南北問題とは何か-平和研究の課題として-

「平和研究」-その方法と課題-

抄録

Whatever approaches one may take to peace research, the North-South problem is no doubt high on the agenda for this new-found land of inter-disciplinary exploration.
But it should be noted that the concept of North-South problem has its origin in the West, indivisibly interwound with policies interests and perceptions of the elite in the industrialized countries of the North. A critical approach to the too-much-popularized concept and a redifinition of the North-South problem should be the first prerequisite for peace researchers to develop any theory on it with the goal of eliminating violence, both physical and structural, in their mind.
The present article criticizes two types of conventional views on North-South problem. One is the “Catching up-race theory” which reduces the whole problem essentially to a question of development economics of how GNP per capita can be maximized in the developing countries. It has been argued that if it grew faster in the South than in the North gaps and conflicts between them would be lessened.
In fact, it was this type of view which have led the international development strategy in 1960s. This fallacy of both the philosophy and strategy however, has become evident as soon as the decade passed in the growing frustration and disappointment on the part of the developing countries.
Another type of conventional views long maintained by opinion leaders in the West/North is “Poverty-makes-conflicts-theory” which argues that poverty in the South is primarily responsible for conflicts and tensions in and/or among the developing countries. It tends to overlook or underestimate both the hangover of the colonial past and global rivalries among world major powers as the causes of conflicts in the South. Raising the standard of living for the population in the South in itself would not make a permanent peace as long as the fundamental structre of the international political and economic systems based on power is not changed.
Peace Researchers should contribute to adequately redifining the North-South problem in the context of building a new, post-colonialism world order. While the horizon of the peace research has been significantly enlarged by the insight into the North-South problem, the horizon of the North-South problem must also be enlarged by peace research approaches beyond the conventional views.