Douglas P. Fry

Douglas P. Fry (born 20 September 1953 in Boston), is a docent and professor of anthropology, teacher in the Faculty of Social and Caring Sciences at Åbo Akademi University in Finland and adjunct research scientist in the Bureau of Applied Research in Anthropology at the University of Arizona.

A renowned American anthropologist and a leading authority on aggression, conflict and conflict resolution, has worked in this field for over twenty-five years and has published many articles and books on this subject. His main fieldwork areas are: Mexico, where he conducted research on socialization of aggression and conflict resolution styles in two neighbouring communities of Zapotecs, and Finland, where he conducted a study on Finnish culture and society in general and conflict resolution styles within families in particular. Fry's ongoing project concerns patterns of conflict resolution and reconciliation mechanisms across 186 societies represented in the Standard Cross-Cultural Sample (SCCS). The study aims to produce new knowledge on conflict management and reconciliation which would boost and stimulate prevention of violence and intergroup conflict.^[1] Fry teaches at the Åbo Akademi University in Vasa within the educational specialization Aggression, Conflict Resolution, and Peacemaking.

Key Ideas

Drawing on archeology and fieldwork on hunter-gatherer bands from around the world, Fry debunks the idea that war and conflict is ancient and inevitable and that there is an inborn instinct of aggression in humans. Fry shows that, far from being natural, warfare actually appeared quite recently along with changes in social organization and especially the rise of states. Strong anthropological finding, which has been replicated over different studies, is that there is a correlation between increasing social complexity and the likelihood of war. What this means is the simplest type of society, nomadic hunter gatherer bands, tend to be relatively unwarlike and as social complexity increases into kingdoms and chiefdoms, the chance of warfare definitely increases. Fry’s definition of war and his argument that war is a relatively recent phenomenon has been adopted by other academics studying war and conflict resolution, for example ethologist Judith Hand and sociologist Sinisa Malesevic .

Fry also points out that although war is present in our times, the vast majority of us live peaceful, nonviolent lives. We are therefore not as warlike as it might seem and if we learn from our ancestors, we may be able to move beyond war and provide real justice and security for the people of the world,,,^{[1][2][3][4][5][6]},,.^[7][8]

Main Publications

Books:

• Encyclopedia of Violence, Peace, and Conflict, Volumes 1-3, second edition, Kurtz, Lester (Editor-in-Chief), A. McAlister, A. Petit, A. Coker, B. Chasin, D. Ritter, D. Fry, J. Oberg, J. Backwell, L. Lorentzen, M. Okamoto, & R. Elias (Associate Eds.), New York: Elsevier/Academic Press, 2008, ISBN 0123695031
• Beyond War, Douglas P. Fry, Oxford University Press, New York, 2007, ISBN 0195309480
• Lessons for the Rest of Us: Learning from Peaceful Societies, Bonta, Bruce D and Douglas P. Fry, 2006, in The Psychology of Resolving Global Conflicts, from War to Peace, Volume 1: Nature vs. Nurture, Mari Fitzduff and Chris E. Stout (Eds.), 175-210, ISBN 0275982017
• The Human Potential for Peace, Douglas P. Fry, Oxford University Press, 2005, ISBN 0195181786
• Keeping the Peace: Conflict Resolution and Peaceful Societies around the World., Kemp, Graham & Douglas P. Fry (Eds.), New York: Routledge, 2004, ISBN 0415947618
• Cultural variation in conflict resolution: Alternatives to violence, Douglas P. Fry, & Kaj Björkqvist (Eds.), 1997, New York: Lawrence Erlbaum, ISBN 0805822224

Edited Journal Issues:

• Anthropological Perspectives on Aggression, Douglas P. Fry, Guest Editor, Aggressive Behavior, Vol. 24, No. 2.1998
• On Aggression in Women and Girls: Cross-Cultural Perspectives, Fry, Douglas P. & Ayala Gabriel, Guest Editors, Sex Roles, Vol. 30, Nos. 3 & 4, 1994

Membership in Professional Associations

• American Anthropological Association
• International Society for Research on Aggression
• The Society of the Sigma Xi, Scientific Research Association
• Peace and Justice Studies Association

Editorial Boards

• Journal of Aggression, Conflict, and Peace Research (on-going).
• Aggressive Behavior, Official Journal of the International Society for Research on Aggression (on-going).
• Internet site: www.peacefulsocieties.org (on-going).
• Encyclopedia of Sex and Gender: Men and Women in the World’s Cultures (Kluwer Academic) Advisory Board, 2004.
• Social Justice: Anthropology, Peace and Human Rights, 1999-2004.

References

1. ^ ^{a b} Douglas P. Fry, Beyond War, Oxford University Press, New York, 2007
2. ^ http://blog.oup.com/2007/02/a_few_questions_15/
3. ^ http://discovermagazine.com/2008/apr/13-science-says-war-is-over-now/article_view?b_start:int=0
4. ^ http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2006/03/0307_060307_human_prey.html
5. ^ http://www.epjournal.net/filestore/ep04138141.pdf
6. ^ http://peacefulprimate.blogspot.com/2006/09/craig-palmer-has-written-attention.html
7. ^ http://www.opednews.com/populum/print_friendly.php?p=life_a_barry_se_061225_imagine_all_the_peop.htm
8. ^ http://www.ia-forum.org/Content/ViewInternalDocument.cfm?ContentID=7033

External links

• homepage: http://www.abo.fi/student/en/Content/Document/document/19492
• http://en.wikiversity.org/wiki/Nonkilling_Anthropology
• http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704471504574449012560741086.html?hat_input=ardi+casts+doubt#video%3DB3805F94-00F6-4B3F-B71A-DCB3CEF4D785%26articleTabs%3Darticle

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Name	Fry, Douglas F.
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Date of birth	20 September 1953
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