100 years building peace history: The International Fellowship of Reconciliation in literature

Abstract

The International Fellowship of Reconciliation (IFOR) is one of a small number of pacifist-oriented entities founded during the Interwar period, and still in existence today. Despite such a history and a global reach, it is little-known, a point confirmed in the lack of research, both for general and scientific readerships, into its development and accomplishments. The present article represents a first approach at a systematic review of the extant literature. The ‘snowball’ technique was employed to identify suitable manuscripts, focussing on the first century of the IFOR, including its central structures, its national branches, and its leading figures. 30 texts of different genres, eras, lengths and languages, many of which required determined efforts to source, are put into dialogue with each other. The analysis aims to increase knowledge of the IFOR movement. It has made a significant contribution to the development and public legitimisation of pacifism and nonviolence in the realms of the Church, politics, and civil society and social movements, by way of such methods as personal emissaries, training and workshops, and the production of pacifist literature. The gaps that remain are also revealed here with greater clarity. No single, publicly available, scholarly text exists that covers the IFOR in its full longitudinal and substantive dimensions. Notably, an in-depth focus on its work in the global South, broadly corresponding to its second half-century, is lacking. With these findings, this article breaks new ground in the field of peace history.