Data Lab / Interactive
The Trust Paradox
Explore how trust, security, and institutional strength shape the dynamics between positive and negative peace.
Understanding Peace as a Complex Concept
While the concept of peace is difficult to define (we can talk about religious peace, philosophical peace, or even mathematical peace, as in: how to meassure peace), in this visualization of The Trust Paradox, I am trying to show that peace as a concept is interlinked with other elements, such as trust, security, and stability (and more; check out the Lesson: What's Peace to learn more).
Of course, there are lots of other elements impacting peace, but for the sake of this visualization I'm using a scale from 1 to 100 of social trust, security measures, and institutional strengths to come up with a score that tries to give a "peace score": from a Critical State (0) to a Robust Peace (100).
As such, Peace isn't something we can isolate and measure in a vacuum (it's a dynamic interplay between how much we trust each other! how secure we feel, and how strong our institutions are). Change one of these elements, and the whole system shifts. That's what makes peace both fascinating and challenging to visualize: we're trying to capture something fundamentally relational and complex in a single score (for this visualization, but let's always remember that reality is never this simple)
Let's put it in an example: negative peace is you walking around peacefully in your neighborhood with lots of police officers and law enforcement officials guarding the streets (protecting you against individuals who might want to hurt you), while positive peace is you walking around peacefully knowing that all your needs are covered (including security), so there's no need for law enforcement. Both are valuable forms of "peace," but positive peace is more related to wellbeing, while negative peace is more related to the absence of physical violence.
About This Tool
This interactive visualization helps you understand the relationship between different dimensions of peace. While peace is difficult to quantify precisely, this tool offers a conceptual framework to explore these dynamics. Adjust the sliders below to see how changes in trust, security measures, and institutional capacity affect overall peace outcomes. The concepts are based on peace studies frameworks distinguishing between negative peace (absence of violence) and positive peace (presence of justice and wellbeing).
Adjust Parameters
Adjust the parameters above to see how different factors influence peace dynamics.
Understanding the Model
This tool models peace as a multidimensional phenomenon:
- Negative Peace measures the absence of direct violence, influenced primarily by security measures and institutional capacity to maintain order.
- Positive Peace represents the presence of structural conditions for wellbeing: trust, justice, and inclusive institutions.
- The Paradox emerges when heavy security measures reduce violence but erode trust, making peace unsustainable. Conversely, high trust with weak institutions may leave communities vulnerable.
- Sustainability reflects whether the peace configuration can be maintained long-term without degradation.
Want to dive deeper? Comprehensive documentation is available on GitHub, including academic references (39+ peer-reviewed sources), complete methodology, and implementation guides for researchers and analysts.