The relationship between peace and development: A historical exploration

Abstract

Peace and development are concepts with deep historical roots and there are a large number of perspectives with regard to their definition, causes, desirability and attainability. In this article an attempt will be made to outline briefly the historical development of ideas about the nature of the relationship between peace and development. Four basic relationships can be distinguished, namely (a) peace promotes development, (b) peace harms development, (c) development promotes peace, and (d) development harms peace.