Kritik Kemanusiaan Sebagai Kekerasan Struktural: Rekonstruksi Filsafat Perdamian Johan Galtung Dalam Horizon Positive Peace

Abstract

Contemporary humanitarian crises can no longer be understood merely as the result of physical violence or natural disasters, but rather as manifestations of systemic injustices embedded within social, economic, and political structures. This study aims to analyze humanitarian crises through Johan Galtung’s concept of structural violence and to reconstruct his philosophy of peace within the horizon of positive peace. Employing a qualitative approach with a critical-philosophical library research method, the study utilizes hermeneutic and critical-interpretative analysis of Galtung’s major works, particularly his concepts of structural violence, cultural violence, and positive peace, as well as their relevance to contemporary social realities. The findings reveal that humanitarian crises are rooted in structural mechanisms that systematically hinder the realization of human potential through economic inequality, social marginalization, administrative exclusion, and culturally legitimized discriminatory practices. The study further demonstrates that the notion of negative peace, understood merely as the absence of armed conflict, is insufficient to explain the persistent and latent forms of human suffering. Consequently, the reconstruction of Galtung’s philosophy of peace points toward an understanding of positive peace as a condition characterized by social justice, equitable distribution of resources, recognition of human dignity, and sustainable structural and cultural transformation. This article therefore offers a critical interpretation of the relationship between humanitarian crises and structural violence while reaffirming the relevance of Galtung’s philosophy of peace for fostering a more just, inclusive, and humane social order.