People have long studied war, but the field of peace studies is relatively new. Nigel Young has seen the field grow up from its anti-war and de-nuclearization roots in the 60s and 70s.

Young started the first collegiate Peace Studies program in Britain and is professor emeritus in Peace Studies at Colgate College. He and a group of colleagues produced the four-volume encyclopedia The Oxford International Encyclopedia of Peace, which offers topics related to peace and conflict. The “B” section, for example, has entries for Baha’is, Bullying, Buddha, The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, and Ralph Bunche.

We find out about the origin of peace studies and what’s next for the field.