Decentering Peace: the case of Ubuntu
Résumé
How can we enhance the understanding of the concepts of peace, order, and justice ? All societies face the need to balance the stability of their organization with a principle of justice to maintain a form of social harmony and stability, but the solutions adopted and their conceptualization vary. By presenting the foundations of ubuntu, we demonstrate that this notion offers a perspective on the reconciliation of peace, order, and justice, and provides a framework for their implementation. This South African philosophical concept formulates a collective vision of order, which takes into account elements such as justice and equality. According to ubuntu, when order within a community has been disrupted, for example by a conflict, a collective effort is necessary to restore it. Everyone is thus responsible for the collective, not out of duty but because members of society are inseparably connected - an injustice to one is perceived as an injustice to all. In this way, ubuntu establishes a new foundation to the notion of positive peace.