The article 'Researchers Study How Mauritius Achieves and Sustains Peace' from Columbia University's State of the Planet blog discusses a research initiative by the Sustaining Peace Project at Columbia's Advanced Consortium on Cooperation, Conflict, and Complexity (AC4). The project aims to understand the factors that contribute to Mauritius' status as one of the world's most peaceful nations.
Mauritius, a diverse island nation in the Indian Ocean, has a complex history marked by colonisation and ethnic unrest in the 1960s and 1990s. Despite these challenges, it is currently the most peaceful country in Africa on the Global Peace Index and is rated 'very high' on the Positive Peace Index. Indicators such as political stability, low corruption, full democracy and high economic development contribute to this status.
The research team, led by Peter T. Coleman and coordinated by Allegra Chen-Carrel, conducted fieldwork on the island, working with local researcher Naseem Aumeerally from the University of Mauritius. Through interviews and focus groups, they explored factors contributing to peace, local challenges and methods of addressing these challenges. The findings show that while Mauritius is peaceful, it faces issues such as economic inequalities rooted in its history of slavery, discrimination against LGBTQ people and existing inter-group tensions.
The study highlights the importance of understanding how peaceful societies like Mauritius navigate and address internal challenges, and offers valuable insights for promoting peace in other contexts.
This abstract as well as the podcast are AI generated and editorially checked by me.