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Institute for Economics and Peace

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The logo of the Institute for Economics and Peace

The Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP),[1] chaired by technology entrepreneur Steve Killelea founder of Integrated Research,[2] is a global think tank headquartered in Sydney, Australia with branches in New York City, Mexico City and Oxford. IEP is dedicated to shifting the world's focus to peace as a positive, achievable, and tangible measure of human well-being and progress. It achieves its goals by developing new conceptual frameworks to define peacefulness, providing metrics for measurement, uncovering the relationship between peace, business, and prosperity, and by promoting a better understanding of the cultural, economic, and political factors that drive peacefulness. IEP works in partnership with a number of think tanks, NGOs and academic institutions including the Aspen Institute,[3] Economists for Peace and Security [4] the United Nations Global Compact, Center for Strategic and International Studies and Cranfield University. It also collaborates with intergovernmental organizations such as the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, the Commonwealth Secretariat, UNDP and UN Peacebuilding Support Office.

The Global Go To Think Tank Index, produced by the University of Pennsylvania, listed the Institute for Economics and Peace as a Think Tank to Watch, one of the top 15 Think Tanks with a Budget under $5 Million, and as an institution with a leading collaboration.[5]

In 2013, Steve Killelea’s founding of IEP was recognized as one of the 50 most impactful philanthropic gifts in Australia’s history by a coalition including the Myer Family Company, The Myer Foundation and Sidney Myer Fund, Pro Bono Australia, Swinburne University and Philanthropy Australia.[6]

Global Peace Index

The core asset of the IEP is the Global Peace Index (GPI), which is now considered the benchmark study in measuring peace.[7][8] The GPI has been recognized by leading analysts and institutions, and has been incorporated into reports such as the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute's Year Book (2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, and 2014),[9] and was analyzed by the World Bank's World Development Report 2011 team.[10] The data for the Global Peace Index is collected and collated partly by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU),[11] the research and analysis arm of the Economist Group, and the methodology is informed and reviewed by an international panel of peace and statistics experts.[12] The GPI is released annually with presentations in London, Washington, D.C. and at the United Nations headquarters in New York and Geneva. In 2009, the events took place at Central Hall Westminster in London[13] and the Center for Strategic and International Studies[14] in Washington D.C. In addition, the GPI was the empirical basis for the Symposium of Peaceful Nations, a 3-day conference hosted in November 2009 to honor the most peaceful countries in each of nine regions of the world[15] at which Helen Clark, UNDP Administrator, delivered the keynote address.[16] The GPI is used by various international organizations, such as the UN and World Bank. The 9th annual Global Peace Index launched in 2015 includes 162 countries in the world, and the interactive map on the website explains the rankings.

National Peace Indices

IEP launched a series of National Peace Indices beginning with the United States Peace Index (USPI) in April 2011, The USPI ranks each state in the US by peacefulness and, unlike the GPI, uses only 5 indicators: incarceration rate, the number of police officers, the number of homicides, the availability of small arms, and the number of violent crimes. Maine is the most peaceful state, while Louisiana is the least peaceful.[17]

The Mexico Peace Index (MPI) is the latest in the series of National Peace Indices. There have been 2 editions of the MPI to date, the first published in 2013 and most recently in 2015.[18] The MPI uses seven indicators to gauge the level of peace in the 32 Mexican states from 2003-2014. The indicators are: homicide rates, violent crimes, weapons crime, incarceration, police funding, efficiency of the justice system, and the level of organised crime. Guanajuato, Michoacan, Sinaloa, Morelos and Guerrero are the least peaceful cities while Hidalgo, Yucatán and Querétaro are the most peaceful.[19] Mexico was found to be the 6th largest spender on violence containment in the world.[20] It is estimated that it has cost the national economy 17% of their GDP to contain and manage the effects of direct and indirect violence.[21]

Global Terrorism Index

The Global Terrorism Index (GTI) is an attempt to systematically rank nations according to terrorist activity. Two editions have been released to date (2012 and 2014) and a third edition is expected in late 2015. According to reports, in the decade following September 11, 2001 the number of terrorist attacks each year has quadrupled.[22] The GTI also indicates an increase of 61% in deaths from terrorism from 2012 to 2013, largely due to the civil war in Syria and the spill-over effects in the region.[23] In 2013, 82% of those who died in terrorist attacks were in Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Nigeria, and Syria.[24]

Building Blocks of Peace

The IEP launched its education program with the release of Building Blocks of Peace,[25] a 4-module curriculum resource that offers step-by-step guidance for high school teachers to introduce "a fresh perspective to the issues surrounds global peace" into the classroom.[26][27] Presented at both regional and national conferences, the Building Blocks of Peace materials are an addition to the resources available to teachers dedicated to educating global citizens. These modules are available to download for free on the web.[28]

Global Peace Report

On October 26, 2010, The Institute for Economics and Peace and Media Tenor released “Measuring Peace in the Media”, the first study that takes a fact-based approach into understanding the accuracy of international television networks’ coverage of peace, violence and conflict.[29]

The results show broad inconsistencies across geographies and networks, with US broadcasters much more focused on violence and conflict than their European and Middle Eastern counterparts. Al Jazeera was found to be the network providing the most balanced coverage on Afghanistan. BBC World led the way when it came to breadth of coverage. It regularly reported on 67 countries across six continents which is nearly twice as many countries as the average level of coverage.

The study analysed 37 TV news and current affairs programmes from 23 networks in 15 countries* and then cross-referenced this with the Global Peace Index which measures the levels of peace and violence in 149 countries. BBC 2 Newsnight and ZDF Heute Journal (Germany) were found to be the programmes whose editorial policies aligned their coverage most closely with the rankings of the GPI.

Positive-peace stories make up just 1.6% of the total number of stories examined in the study. These are stories that report on active steps taken to rectify violent situations. Such a small percentage may be partly related to what is considered newsworthy and dramatic, such as high-impact, violent or controversial events. However, the stereotyping of nations which are low on the GPI makes it harder for audiences to gain empathy and therefore to support governments and make headway towards creating peace.

See also

References

  1. ^ "Institute for Economics and Peace". Retrieved 2010-04-13.
  2. ^ "Swiss Peace" (PDF). Retrieved 2010-04-13.
  3. ^ "Aspen Institute Business and Society Program". Retrieved 2010-04-19.
  4. ^ "Defining Peace Industries and Calculating the Potential Size of a Peace Gross World Product by Country and by Economic Sector" (PDF). Retrieved 2010-04-19.
  5. ^ http://gotothinktank.com/dev1/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/GoToReport2013.pdf
  6. ^ "Australia's Top 50 Philanthropic Gifts of All Time". ProBono Australia. 2013-10-14. Retrieved 2013-12-13.
  7. ^ "The Purchasing Power of Peace". BBC News. 2009-06-03. Retrieved 2010-04-13.
  8. ^ "UN Global Compact Meeting" (PDF). Retrieved 2010-04-13.
  9. ^ "Appendix 2B. The Global Peace Index 2009". Retrieved 2010-04-13.
  10. ^ "World Development Report 2011". Retrieved 2010-04-13.
  11. ^ "Detailed information can be found from". Retrieved 2010-04-13.
  12. ^ "Peaceful Nations" (PDF). Alliance for Peacebuilding. Retrieved 2010-04-13. [dead link]
  13. ^ "Global Peace Index". Retrieved 2010-04-13.
  14. ^ "Video: Global Peace Index: an initiative of The Institute for Economics and Peace". Retrieved 2010-04-13.
  15. ^ "Symposium of Peaceful Nations" (PDF). Retrieved 2010-04-13. [dead link]
  16. ^ "Helen Clark: Statement at the Global Symposium of Peaceful Nations". Retrieved 2010-04-13.
  17. ^ http://www.visionofhumanity.org/#/page/our-uspi-findings
  18. ^ http://www.visionofhumanity.org/#/page/indexes/mexico-peace-index
  19. ^ http://www.provincia.com.mx/web/M%C3%A9xico,_al_final_del_%C3%8Dndice_de_Paz_Mundial-21892
  20. ^ http://noticieros.televisa.com/economia/1507/violencia-cuesta-mexico-221-mil-mdd/
  21. ^ http://archivo.eluniversal.com.mx/nacion-mexico/2015/impreso/mexico-el-menos-pacifico-ipg-227498.html
  22. ^ http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/04/terrorist-attacks-soar-since-september-11_n_2235483.html
  23. ^ http://www.bbc.com/news/world-30086435
  24. ^ http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2014/11/the-geography-of-terrorism/382915/
  25. ^ "The Commons-Synergos News". Retrieved 2010-04-13.
  26. ^ "The Institute for Economics and Peace "Building Blocks of Peace"". Social Edge. Retrieved 2010-04-13.
  27. ^ ""Building Blocks of Peace" Teaching Resources". Retrieved 2010-04-13.
  28. ^ "Institute for Economics and Peace-Education". Retrieved 2010-04-13.
  29. ^ http://www.visionofhumanity.org/info-center/measuring-peace-in-the-media/
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