Regular readers of the Peace and Conflict Review will notice a great deal of changes in this Fall 2008 issue, which is an important milestone in our ongoing development.

Although we have been publishing scholarly articles since early 2006, we have recently reorganized and expanded the journal to offer a wider range of articles in each issue, as well as a comprehensive book/article review section. For now, we will be offering the Review on a semi-annual basis, with Fall and Spring issues. At our offices at UPEACE headquarters in Costa Rica, Fall and Spring are rather abstract concepts, of course, so we have revised our volume and issue numbering system as well.

The issue that you are currently reading (Fall 2008, vol. 3 no.1) is the first to follow the new system. You will notice, however, that we remain committed to providing our content in the most accessible way possible – as an open, online journal. Our goal is to stimulate thought and discussion based on sound reasoning and research, not to solicit money or personal information from our readers.

Similarly, our commitment to academia, and the field of peace and conflict studies in particular, remains as strong as ever. Accordingly, we will continue to publish arguments and analyses of significance to our discipline, in accordance with the standards set by the Review’s board of editors. These standards of quality, though rigorous, are intended to be flexible enough to accommodate a plurality of perspectives.

The variance of style and approach contained in the articles of this issue should be seen, therefore, as a reflection of the diverse, interdisciplinary nature of peace and conflict studies. To this effect, we have included articles on the relationship between development work and the peace process in Kashmir, the psychology of shame and humiliation in the culture of war, and the current agenda for reforming the United Nations in light of non-traditional security threats, as well as a conference paper on the Japanese Constitution, and several review articles covering even more topics – ethnic conflict, terrorism in the age of mass media, and the ethical implications of global climate change. 

As always, submissions and feedback from our readers are highly encouraged, and should be directed to editor@review.upeace.org.

Ross Ryan

Managing Editor

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