Johan Galtung
Founder, International Peace Research Institute

"Breaking the Cycle of Violent Conflict" Dec. 9, 2010 As part of its 10th anniversary celebration, the Joan B. Kroc Institute for Peace & Justice was honored to have the "father of peace studies," Johan Galtung, speak in the Joan B. Kroc Distinguished Lecture Series. While at the University of San Diego, Galtung spent several hours meeting with students in the master's program in peace and justice studies. His provocative lecture touched on the importance of dealing with the root causes and historical factors behind structural violence and shared many lessons learned in his long-term work on a wide range of conflicts. He was interviewed by IPJ Executive Director Milburn Line and faculty member Necla Tschirgi.   Watch Lecture Read Booklet Order Booklet

“Wherever there is violence, there is an unresolved conflict. ... In other words, if you don’t like violence, solve the conflict."
- Johan Galtung

Johan Galtung, Ph.D., of Norway, is one of the founders of peace studies as an academic discipline. Galtung’s academic career spans more than 40 years during which he has been a visiting professor at 30 schools on five continents.

Galtung is the founder of TRANSCEND, a global peace, development and environment network, and TRANSCEND Peace University. He founded the world's first peace research institute in Oslo in 1959 and the Journal of Peace Research in 1964. He has published over 1,500 articles and more than 140 books, with translations into 33 languages, some of which are used in the curriculum of the M.A. program in Peace and Justice Studies at the Joan B. Kroc School of Peace Studies.

Beyond the academy, Galtung has been a consultant to the United Nations and mediated in over 100 international conflicts. His dedication to peace has been recognized with 10 honorary doctorates and the Right Livelihood Award, Norwegian Literary Prize and other awards.