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