# Engineering for Peace and Diplomacy
## 4 Peace Engineering  
### Definitions  
The concept of peace engineering seems to have been introduced first by [PERSON] [34; 35] who defined it as \"the proactive use of engineering skills to promote a peaceful and just existence for all people\". As [PERSON] noted, this action-oriented definition of peace engineering is general enough to be in sync with the general professional code of ethics adopted by the majority of engineering disciplines,  
Figure 3: A suggested methodology to address community peace and development issues. including military engineering, if engaged in activities that contribute to peace, such as in post-conflict reconstruction efforts [36]. It should be noted that although the definition does not specify whether engineering contributes to negative or positive peace, [PERSON] and his colleagues seem to emphasize that peace engineering is a matter more of contributing to positive peace than negative peace [37]. Another definition suggested by the International Federation of Educational Engineering Societies (IFEES) (see www.ifees.net/peace-engineering-i and www.weef-gedc2018.org) considers peace engineering as \"the application of science and engineering principles to promote and support peace\". It recognizes the importance of the contribution of the engineering profession to \"a world where prosperity, sustainability, social equity, entrepreneurship, transparency, community voice and engagement, and a culture of quality thrive\". There is an underlying assumption in the two definitions of peace engineering (or engineering for peace) that engineering work always leads to peaceful solutions. This assumption needs to be challenged, however, as it has not always held up [37]. There is no doubt that over the past 100 years, engineering has been an integral part of the development of human society and has contributed to building more stable and peaceful communities. Today, our quality of life is built upon a complex and highly productive set of technological, industrial, and municipal systems and structures, planned, designed, built, operated, and maintained by engineers. Engineers also play an active role in rebuilding societies following conflict and disasters and in stabilizing fragile and conflict-affected societies. In the context of peace studies and conflict management, engineers can play multiple roles and contribute to the following aspects of peace efforts:  
* Engineers contribute to _peacebuilding_ by addressing key root causes and drivers of potentially violent social conflicts, reducing barriers to peaceful outcomes, ensuring human security, addressing development issues (e.g., water, energy, food, transportation, telecom, etc.) and building resilient infrastructure and capacity so that conflicts are less likely to unfold or relapse. * Engineers contribute to _peacemaking_ by working in collaboration with different negotiating and mediating units on stabilization, bringing together different parties to agree and collaborate on joint solutions (technical and non-technical), especially in transboundary or conflict-prone areas. * Engineers contribute to _peacekeeping_ by restoring essential community services and capacity, contributing to reconstruction efforts and being responsible for the sustainable functioning of infrastructure as communities recover from conflict, while benefitting over a defined period from peacekeeping operations [38]. However, despite the positive aspects of twentieth-century engineering achievements, many issues remain to be addressed. For instance, the technical successes mentioned above have benefited only a small fraction of humanity and have had only a limited impact on improving the livelihoods of the most destitute people on the planet. The engineering profession still has an important role to play in providing support systems to populations living in unhealthy, unsafe, inequitable, and unsustainable conditions in rural and urban settings or places of transition.