Peace in the Age of Chaos is the debut book by the globally renowned philanthropist and businessman Steve Killelea, recipient of the Luxembourg Peace Prize and recognised as one of the world’s 100 most influential people in reducing armed violence.
“One of the most moving and impactful events on my journey towards peace occurred in Gulu, in northern Uganda. It was so unsettling we were unable to talk publicly about it for almost a decade. It was a graphic illustration of just how difficult the circumstances are within violent societies, the impossible choices they involve, and how deep the emotional trauma can be.” — Steve Killelea
From establishing the world’s leading ranking of global peacefulness, the Global Peace Index, to working on aid programmes in one of the most violent places in the world, North East Kivu in the DR Congo, everything in Steve’s journey would lead him on a pathway of groundbreaking discovery to answer one question that bears unrivalled significance to the future sustainability of people and the planet – ‘What creates peace, how do we measure it and why do we need it?’.
Narrated in a gripping, first-person account, he ignites our consciousness to an entirely new method of understanding peace, designed to resonate with people from all walks of life.
This is ever more relevant during a time when we are experiencing unprecedented environmental, social, and economic challenges and, most recently, Covid-19. Its likely impact on peace is covered in the book.
Steve not only guides readers to question the current analysis of peace as an absence of violent conflict but also to honestly evaluate and decipher the inner workings of a peaceful society.
He gently pushes the reader to rethink peace, and how we can achieve it with measurable impact, through the proven framework “Positive Peace” – an eight-pillar model embracing the attitudes, institutions, and structures required to create and sustain peaceful societies.
Peace in the Age of Chaos spotlights peace as being at the intersection point between a person and their society. It is the epicentre of a sustainable future.
Steve articulates this through his exciting theory of change, which incorporates the drivers of peace and systems thinking.
This leads to the creation of an optimal environment for societies to thrive in, where not only peace flourishes but many other aspects of a society that are seen as being important, such as a stronger GDP and business growth, better performance on its ecology, and better measures of well-being and human happiness.
This shifts the paradigm in the way societies are managed and can set the stage for the reinvigoration of western democracies.
Steve narrates the pursuit of peace through various perspectives: from business and politics to religion and culture. Whether it’s through the lens of a successful self-made entrepreneur or a local farmer in Kenya, to a woman fleeing for her life in the lawless lands of Southern Sudan or a mother whose son was a homicide victim in Baja California, Mexico, Steve’s journey to discover peace always centres on the human experience.
Peace in the Age of Chaos is an intelligent insight for globally conscious and positively motivated readers, as well as policymakers and academics.
Ahead of the release, Steve relayed the importance of sharing knowledge and raising awareness of what creates peace, particularly in the face of the challenges facing current and future generations, “In this book, I hope to show that the elements that create peace can be understood through empirical research. Peace is an active and flourishing state, and what creates peace also creates the optimal conditions for other highly desirable things to prosper”.
“The major changes facing humanity are global in nature, including climate change, pandemics, ever decreasing biodiversity, lack of available fresh-water to name some. Unless we have a world that is basically peaceful then we will never get the levels of trust cooperation and inclusiveness necessary to solve these problems”.
Peace in the Age of Chaos is available now online at all major bookstores. Order the book and get more information.
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