Every year, on September 21st, humanity celebrates the International Day of Peace. For the Levant Institute of Advanced Studies for the Culture of Peace, this is not just another date, but one of the fundamental reasons behind the Institute’s establishment.
In 2011, Emil Constantinescu launched the idea of the Levant Initiative for Global Peace at the Academy of Cultural Diplomacy in Berlin: a project proposing an alternative way of viewing relations between people, communities and states through knowledge and understanding of the Other, intercultural and interfaith dialogue, and cultural diplomacy. This Initiative was subsequently presented in numerous international forums, from the United Nations and UNESCO to European institutions and forums dedicated to peace, underpinning the establishment of the Institute for Advanced Studies in Levant Culture and Civilization that, this summer, pursuant to the adoption of a new law by the Romanian Parliament, became the Levant Institute of Advanced Studies for the Culture of Peace.
The underlying idea has remained the same: Peace cannot be achieved solely at the negotiating table once conflict has already broken out. It must be built up much earlier, through education, memory, culture and the ability to understand the Other. This is also why ongoing research into the civilizations of the Levant carries a relevance that extends far beyond the sphere of academia.
The Levant has been a place of encounter and conflict, in equal measure – a place of exchanges between cultures, of many religions and languages. The history of the Levant shows us just how fragile coexistence and peace is, but also just how strong people’s desire to find avenues for dialogue can be.
Today, when wars once again remind us just how vulnerable peace is, it is perhaps worth returning to this lesson: Peace is not merely something to be defended when under threat. It is something that must be painstakingly built, day in and day out.
The President of the Levant Institute of Advanced Studies for the Culture of Peace, Emeritus Professor Emil Constantinescu, himself highlighted these realities in a recent speech at a round table titled ‘Bridges of Hope and Reconciliation in the Middle East’, organised in partnership with the Institute for Faith-Based Diplomacy (United States), from which we reproduce an impactful passage below.
A lasting peace through understanding the Other
A true peace process cannot be finalised at the diplomatic negotiating table. In fact, it is only then that it truly begins, moving from the diplomatic seal to the trenches of social reality. This, indeed, is the core of the concept of ‘building a culture of peace’ from which we set out today: the realisation that the socio-political dynamics of the Middle East – and, by extension, of the world at large – cannot be successfully reconfigured without a profound, complex and committed process of reconciliation. A lasting peace cannot be built merely in the absence of war; it also requires the presence of institutional and social justice, the recognition of each other’s humanity, and of our fundamental human dignity. True reconciliation requires the ability to look one’s former adversary in the eye and acknowledge their legitimate humanity, as occurred in the unique case of post-communist Romania, where former anti-communist political prisoners who were elected to the first democratic Parliament and Government offered their former persecutors their unconditional forgiveness – the only form of reconciliation that carries moral value, demanding a shift from a logic of exclusion – ‘either me or you’ – to a logic of inclusion – ‘both me and you, together for the common Good’. Without the development of this vital human and psychological dimension, any regional security architecture rooted in military force will remain a structure compromised by the very rigidity of its own position, poised – and indeed destined – to collapse at the first winds of change.
If the question is ‘how to establish peace’, before attempting to seek ways of resolving conflicts we must first consider what it is we mean by the ‘peace’ we wish to achieve. Are we referring to that peace which, throughout the entire history of humanity, has served merely as an interwar interlude? Are we referring to the eternal and global peace of which Immanuel Kant dreamt? In each these cases, both concept and method must be approached differently.
If we are referring to the means of making peace, we must begin from the need to find relevant and emblematic examples that demonstrate that the impossible is possible and that, if it has happened once, it can happen again. I shall attempt to describe a few situations in which I have been personally involved: historical conflicts such as those between Romanians and Hungarians, Orthodox and Catholics, and apartheid struggles in South Africa.
The first step for cultural diplomacy should, in my view, be to construct a conceptual map of the international political landscape, upon which we can outline the different worlds that populate our planet: the postmodern, the modern and the pre-modern. It is only on this basis that we can develop security policies and strategies that are suited to a changing and contradictory world.
In order to prevent conflicts and manage post-conflict situations, political structures must be reinforced by civil society organizations dedicated to global security issues. Only in this way can a process of strengthening respect for human dignity, democracy and common security attain the depth that only the genuine will of the people can guarantee.
Cultural diplomacy can function as a laboratory that shapes the political culture of global security through mutual trust, negotiation and cooperation. It can identify major risks and formulate and implement programmes to build mutual trust, both in high-risk countries and in other areas with potential for conflict.
Over the years, Professor Emil Constantinescu has been awarded numerous prizes and honours for launching and promoting visionary concepts and projects aimed at fostering mutual understanding and promoting peace, including:
- The Gusi Peace Prize, the most prestigious award in Asia – Manila, Philippines, 2013;
- The ‘Peace through Culture and Education’ Outstanding Lifetime Achievement Award, awarded by the Institute of Cultural Diplomacy in Berlin, Germany, 2013;
- The Black Sea–Caspian Sea International Fund Award “For the Promotion of Tolerance and Cultural Diplomacy”, Istanbul, 2014;
- The Global Peace Summit Award, Seoul, South Korea, 2018;
- The Global Peace Federation Award, San Francisco, USA, 2022;
- The 2021–2022 International Human Rights Award, International Commission for Human Rights, Islamabad, Pakistan, 2022;
- The ‘Model of Ethics and Life Achievement’ Award, Inter-Parliamentary Coalition for Global Ethics (New York, USA), presented in Brussels, 2025;
- The “TRENDS Research and Advisory” Award, TRENDS Research & Advisory, United Arab Emirates, presented in Brussels, 2025.
