Peace, what’s that?

At first glance, the question seems simple. Yet history shows that there is not one single way to define peace. Depending on the historical context, prevailing socio-political values and norms as well as the ideological interpretations of the actors involved, the answers given to the question “What is peace?” have been widely varying, and even conflicting.

Today, a distinction is generally made between ‘negative’ and ‘positive’ peace. The former simply notes the absence of war, whereas the latter describes a situation in which freedom, justice, security, and fundamental rights coexist.

The question of how to achieve positive peace proves even more complex than defining peace itself. Answers range from passive resistance and the total renunciation of violence to military deterrence and even armed struggle.

As the world seems to return to a security-focused mindset that prioritises force, the exhibition Executing Peace presents various conceptions of peace that have existed in Luxembourg from the 19^th century to the present day. It highlights the diverse motivations that drove actors—from civil society as well as state and multinational institutions—to commit to a more peaceful world.

What all these conceptions share is the idea that peace requires continuous commitment. In a sense, therefore, it remains perpetually unresolved. At the same time, the ambiguity of the word ‘execute’ which we chose for the title of this exhibition underscores the fact that the means employed to achieve peace may, from other perspectives, risk destroying it.