ABSTRACT
War is rarely questioned and is deeply engrained in the US educational system as a natural and necessary act by a good entity—usually the United States—fighting evil. Hundreds of undergraduate and graduate programs in peace and conflict studies exist around the world. An examination of the war system broadens the understanding of the costs of war. Peace systems concepts are attractive in that they give the often-overused concept of peace a concrete meaning and pathways toward achieving it. Peace and conflict studies and professionally applied peacebuilding techniques take the “soft” out of peace. Moreover, a peace systems perspective broadens students’ horizons for possible careers in the field. The concept of the Global Peace System can help us advance these goals in the classroom. The trends are observed from a global perspective.
