Peace is a generalized attitude of societal harmony and peacefulness in the absence of violence and conflict. In a broad social sense, peace is used to indicate a absence of conflict and social strife among people or groups, often with the involvement of the government. Peace also implies an amicable relationship among individuals. The absence of war, killing, and major fighting between people indicates that there is no serious concern on either side. This means that, although both sides are at the same war, and although they have mutual goals and aims, they are still capable of living in relative harmony and respect for one another.
Peace Studies are concerned with how various societies within the United Nations system are tending to achieve peace. The processes involved are focused on the factors that contribute to the level of peace, including the culture, demographics, and political systems of the members of a nation. In the United States, the focus tends to be on the differences between people (racial, cultural, and religious), rather than on the similarities. Differences in culture and society can help us understand the potentials for conflict resolution, while differences in policies can reveal the gaps that will ultimately allow conflicts to fester.
Some of the most important areas of peace studies are the fields of disarmament, international security, global health, human rights, and civil society. These are interdisciplinary studies that seek to promote the study of peace-building through action. It has also been suggested that peace-makers themselves should undertake Peace Studies if they hope to have any influence on the future of humankind. Peace studies curriculum usually follows a course of studies known as objective-based instruction; this means that students are required to examine the methods and goals of a specific nation-state or organization. Students are then expected to write about their personal perspectives on world peace, as well as to apply different types of analysis to the various situations that they observe or encounter.