Mission
Statement
“TFF – The Transnational Foundation for Peace & Future Research – is an independent think tank, a global network that aims to bring about peace by peaceful means. It inspires a passion for peace from the grassroots to the corridors of power.
TFF is an all-volunteer global network. It promotes conflict-mitigation and reconciliation in general, as well as in a more targeted way in a selected number of conflict regions – through meticulous on-the-ground research, active listening, education and advocacy.
The Foundation is committed to doing diagnosis and prognosis as well as proposing solutions. It does so in a clear, pro-peace manner.”
“TFF is an independent think tank, a global network that aims to bring about peace by peaceful means. It inspires a passion for peace from the grassroots to the corridors of power.”
TFF is an all-volunteer global network. It promotes conflict-mitigation and reconciliation – in general as well as in a selected number of conflict regions – through meticulous on-the-ground research, active listening, education and advocacy.
The Foundation is committed to doing diagnosis and prognosis as well as proposing solutions. It does so in a clear, pro-peace manner.
TFF works in support of two major UN Charter norms – “to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war” and that “peace shall be brought about by peaceful means”.
The Foundation helps people learn to handle conflicts with less violence towards other human beings, other cultures and nature. Many of its Associates are professors or teachers in other capacities.
TFF is a networking organization with Nordic and international Associates. We believe that alternatives to the main trends of our time are desirable and possible – indeed necessary for humankind to survive and live with dignity.
TFF is critical and constructive. It is and shall remain an experiment in applied peace research and global networking.
Philosophy & credo
Independent of all special interest groups
• “Non”- rather than “near”-governmental
• Factual and critical yet always constructive
• Committed to nonviolence in all aspects of its operations and daily management
• Personal, small and flexible
• Meets supporters’ and grant-makers’ criteria for professional management with minimum administration and costs
• Networking and team-building but no permanent research, administrative or other staff; all work is done on a volunteer basis
• Does not accept funds derived from activities related to warfare
• Works in the field according to a code of conduct and a series of published principles.
Themes & programs
From 2018 and onwards, TFF’s themes and programs focus on these areas with criticism and constructive alternatives for each:
1. The Middle East – Conflicts, changes and future peace options. Focus on Iran with three sub-projects: A) Countering the West’s negative view. B) Help develop academic peace research at Tehran’s University. C) A photo book from Iran.
2. Europe – A) The New Cold War: From 1989 till today’s new Cold War with Ukraine and criticism of EU and NATO security thinking. B) The EU and its failed handling of asylum seekers coming to Europe and integration into Sweden as well as it’s lacking action capacity independent of the US.
3. Terrorism and the Global War On Terror – Wrong diagnosis, prognosis and treatment. What should have been done since September 11, 2001?
4. Human and common security – Criminalizing war, nuclear abolition and alternative civil and military defence. Since 2020, a focus on the Coronavirus as a security policy failure.
5. The Silk Peace Art Road (SPAR) – an art photography-based multi-media installation related to the China-initiated Belt And Road Initiative (BRI); it’s a collaboration between TFF and Oberg PhotoGraphics. It was shown for the first time at the Venice Biennale 2019 and will then be travelling to and around China and back to Europe via BRI capitals. To put it crudely, it’s about war and peace, the Western decline and Eastern rise and about the past and the future.
6. Various other themes: Less systematically, we also monitor A) foreign policy and security policy-related matters in Denmark (incl Greenland), B) Sweden’s incremental inclusion in US/NATO structures; C) Developments in Burundi and D) Net censorship and related reductions of Western democracy and rights.
These themes are dealt with – directly or indirectly – through theories and concepts such as theories of peace and making peace by peaceful means; nonviolence in various cultures; theories of imperialism, world order and globalisation; the paradigm of empirical analysis, criticism and constructivism; and in most cases through a critique of the images of global events and conflicts carried by Western-dominated mainstream media.
TFF has conducted many research and policy-oriented projects since it was established in 1986. A selected few without chronology:
East-West-Nordic teams on “Economy, Ecology and Ethics.”
- Common Security and Nordic Security in the 1990s.
- The Nordic region as a nuclear-weapons free zone and as a zone of peace.
- A series of projects in Burundi related to reconciliation, public outreach at the Ministry of Foreign.
Affairs, building of youth organisations.
- UN reforms and restructuring.
- Mao and Gandhi – a comparative study of social defence philosophy.
- Alternative military and civilian defence.
- Comprehensive study of the concept of ‘nuclear winter’.
- Alternatives to world disorder – and global ethics.
- The European Union – Conflict and Peace.
- Conflict consortium and reconciliations centers – what, why and how?
- Yugoslavia – What should have been done? (1991-2014)
- Georgia – South Ossetia, Abkhazia and peace-making (fact-finding 1994).
- Iraq – Intervention as predictable fiasco (2004).
Between 1986 and 2003, TFF published 65 printed books and reports. Since 2004, all publications have been digital. Last updated in June 2020
Who are we
Below, we have listed the present TFF Associates and the former Associates since 1986, as well as the Board members and founders.
Find their writings in the 1997-2011 archive and in the 2012-2017 archive.
These are the 145 personalities who have contributed to making TFF what it is today.
The founders are deeply grateful to each and everyone for the privilege and joy it is to work with such a group which is not only one of the finest and most experienced in the global community of peace-makers but also people whom we allow ourselves to call friends. Special thanks to those who have also served as Board members.
Founders (2)
Board – 2024 (5)
Honorary friend
International Associates (2024) (37)
Ali Akbar Alikhani
Elías Abraham-Foscolo
Michel Chossudovsky
Kristin Christman
Ina Curic
Riane Eisler
Scilla Elworthy
Richard Falk
Brajna Greenhalgh
Tim Hayward
Farhang Jahanpour
Liu Jian
Evelin Lindner
Pascal Lottaz
David R. Loy
Jake Lynch
Mairead Maguire
Dragana Maksimovic
Annabel McGoldrick
Kamran Mofid
Chantal Mutamuriza
Radmila Nakarada
Ashis Nandy
Vasiliki Neofotistos
Miko Peled
Peter Peverelli
Gareth Porter
Elaheh Pooyandeh
Jonathan Power
Neelakanta Radhakrishnan
Joelle Rizk
Shastri Ramachandaran
Hans von Sponeck
Lea Suter
David Swanson
Tom Weber
Former TFF Associates
TFF remains grateful to Associates who, since 1986, have contributed to making the Foundation what it is today. Some have gone into other fields, some are not so productive due to age and health, while others have taken up positions not compatible with free writing. And some have passed away. All of them have had multi-year engagements with us, remain friends and can still publish their articles with us if they like; we just don’t expect them to be active anymore in this field.
Former international Associates (50)
Ulrich Albrecht †2016
Francis A. Boyle †2025
Kai Frithjof Brand-Jakobsen
Rocio Campos
Ken Coates †2010
Mahdi Elmandjra †2014
Mira Fey
Dietrich Fischer †2015
Ellen Frank †2021
Johan Galtung †2024
Hazel Henderson † 2022
Daisaku Ikeda †2023
Peter Jarman †2023
David Krieger †2023
Robert Jay Lifton
Kishore Mandhyan
Jelena Mair
Aleksandar Mitic
Heela Najibullah
Hisae Nakanishi
Sharmine Narwani
Wilhelm Nolte
Margarita Papandreou
Michael Renner
Vicky Samantha Rossi
Chaiwat Satha-Anand † 2024
Yasunobu Sato
Svetozar Stojanovic †2010
Adolphe Sururu
Tamara Tsikhistavi
Brian Urquhart †2021
Amin Al-Zubydi
Stephen Zunes
Yoshikazu Sakamoto †2014
Carolyn Stephenson
Alfred Mechtersheimer †2018
Glenn Paige †2017
Istvan Kende †1988
Mahendra Kumar
Hylke Tromp †2021
José Maria Tortosa
Cheung Li Yu
Brian Martin
Burns Weston †2015
Vasko Karangeleski
Tatsuro Kunugi
Toshiki Mogami
Nur Yalman
Robert C. Johansen
Nur Yalman
Mariam Abuhaideri
Capucine Riom
Former Nordic Associates (39)
John Avery †2024
Gunnar Adler-Karlsson †2020
Isabel Bramsen
Anette Carlsson
Anna Christensen †2001
Lotte Christy †2009
Anna Coughlin
Marta Cullberg Weston
Susanne Eriksson
Gerard Fischer †2015
Mats Friberg
Margareta Furustam
Per Gahrton †2023
Birgitta Hambraeus
Else Hammerich †2021
Fredrik Heffermehl †2023
Christian Hårleman
Thomas B. Johansson
Sverre Lodgaard
Jesper Munk Jakobsen
Peter Nobel
Gunilla Nordström-Björverud †
Harald Ofstad †1994
Giuliano Pontara
Trine Pertou Mach
Birgitte Rahbek
Arne Ruth
Bo Rybeck †2019
Carl-Ulrik Schierup
Kerstin Schultz
Gudrun Schyman
Bengt Silverstand
Martin Smedjeback
Ulf Svensson
Maj Britt Theorin †2021
Lars-Erik Wahlgren †1999
Karin Wegeståhl †2019
Thore Vestby
Håkan Wiberg †2010
Vibeke Vindelöv
Raimo Väyrynen
Organisation and identity
History and productivity
The Transnational Foundation for Peace & Future Research, TFF, was established on January 1, 1986. It’s been on the Internet since 1997. It produces research, policy studies and public education.
Since its foundation it has had over 130 Associates in the Nordic countries and around the world – peace researchers, international affairs specialists, political scientists, media people, officers, diplomats, UN people, psychologist, philosophers, politicians, students and activists.
It’s earlier and present homepages contain several thousands of articles, analyses, reports and books by TFF Associates – for instance some 700 articles by Johan Galtung and more than 1000 weekly columns by Jonathan Power.
Seen in its totality it is an internationally significant peace research and peace policy reservoir freely available to present and future generations seeking an understanding of what happen in international affairs since the mid-1980s till today.
Since 2007, TFF additionally contributes in average 5-6 daily posts on social media such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram and the Chinese WeChat.
And it curates two magazines on Flipboard – The Transnational Peace Affairs and Bootprint – Militarism And Environment.
Identity, funding and independence
TFF is a network of about more than 60 people around the world as of 2018. It is founded by Jan Oberg and Christina Spännar in 1985. Its headquarter is in Lund, Sweden. It’s legally registered according to Swedish Law as a Swedish not-for-profit organisation (# 845001-4637) and operates according to its statutes through a Board whose members meet 10-12 times a year.
TFF is all-volunteer, i.e. no one working with TFF receives a salary.
Up to 1999 the Swedish Ministry of Foreign Affairs gave TFF, as other Swedish NGOs, an annual organisational grant of about US$ 40,000. Regrettably, this was cancelled because of the foundation’s in-depth, multi-year work in Yugoslavia, its mediation efforts and advocacy of a negotiated solution instead of bombing. This contrasted with the then government’s policies in support of US/NATO’s international law-violating, out-of-area bombing raids over Kosovo and Serbia.
TFF does not, as a principle, receive any funds from governments or corporations and is, therefore, truly independent. What is does is financed entirely by citizens who appreciate what TFF does; in other words, it is entirely people-financed.
Predictions and visions
It characterizes the foundation and is built into its name that we work with the future – the present-to-be. We consider predictions as well as visions about a better world an integral part of the research and education effort. Here is a page with examples of Associates’ contributions to understand the future as they were produced 1986-2006. This page offers other examples of contributions we remain fairly proud of.
Goals
Conflict-mitigation, peace research and education to improve conflict-understanding at all levels and promote alternative security and global development ideals based on nonviolent politics, economics, sustainability and an ethics of care. The results, which are geared at decision-makers and citizens alike, combine innovative thinking and theories with workable, practical solutions.
What we do, how we work and where
1. On-the-ground conflict analyses and mitigation as well as education, training and reconciliation work. The countries we focus on include Burundi, the former Yugoslavia, Iraq, Iran, Libya and other places in the Middle East as well as the European Union, Sweden, Denmark.
Our activities are conducted by organized teams which are formed by the Foundation’s Associates.
2. TFF is constantly developing its intellectual resource base. It provides learning opportunities and inspiration. These are the pillars of our field work and are made available to our website visitors, to students at courses and training sessions, and everyone else around the world. Everything we produce is free of charge.
3. Advocacy, training, education, media and other public outreach.
Our work in conflict areas and our resource base that enables us to work effectively in this third way.
Over the years, TFF has worked on the ground in all parts of Yugoslavia during the dissolution conflicts from 1991, in Georgia 1994, in Burundi 1999-2010 and works today also in Iran and, since 2016, in Syria.
Partners
Networking means building partnerships. The Foundation has been networking with numerous others over the years – some partnerships are more general and lasting, some limited to a project, training, a book project, or on-the-ground activity.
Here are some of our partners since 1986:
Oneworld
Global Issues
The Amahoro Coalition, Burundi
The Amahoro Youth Club, Burundi
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Burundi
MediaChannel
The EUobserver
Idealist.org & Action Without Borders
The News Insider
Global Policy Forum, New York
Centre for Conflict-Resolution, Copenhagen
Tibetan Centre for Conflict-Resolution, Dharamsala, India
The Toda Institute for Global Peace and Policy Research, Hawaii
Transcend Network
UNESCO Culture of Peace Program
Center for Global Nonviolence, Hawaii
New World Order Forum – St. George House, Windsor, UK
Svenska Läkare mot kärnvapen (Swedish Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War)
Centre for Research on Globalisation, Canada
Middle East Nonviolence and Democracy, Jerusalem
Lawyers Against the War
European Peace and Security Policy Initiative, European group
Oxford Research Group
Institute for Policy Research and Development, London
Encyclopedia of Violence, Peace and Conflict, 2nd edition
Peace Review – Journal of Social Justice
Social Science Information Gateway
Earth & Peace Education Associates International
The Mahatma Gandhi Center for Global Nonviolence James Madison University
Human Dignity and Humiliation Studies
The Institute for Further Education of Journalists, Sweden
In addition, TFF has worked with, been invited to or otherwise co-operated with:
– UN peace-keeping missions in Burundi
– The European Union
– The Carter Center
– UNDP and other UN bodies
– State of the World Forum,
– Numerous civil society organizations, not the least in conflict-zones
– The European Peace University (EPU), Austria
– The International University for Peoples’ Initiatives for Peace (IUPIP), Italy
– The Council of Europe
– Ministries in various conflict zones
– Sarajevo University
– Peoples’ Forum in Tuzla, Bosnia-Hercegovina
– ICU, International Christian University, Tokyo
– Chuo University, Tokyo
– Norwegian Church Aid
– The Nansen Academy in Lillehammar, Norway and Kosovo
– UNTAES – the UN mission in Eastern Slavonia, Croatia
– UN Civil Affairs in Banja Luka and Tuzla, Bosnia-Herzegovina
– Cooperazione Italiana, Mostar & Italy
– The NATO School, Oberammergau
– Umeå University, Sweden
– Tromsö University, Norway
– Skopje University, Macedonia
– Belgrade University, Serbia
– Nagoya University, Japan
– Siena University, Italy
– Ritsumeikan University in Kyoto, Japan
– The World Peace Academy, WPA, Basel, Switzerland
– University of Aarhus, Denmark
Website history
TFF’s first website was created by Goran Larsson in 1997. It underwent modifications carried out by Maria Näslund in 1999. In 2003, Jan Oberg developed the third edition. The old site at “TFF Old Website” – grew organically and was last given a new design by Jan Oberg and launched to mark TFF’s 20th anniversary, on November 25, 2006 – the 4th edition. Over the years, that site also became unmanageable, too difficult to navigate and technologically outdated.
The 5th edition website launched on January 25, 2012, was a completely new design created by Aniara Perzon in co-operation with Jan Oberg and TFF’s Board. The Associates and Themes blog is a heavily re-designed WordPress theme adapted to the TFF design concept.
And, thus, the present edition you are on here is the 6th, launched on January 1, 2018, designed by Jan Oberg and having a new web address transnational.live
Editorial policies and principles
Policy
The Transnational posts materials based on multi-disciplinary quality scholarship, personal experience and a reasonable theory-practise balance.
And we don’t do pure news, it’s search and re-search, analyses, policy papers, plans, backgrounds, commentaries – in short, what help people educate themselves, think, and take part in the societal conversation across the globe that is so essential for democracy, development and quality decision-making. (But we do provide a list of good news places under “Links”).
Catchwords are macro-perspective, future-thinking and global perspective – aiming at contributing to peace and other types of constructive thinking.
There is enough negative thinking and sterile, confrontational debate. In contrast to many social media, you won’t have to waste your time with that here.
While we are aware of the world’s crises, TFF is essentially about possible solutions – even if each and every post does not propose solutions.
Dialogue promotion
We curate articles and videos by great content creators who are not TFF Associates. They may sometimes deviate from the foundation’s core values.
We do that because they have other values and qualities that we judge to be helpful in producing broader, intelligent and constructive dialogues.
We aim at dialogue and mutual education to further global understanding.
Not debate, confrontation, shouting and worse. We reserve the right to delete such comments.
Editorial board
The Transnational is edited by the Board of TFF through it’s director and co-founder Jan Oberg.
Copyright – Yes, please re-use and…
The Transnational encourages your reproduction of any materials by TFF Associates. We are grateful for your sharing of our community’s thoughts. Just indicate the source and do not shorten or edit unless you make it clear that that’s what you do and make a link to the entire article.
When it comes to curated materials here, we suggest you go to the original source.
And, finally – we are always happy to hear from you or receive links to articles you believe should be found here. Use the contact page or write to TFF@transnational.org
Last updated
December 10, 2018
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