Amartya Sen speaks on Violence in Society

Nobel Laureate Amartya Sen last night (2 June 2009) addressed an audience of more than 400 diplomats, academics, students and guests at the concluding 2009 UCL/Commonwealth Global Citizenship Lecture in London, UK.

Professor Sen spoke about ‘Violence in Society’, citing the 2007 Commonwealth Commission report Civil Paths to Peace which looked into the root causes of terrorism and violence. He warned against over-simplistic explanations for and solutions to both group-based violence as well as unorganised violence such as homicide.

The thesis of a clash of civilisations – which proposes that different ‘civilisations’ are inclined to clash with each other – not only offers an “artificial view of history”, but also takes a “mind-boggling” short cut in trying to understand our sense of identity, he said.

Instead, Professor Sen called for individuals to recognise the importance of their multiple identities. He also called for greater use of the ‘Commonwealth approach’ based on multilateralism, and broad dialogue, and for an open discussion in which religion was not the only factor. Humiliation, political disenfranchisement, the role of the media, education and political processes among others should be considered, he said.

The 2009 Global Citizenship Lectures were the result of a collaboration between University College London (UCL) and the Commonwealth Secretariat. They were launched this year to mark the modern Commonwealth’s 60th anniversary. The first lecture in January was themed ‘Reforming International Institutions’ and the second, in March, addressed ‘Development Policies for a Changing World’.

The series was conceived as an opportunity to debate some of the key issues around the concept of global citizenship, drawing on expertise from UCL and the work of the Secretariat.

Secretariat Links:

• 2009 Global Citizenship Lectures