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A review by alexdpar
The Moral Imagination: The Art and Soul of Building Peace by John Paul Lederach
5.0
I would call this a foundational work that must be a required read for all those entering the peacebuilding world. Lederach is not wrong in seeking to push outside the box toward the creative and artistic. He provides countless stories, ideas, examples, and motivations to expand peacebuilding measures while looking at the past, present, and future and how a calm, collective, and appreciative mind can make the biggest and most pertinent changes.
As with any book, I do hold skepticism (though do not get me wrong, I loved the book). Mainly, his book is almost entirely philosophical so that it fights back against the analytical frameworks that trap us in our ways. Lederach rightfully so challenges us to think outside these existing notions, but we cannot ignore them in their entirety. While I do not think this is his intention, I think that an addition to the book or another publication showing the moral imagination in practice and use within modern peacebuilding approaches would address any concerns those and myself might have.
I would recommend this to anyone looking to make a difference. The book is motivation to reshape your existing prejudices or biases of the existing peacebuilding frameworks. It is also an inspiration to apply these lessons to the work you do, whether on behalf of a large international organization or within your own neighborhood.
As with any book, I do hold skepticism (though do not get me wrong, I loved the book). Mainly, his book is almost entirely philosophical so that it fights back against the analytical frameworks that trap us in our ways. Lederach rightfully so challenges us to think outside these existing notions, but we cannot ignore them in their entirety. While I do not think this is his intention, I think that an addition to the book or another publication showing the moral imagination in practice and use within modern peacebuilding approaches would address any concerns those and myself might have.
I would recommend this to anyone looking to make a difference. The book is motivation to reshape your existing prejudices or biases of the existing peacebuilding frameworks. It is also an inspiration to apply these lessons to the work you do, whether on behalf of a large international organization or within your own neighborhood.