative peace has been achieved. Direct
violence can end by establishing a cease-fire; however, a respite from direct violence does not necessarily
translate into justice. Violence that is moved below the
social surface, and moved into a latent state, will very
often resurface.21 Positive peace requires that institutions of peace be in place to move from negative to
positive. Religion and religious actors can contribute
to this in substantive, unique ways.
Religion is not the Third-Rail
Religion is front-and-center in many of today’s
conflicts, and “religious loyalties matter profoundly.”22 The multiple roles played by religion and religious actors are not easily classified as good or evil.
Realistically, the presence of religion in conflict slides
along a scale between both poles. Clearly, “When religion is not taken into account (as per a failure in mili-

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