By No Other Means Than Peace: W.E.B. Du Bois on Nonviolence, World peace, and Justice

Peace & Change, Volume 46, Issue 4, Page 336-352, October 2021.

Abstract

The “battle for peace” characterized Du Bois’s commitment throughout his entire life. Following the methodology for a global history of political concepts, this study highlights the theoretical connections Du Bois drew between peace and racial justice through a global lens. In particular, the attention Du Bois paid to Gandhi is related to his global vision of solidarity against racism, colonialism, and imperialism. The analysis demonstrates how Du Bois’s final fictional works provide additional meanings to his conceptualization of peace. Ultimately, Du Bois’s semantic challenge consists in giving the notion of peace a depth of movement. In this vision, according to Du Bois, world peace is not an aim or an ideal, but the material conditions for establishing a true democracy.

This was originally published on Wiley: Peace & Change: Table of Contents.