ABSTRACT
This chapter aims to distinguish between “pure” and “applied” research on the basis of what is expected from it by society or, more precisely, by the agencies that support it. Institutionalized science, that is, research organized into large enterprises with administrative structures, chains of authority, division of labour, budget accounting, etc., is all applied science. The goal of peace research, as it is usually stated, is to discover conditions that facilitate or inhibit the establishment of world peace or, alternately, conditions that facilitate or inhibit wars. One prospect of institutionalizing peace research, that is, of assuring it sources of public support and a utilization of its findings, does remain. Researchers involved in the work emphasize the importance of keeping the informative and persuasive aspects of the dissemination of information strictly separate. If the task is kept constantly in mind, the thrust of the research will have to be directed toward discovering the nexus of the interconnections, their vulnerable links.
