The concept of conflict prevention and peace-building is nothing new; however, it has come to public attention and debates particularly after the 9/11 attacks. Amid the increasing recognition of peace and conflict studies [PCS] as a critical discipline in the contemporary world, the Tokyo University of Foreign Studies [TUFS] started to offer a Master's Program for PCS in April 2004. It was the first attempt in Japanese universities to establish a post-graduate level program specialized in the area.
With the objective of broadening the scale and scope of PCS research and education internationally, TUFS has taken a new initiative for further development of worldwide academic collaboration. In that context, the PCS Global Campus Program [GCP] has been launched since 2006 as a three-year program funded by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology [MEXT] in Japan. Placing its specific focus on PCS, the GCP aims at establishing international cooperative networks of PCS education and fostering experts on peace-building and conflict prevention.
At the outset, the GCP embarks on building an institutional alliance of universities across the globe. While acting in concert to develop the program, the alliance shall constitute the bedrock for the program expansion. Through the creation of inter-sectoral, cross-cutting arrangements, the GCP's networks will be further enlarged, encompassing a variety of entities at different levels: international organizations, development agencies, NGOs, and research centers. Member universities to date are as follows.
- Kabul University, Afghanistan,
- Paññāsāstra University, Cambodia,
- Gadjah Mada University, Indonesia,
- University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka,
Apart from strengthening ties among these initial member universities, the GCP is currently negotiating with the Universidade Eduardo Mondlane in Mozambique and the Australian National University, and is actively seeking candidate universities interested in being part of the program.