Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Ahimsa and Human Development: A Different Paradigm for Peace, Security and Conflict Resolution

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Earth at Risk in the 21st Century: Rethinking Peace, Environment, Gender, and Human, Water, Health, Food, Energy Security, and Migration

Part of the book series: Pioneers in Arts, Humanities, Science, Engineering, Practice ((PAHSEP,volume 18))

  • 349 Accesses

Abstract

Entering soon the third decade of the new millennium, and facing changes on a global scale, a distinct geopolitical order has emerged in which the East-West conflict has disintegrated and the North-South divide intensified.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 119.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 159.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 159.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Notes

  1. 1.

    Part of this article was published in Úrsula Oswald Spring (2000). “Ahimsa and Human Development”, in: Indian Journal of Asian Affairs, Vol. 13, No. 1–2, June–December, pp. 133–153, and was adapted. The permission of the original publisher was granted.

  2. 2.

    Jainism is a very old religion and has existed for thousands of years. The principals of Jainism are: self-control, which includes control over physiological instincts, such as hunger, sex, other desires and emotions; meditation; introspection; concentration; and healthy interpersonal relationships, which thus contribute to mental health. The soul consists of four infinities: infinite knowledge (Ananta Gnana), infinite intuition (Ananta Darsana), infinite happiness (Ananta Sukha) and infinite potency (Ananta Virya) (Bhadraprabhu 1986).

  3. 3.

    Only renewable energy have produced in 2017, 9.7 millions of new jobs (REN21 2017).

  4. 4.

    BD: Billion dollars, understood as a thousand million throughout the entire text.

  5. 5.

    https://www.thebalance.com/u-s-military-budget-components-challenges-growth-3306320.

  6. 6.

    https://uk.businessinsider.com/12-countries-highest-military-budgets-percentage-of-gdp-2017-7/- jordan-431-of-gdp-1.

  7. 7.

    https://www.forbes.com/sites/niallmccarthy/2015/06/25/the-biggest-military-budgets-as-a-percentage-of-gdp-infographic-2/#4fe852414c47.

  8. 8.

    UNHCR 2017, https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2017/06/there-are-now-more-refugees-than-the-entire-population-of-the-uk/.

  9. 9.

    https://www.unhcr.org/news/latest/2018/1/5a71f6914/unhcr-releases-draft-outlining-new-global-refugee-deal.html.

  10. 10.

    In the Tu Du hospital in Saigon thousands of foetuses in alcohol exist, as a result of 76 million litres of herbicides thrown down on Vietnam between 1961 and 1972, especially the Orange Agent, a mixture of 2,4-D (2,4-diclorodifenoxiacetic acid) and 2,4,5-T (2,4,5-triclorofenoxiacetic acid). In the Vietnam war it got polluted in a concentration of 50 ppm (in herbicides normally 0.05 ppm) with TCDD (2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-para-dioxin), an undesirable by-product of 2,4,5-T. The TCDD shows higher toxicity than the dioxin and produces severe illnesses such as cancer, chloracne, hepatic and genetic alterations. More than 500 thousand children were born with malformations due to these toxins, and the reproductive health of the US soldiers stationed in Vietnam was also affected (Westing 2013a, b).

  11. 11.

    Data from November 2017 at: https://www.ucsusa.org/global…/each-countrys-share-of-co2.html.

  12. 12.

    https://www.cdc.gov/healthywater/burden/current-data.html.

  13. 13.

    In Yemen 60% of the population or 17 million; in South Sudan 45% or 17 million; in DRC 7.7 million, in Afghanistan 7.6 million; in Sudan 3.8 million people suffer from acute hunger. Other countries with high levels of food insecurity are Syria, Lebanon, Central African Republic, Ukraine and Somalia (FAO 2017).

  14. 14.

    https://www.wateraid.org/facts-and-statistics; https://www.unicef.org/media/media_68359.html; https://www.stateofglobalair.org/sites/default/files/SOGA2017_report.pdf.

  15. 15.

    https://climateactiontracker.org/.

  16. 16.

    https://www.urbanet.info/world-urban-population/.

References

  • Álvarez, Enrique, Úrsula Oswald Spring (1993). Desnutrición Crónica o Aguda Materno Infantil y Retardos en el Desarrollo, Aporte de Investigación 59, Cuernavaca, CRIM-UNAM.

    Google Scholar 

  • Arizpe, Lourdes (1997) (Ed.). Dimensiones Culturales del Cambio Global, Cuernavaca, CRIM-UNAM.

    Google Scholar 

  • Arreguín, Felipe (1991). “Uso Eficiente del Agua”, in Ingeniería Hidráulica en México, Instituto Mexicano de Tecnología del Agua, pp. 2–22, May–August.

    Google Scholar 

  • Arreguín, Felipe, M. Buenfil (1990). Recomendaciones para Ahorrar Agua en Domicilios, Riego e Industrias, Jiutepec, Instituto Mexicano de Tecnología del Agua.

    Google Scholar 

  • Barraclough, Solon, Krishna Ghimire, Hans Meliczek (1997). Rural Development and the Environment, Geneva, UNRISD.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bennholdt-Thomsen, Veronika (1998) (Ed.). Juchitán la ciudad de las mujeres, Oaxaca, Instituto Oaxaqueño de las Culturas, Fondo Estatal para la Cultura y las Artes.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bennholdt-Thomsen, Veronika, Maria Mies (1999). The Subsistence Perspective: Beyond the Globalized Economy, London, Zen Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bennholdt-Thomsen, Veronika, Nicholas Faraclas, Claudia von Werlhof (2001) (Eds.). There is an Alternative. Subsistence and Worldwide Resistance to Corporate Globalization, London, Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bhadraprabhu, Vijay (1986). In K. Ramappa (Ed.), Guidelines of Jainism, Mehsana, Sri Vishwa Kalyan Prakashan Trust, pp. 22–33.

    Google Scholar 

  • Boff, Leonardo (1980). Teología del cautiverio y de la liberación, Madrid, Paulinas.

    Google Scholar 

  • Boulding, Elise (1992) (Ed.). New Agendas for Peace Research. Conflict and Security Reexamined, Boulder, Lynne Rienner.

    Google Scholar 

  • Boulding, Elise (1993). “States, Boundaries and Environmental Security”, in Dennis Sandole, Hugo van der Merwe (Eds.), Conflict Resolution Theory and Practice. Integration and Application, Manchester, Manchester University Press, pp. 194–208.

    Google Scholar 

  • Boulding, Elise (2000). Cultures of Peace. The Hidden Side of History, New York, Syracuse University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brundtland Commission [World Commission on Environment and Development] (1987). Our Common Future, Oxford, Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brundtland, Gro Harlem (1993). “The Environment, Security and Development”, in SIPRI Yearbook, Oxford, Oxford University Press, pp. 15–26.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bunyard, Peter (1999). “How Global Warming Could Cause Northern Europe to Freeze”, The Ecologist, Vol. 2, No. 2, pp. 79–85.

    Google Scholar 

  • CEPAL (1998). Latin-America and the Caribbean: Policies to Improve Linkages with the Global Economy, Santiago, UN/Fondo de Cultura Económica.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chomsky, Noam (1998). “A Century Later”, Peace Review, Vol. 10, No. 3, pp. 313–321.

    Google Scholar 

  • Coneval (2017). Pobreza en México, Mexico City, CDMX, Coneval.

    Google Scholar 

  • Falco, Maria J. (1996) (Ed.). Feminist Interpretations of Mary Wollstonecraft (Re-Reading the Canon), University Park, Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania State University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • FAO (1994a). Strategies for Sustainable Agriculture and Rural Development, Rome, FAO.

    Google Scholar 

  • FAO (1994b). Sustainable Agriculture and Rural Development, Part 1: Latin America and Asia, Rome, FAO.

    Google Scholar 

  • Friedrich, J., M. Ge, A. Pickens (2017). “Interactive Chart Explains World’s Top 10 Emitters and How They’ve Changed”, https://www.wri.org/blog/2017/04/interactive-chart-explains-worlds-top-10-emitters-and-how-theyve-changed.

  • Galeano, Eduardo (1980). Las Venas Abiertas de América Latina, Mexico, D.F., Siglo XXI Eds.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gandhi, Mahatma (1983). Autobiography: The Story of My Experiments with Truth, New York, Dover Publications.

    Google Scholar 

  • Genovés, Santiago (1991). Expedición a la Violencia, Mexico, D.F., FCE.

    Google Scholar 

  • Genovés, Santiago (1995). Ciencia y Trascendencia, Mexico, D.F., IIA-UNAM.

    Google Scholar 

  • Genovés, Santiago (1999). “Human Evolution and Violence”, in Maciej Henneberg, Charles Oxnard (Eds.), Perspectives in Human Biology, Vol. 4, No. 1, Crawley, Center for Human Biology, The University of Western Australia.

    Google Scholar 

  • Harvard University (1999). International Conference on Biotechnology in the Global Economy, 3 to 6 of September, Boston, University of Harvard.

    Google Scholar 

  • IEA (2017). Energy Efficiency 2017, Paris, IEA.

    Google Scholar 

  • IFAD (1992). The State of World Rural Poverty, New York, New York University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • IMF [International Monetary Fund] (1999). World Economic Indicators, Washington, D.C., IMF.

    Google Scholar 

  • INEGI (1999). Encuesta Nacional de Gasto-Hogar, Aguascalientes, Instituto Nacional de Estadísticas y Geografía.

    Google Scholar 

  • Inter-réseaux (2012). “Brazil’s ‘Zero Hunger’ Strategy”, Inter-réseaux-Développement rural, September, https://www.inter-reseaux.org/IMG/pdf/Note_FaimZe_ro_Sept2012_EN_vp.pdf.

  • IPCC [Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change] (2012). Managing the Risks of Extreme Events and Disasters to Advance Climate Change Adaptation, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • IPCC [Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change] (2013). Climate Change 2013: The Physical Science Basis. Working Group I Contribution to the IPCC Fifth Assessment Report, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • IPCC [Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change] (2014). Climate Change 2014: Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerability. Working Group II Contribution to the IPCC Fifth Assessment Report, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • IWMI [International Water Management Institute] (2017). IWMI Annual Report 2016, Colombo, IWMI.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mandela, Nelson (1995). Long Walk to Freedom: The Autobiography of Nelson Mandela, London, Abacus.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mies, María (1983). “Subsistenzproduktion, Hausfrauisierung, Kolonialisierung”, Beiträge zur feministischen Theorie und Praxis, Vol. 9, No. 10, pp. 115–124.

    Google Scholar 

  • Oswald Spring, Úrsula (1991). Estrategias de Supervivencia en la Ciudad de México, Cuernavaca, CRIM-UNAM.

    Google Scholar 

  • Oswald Spring, Úrsula (1992). “Ecodevelopment: What Security for the Third World”, in Elise Boulding (Ed.), New Agendas for Peace Research. Conflict and Security Reexamined, Boulder, Lynne Rienner, pp. 121–126.

    Google Scholar 

  • Oswald Spring, Úrsula (1999). Fuenteovejuna o Caos Ecológico, Cuernavaca, CRIM-UNAM.

    Google Scholar 

  • Oswald Spring, Úrsula (2009). “Food as a New Human and Livelihood Security Issue”, in H.G. Brauch et al. (Eds.), Facing Global Environmental Change: Environmental, Human, Energy, Food, Health and Water Security Concepts, Berlin-Heidelberg, Springer, pp. 471–500.

    Google Scholar 

  • Oswald Spring, Úrsula (2013). “Dual Vulnerability Among Female Household Heads”, Acta Colombiana de Psicología, Vol. 16, No. 2, pp. 19–30.

    Google Scholar 

  • Oxfam (2017). “Una economía para el 99% Es hora de construir una economía más humana y justa al servicio de las personas”, London, Oxfam.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pope Francis (2018). “Discurso del Papa al Cuerpo Diplomático acreditado ante la Santa Sede”, 8th of January, https://www.aciprensa.com/noticias/texto-completo-discurso-del-papa-al-cuerpo-diplomatico-acreditado-ante-la-santa-sede-64757.

  • REN21 (2017). Renewable Energy, Paris, REN21.

    Google Scholar 

  • Richards, Howard (2018). “Solidarity Economy: A Key to Justice, Peace and Sustainability”, in Úrsula Oswald Spring, S. Eréndira Serrano Oswald (Eds.), Risks, Violence, Security and Peace in Latin America, Cham, Springer, pp. 309–320.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rupesinghe, Kumar (1998). “Coping with Internal Conflicts: Teaching an Elephant to Dance”, in Chadwick Alger (Ed.), The Future of the United Nation System: Potential for the Twenty-first Century, Tokyo, UNU Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sakamoto, Yoshikazu (1981). “Introduction”, in E. Jahn, Y. Sakamoto (Eds.), Elements of World Instability: Armaments, Communication, Food, International Division of Labour, Proceedings of the International Peace Research Association Eighth General Conference, Frankfurt, Campus Verlag.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schumacher, E.F. (1973). Small is Beautiful, Madrid, Eds. Hermann Blume.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sen, Amartya (1992). Inequality Reexamined, New York, Russell Sage Foundation and Harvard University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Seville Declaration (1999). Statement on Violence, in Maciej Henneberg, Charles Oxnard (Eds.), Perspectives in Human Biology, Vol. 4, No. 1, Crawley, Center for Human Biology, The University of Western Australia.

    Google Scholar 

  • Singh, Jasjit, Thomas Bernauer (1993) (Eds.). Security of Third World Countries, Aldershot, Dartmouth and UNIDIR.

    Google Scholar 

  • SIPRI (1998). Yearbook 1998, Stockholm, SIPRI, Oxford, Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • SIPRI (2017). Yearbook 2017, Stockholm, SIPRI, Oxford, Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Soros, George (2006). The Age of Fallibility: Consequences of the War on Terror, Washington, D.C., Public Affairs.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stiglitz, Joseph E. (2002). Globalization and Its Discontents, New York, New Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stiglitz, Joseph E. (2016). The Great Divide. Unequal Societies and What We Can Do About Them, New York, Norton.

    Google Scholar 

  • Strahm, Rudolf H., Úrsula Oswald Spring (1991). Por Esto Somos Tan Pobres, Cuernavaca, CRIM-UNAM.

    Google Scholar 

  • SwissRe (2017). “Natural catastrophes and man-made disasters 2017”, Zurich, Swiss Re.

    Google Scholar 

  • UNAIDS (1999). Report 1999, Geneva, UNAIDS.

    Google Scholar 

  • UNCCD (2017). Global Land Outlook, Bonn, UNCCD.

    Google Scholar 

  • UNDP (1996–1999). Statistics, London, UNDP.

    Google Scholar 

  • UNDP (1999). Human Development Report 1999, London, UNDP.

    Google Scholar 

  • UNICEF (1995, 1996, 1997, 1998). The State of Infants, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, New York, UNICEF.

    Google Scholar 

  • Vaughan, Genevieve (1997). For-Giving: A Feminist Criticisms of Exchange, Austin, Plain View Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Vaughan, Genevieve (2004). The Gift; Il Dono, New Series 8, Rome, Meltemi, University of Bari.

    Google Scholar 

  • WB (2016). Poverty and Shared Prosperity, Washington, World Bank.

    Google Scholar 

  • Westing, Arthur H. (2013a). Arthur H. Westing: A Pioneer on the Environmental Impact of War, Berlin, Springer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Westing, Arthur H. (2013b). Texts on Environmental and Comprehensive Security, Cham, Springer.

    Google Scholar 

  • WHO (2017). “Key Facts”, Geneva, WHO.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wilder, Margaret, Christopher Scott, Nicolás Pineda, Robert G. Varady, Gregg Garfin, Jamie McEvoy (2010). “Adapting Across Boundaries: Climate Change, Social Learning, and Resilience in the U.S.-Mexico Border Region”, Annals of the Association of American Geographers, Vol. 100, No. 4, pp. 917–928.

    Google Scholar 

  • World Health Organization (1999). The World Health Report, Making a Difference, Geneva, WHO.

    Google Scholar 

  • World Population Review (2017). https://worldpopulationreview.com/countries/life-expectancy-by-country/.

  • Worldwatch Institute (1994–1999). State of the World, 1994 to 1999, New York, W.W. Norton.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zambrano, Eduardo (2016). El Niño 2015–2016. Evolución y Perspectivas, Guayaquil, Centro Internacional de Investigación para el Fenómeno el Niño.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Regional Centre of Multidisciplinary Studies, National Autonomous University of Mexico, Cuernavaca, Morelos, Mexico

    Úrsula Oswald Spring

Authors
  1. Úrsula Oswald Spring
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Úrsula Oswald Spring .

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2020 Springer Nature Switzerland AG

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Oswald Spring, Ú. (2020). Ahimsa and Human Development: A Different Paradigm for Peace, Security and Conflict Resolution. In: Earth at Risk in the 21st Century: Rethinking Peace, Environment, Gender, and Human, Water, Health, Food, Energy Security, and Migration . Pioneers in Arts, Humanities, Science, Engineering, Practice, vol 18. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-38569-9_4

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-38569-9_4

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-38568-2

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-38569-9

  • eBook Packages: HistoryHistory (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation