Peace Magazine: Peace Magazine policies

Peace Magazine

Peace Magazine policies

• published Jul 31, 2018 • last edit May 23, 2023

For all users

Privacy

There are comment forms on both Project Save the World (WordPress, not time-limited) and the Peace Magazine website (Textpattern, activated for comments on the two most recent quarterly issues of the magazine). Use of the comment forms is completely voluntary, and you are advised that your name and written content will be held in our files solely to allow us keep track of the comments placed on the website. Your email address will not be shared.

In addition, Project Save the World comments may be reposted to the Peace Magazine Facebook page via WP-Discuz, a social share plugin.

You may contact Project Save the World and Peace Magazine by email at project@peacemagazine.org.

Ethics policy

We try to be fair, accurate, civil, and humane. Since 1985 we have been publishing a magazine promoting policies of peace and before that we published a monthly tabloid newspaper. Insofar as possible, we strive to be an open forum for the discussion of timely controversies about social issues, international affairs, and military/disarmament policies. The work of writing and producing our magazine and talk show is done entirely by highly experienced volunteers. Only the printing house and mailing costs are paid.

Since the founding of the magazine, our masthead has displayed this notice: “Peace Magazine favors multilateral disarmament and, within that broad context, takes no editorial position. Views expressed by contributors do not represent the opinions of CANDIS or the magazine. Submissions by academics are peer-reviewed. Editorial or pictorial content may be reproduced in any medium, provided that reprints are prominently credited and that copies of any reprinted materials are forwarded to us.” You can see the archive of all our previous print publications on peacemagazine.org and all our videos and podcasts on our secondary website, tosavetheworld.ca.

Corrections policy

We are of course willing (but have rarely needed) to insert corrections in the next issue of the magazine or on either of our websites. Indeed, fewer than one factual correction per year are typically required, for our editorial team is meticulous. Opinions are a different matter; it is not unusual for other writers to submit letters or articles expressing analyses contradictory to those we have printed. We encourage such controversial exchanges—indeed, we wish there were more of them. Most of our readers and contributors seem to be “like-minded” liberals or social democrats.

Fact checking policy

Peace Magazine is a quarterly print publication. Before being accepted for publication, all submissions must be read and approved by two or more members of the editorial team, which meets for an evening twice monthly. We appraise some stories about “breaking news”— e.g. conferences at the United Nations, or a new report calling for a trillion new trees to be planted to limit global warming. At each editorial meeting, someone will always question a statement or rhetorical flourish in the text, and we immediately consult the Internet or phone a scholar friend before editing the text. Sometimes an editor will take an article home and work it over before sending it back to us. We invite readers to write to us and we invariably publish their critical remarks in the letters column on the next issue.

Professors frequently need to have their submissions “peer reviewed” — a process that is generally followed within academia as a method of maintaining standards of publications when it comes to methodology, factual accuracy, and theoretical coherence.Since many of our authors are academics, we offer them the possibility of peer review. If they so request, we send their paper (without their name showing) to two or sometimes three academic experts whose names are also kept anonymous. If they suggest changes, we inform the author and accept the paper for publication only after it has been revised and re-submitted.

Peace Magazine now offers two other informative services: a weekly “talk show” broadcast via Facebook, and the maintenance of a website, tosavetheworld.ca where experts can share news about the risks of six global threats to humankind: war and weapons; global warming; famine; pandemics; massive radiation exposure; and cyberattacks.

The talk show takes form as an educational video and audio podcast. Our editor spends an hour discussing a particular global problem with one (or sometimes up to four) experts or activists who are knowledgeable about that issue. We record the conversation on Zoom, edit it, make a podcast from the sound track, and post the video and podcast on our Facebook page, YouTube, and our website, tosavetheworld.ca/videos . Sometimes the transcript is published as a dialogue in the print publication, Peace Magazine.
Once in a while, during the editing of the video, we discover that someone has mis-spoken. The erroneous passage is either deleted or a new voice track “patch” is made with the corrected information. As soon as the recordings have been posted online, we email many posters out and boost the video worldwide on Facebook and Twitter. Each talk show Is about a social issue that should concern everyone in the world, not just a local or national constituency. We never advocate in favour or against any political party or candidate, but each of our discussions analyzes one of the serious world problems of the day.

Ownership and funding

The magazine is owned by Canadian Disarmament Information Service (CANDIS). Our expenses are modest, since all the work is done by volunteers—mainly retired academics and professional journalists. We have at times received government grants—some from Canada’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and some from the Canada Magazine Fund, which assists small publications with grants for development and circulation promotion. We had a relationship for about 15 years with an academic association, Science for Peace, whereby they paid for a certain number of pages in each issue and participated in editing it. Nowadays we mostly work from home and our expenses are covered by a few advertisers, subscribers, and donors.

The weekly talk shows are virtually cost-free to produce, since the panelists sit at their home webcams. The only costs are the expense of advertising them. To our profound dismay, Facebook has lately refused most of our applications to boost the videos worldwide, which is the only form of distribution that can reach our international audience. Our work is motivated by concern for the well-being of humankind, for most of us no longer need to earn our living.

Editorial team

The current editorial team consists of:

  • Metta Spencer, editor in chief. Professor emeritus of sociology, U of Toronto. Initiated and directed program in peace and conflict studies there. Expertise: political sociology and Russia. See CV at mettaspencer.com
  • Ken Simons, managing editor. Former editor-in-chief of Peace News in London, UK. Expertise: nonviolence.
  • Yusur Al-Bahrani, Regional Political Communications Officer, Public Service Alliance of Canada. Expertise: Middle East and Islam.
  • Subir Guin, semi-retired businessman, Toronto. Expertise: South Asia
  • Stephen Riggins, Professor emeritus of sociology, Memorial University, Newfoundland. Edited several books on history of Canadian social thought.
  • Ronald Shirtliff, Professor emeritus of English, Ryerson University, Toronto. Expertise: writing.
  • Evnur Taran, graduate of York University in international relations. Expertise: Turkey and migration.
  • Adam Wynne: student at University of Toronto. Expertise: Global health policy.

Terms and conditions

Please see the Terms and Conditions page for a comprehensive document which itemizes standard terms and conditions for the online use of Peace Magazine and Project Save the World.

Peace Mag masthead


About Peace Magazine


Jan-Mar 2022 issue :

Apr-Jun 2022 issue :

Jul-Sep 2022 issue :

Oct-Dec 2022 issue :

Jan-Mar 2023 issue :

Apr-Jun 2023 issue :

Jul-Sep 2023 issue :

Jan-Mar 2024 issue :

Peace Magazine cover images :

Peace Magazine articles, 1985-2023 :


The Peace Calendar, 1983-1984 :

Project Save the World

Peace Mag's weekday videos and podcasts



Contact page / About Peace Mag :


Privacy, copyright, and reprints :

Policies for contributors and subscribers :

Terms and Conditions :

Guidelines for editing :


Advertising ratecard :


Email the office at office@peacemagazine.org :

198 methods of nonviolent action by Gene Sharp :

Disarmament Campaigns archive :

Link to other peace and disarmament websites :


Follow Peace Magazine on Facebook : Follow Peace Magazine on Twitter