Medical Peace Work Glossary

Tangible and intangible goods, states of being and relationships on which people depend for survival. 

The United Nations defines civil society as “associations of citizens (outside their families, friends and businesses) entered into voluntarily to advance their interests, ideas and ideologies. The term does not include profit-making activity (the private sector) or governing (the public sector)”.

Civil society might therefore include labour unions, faith-based groups, business and professional associations, academic and research institutions, human rights networks, consumer rights coalitions, social movements, social and sports clubs, philanthropic foundations, and other forms of ‘associational life’. 

The moral principles that are implicit or explicit in (inter-) national codes and which reflect good clinical practice. 

Perception of incompatible goals in a goal-seeking system. Conflict is not necessarily violent. In fact, parties who have incompatible goals may deal with them in productive and non-violent ways. 

The prevailing pattern of social and political conflicts at the beginning of the 21st century. 

Cultural violence refers to those parts of religion, ideology, language, art, science, or cosmology which justify and legitimise the use of direct or structural violence (J. Galtung). 

Alan Thomas says that the term development is commonly used in three ways: as a vision of how we would like the world to be; to describe a process of historical change; and to mean the actual interventions of governments, international agencies and others make to bring development about. 

A deliberate act or omission, acute or chronic, causing a reduction in the physical, mental or social potential of beings (J. Galtung).