An academic field that examines the absence of war (“negative peace”) as well as sustainable agreement and harmony (“positive peace”), peace studies began in 1950s Europe. Early academic peace research institutions include the Peace Research Institute of Oslo and the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.
In addition to deepening understanding of the underlying reasons for war, specific aims of peace study scholars include developing ways to prevent armed conflict and ways to make society more peaceful and just. Academic peace studies programs began to proliferate in North America during the 1970s and 1980s. Part of this was a response to the Vietnam War and the nuclear arms race. Today, there are peace studies programs at roughly 400 institutions of higher learning around the world.