Eight Ingredients for a Peaceful Society By Michael Shank
Christian Science Monitor[WEBSITE VERSION] December 19, 2011
What makes for a peaceful society? Hot spots from Congo to the
Middle East would benefit from such knowledge. But so would the
United States, which, at home, isn’t always so harmonious and
abroad, is still at war in Afghanistan. The Institute for
Economics and Peace, an international research group, has come
up with eight ingredients for more peaceful societies. They’re
laid out in a report, “Structures of Peace,” based on the
institute’s annual Global Peace Index and more than 300 data
sets from around the world. The US does pretty well on five of
them, but falls far short on three key ingredients. Michael
Shank, vice president of the institute’s US office gives his
take on eight ingredients America needs to reap the economic and
social benefits of peace. 1. Government effectiveness According
to the institute’s report, “government effectiveness” is
measured by quality of public services, civ