Crafting Peace. Influential contributions to Johan Galtung's peace theory

This article examines several key influences that shaped Johan Galtung’s theoretical contributions to the field of Peace Studies. By interweaving biographical insights with intellectual history, it highlights the formative roles of three figures: August Galtung, whose medico-social approach and “diagnosis–prognosis–therapy” framework provided an early methodological foundation; the philosopher Arne Næss, whose ecosophy and interpretation of Gandhi helped orient Galtung toward a systemic and relational concept of peace; and Daisaku Ikeda, with whom Galtung developed a shared emphasis on dialogue and inner transformation as core elements of positive peace. Together, these influences illuminate the development of a peace theory that goes beyond the mere absence of violence to encompass the harmonization of relationships, the overcoming of trauma, and the transformation of social structures. The article thus underscores a comprehensive and humanistic approach to peace in which personal, ethical, ecological, and political dimensions are deeply interconnected.