Do No Harm
“Do no harm” is the most famous phrase of the Hippocratic Oath, a statement of medical ethics written by physicians in the school of Hippocrates (the so-called Father of Medicine) in Greece around 400 bce: “I will use regimens for the benefit of the ill in accordance with my ability and judgment, but from what is to their harm or injustice I will keep them.” The awareness of the ancient oath that healing professions carry responsibilities for competent use of their particular knowledge, that the work itself carries dangers of doing unintentional harm, being unjust, exploiting clients, and conferring special skills that can be used for deliberate cruelty, make its principles relevant to settings where peace psychologists may have key roles. Education, law, government, unions, the military, business administration, and other professional enterprises all consult with psychologists at times on issues of ethics, conflict, and outside pressures to reform. Some employ psychologists for assistance to employees (e.g., the military) or clients (e.g., education) and also turn to them for help when destructive conflicts arise. 
 
 
Keywords: 
 
professional ethics; 
medical ethics; 
do no harm
Ethical Objectives and Values in Peace Psychology and Social Justice Research
Ethical standards in research with human participants typically include informed consent and avoidance of physical or emotional harm. In the field of peace psychology and related social justice research, the standard of “do no harm” may need to be extended. The values of our field include going beyond the standards for integrity in methods and customary protections of human subjects and move into the obligation for our research to make an actual contribution to limit the many forms of violence and injustice that are faced by the human family. With this higher standard we set the bar to include the actual voices of those who experience violence, an examination of the power relationships that perpetuate structural violence, and a reflection on how sponsorship of research and normative disciplinary practices may inadvertently serve to perpetuate a violent system. The suggestion is that “do no harm” as the sole standard in social research is not sufficient to fully understand and address the depth of social oppression and structural violence in the real-world contexts. This chapter suggests an additional standard for ethical research in peace psychology to “do good.” This ethical standard to “do good” empowers those harmed by the violent system to understand the need for change and develop effective strategies to promote and sustain change in any context.
Do Arab public opinion support policies of regional powers in MENA? View from Tunisia
ABSTRACT The Arab Uprisings and subsequent events continue to transform policies of regional and major powers toward the Middle East and North Africa. These powers have shown different approaches toward the Uprisings, ranging from support for the status quo to endorsing regime changes. Their policies have also exerted a significant impact on the course of events. Despite this growing importance and implications of policies of regional powers on the Uprisings and the Syrian conflict, we still do not know much about how the public assesses these policies and to what extent domestic cleavages shape these assessments. Using a nationally representative original survey conducted in 2014 in Tunisia, this study examines the perceptions of the policies of France, Turkey, and Saudi Arabia towards the Uprisings and the Syrian conflict. It finds that French and Turkish policies about the Uprisings have garnered substantial support among citizens, whereas most citizens negatively assess the Saudi policies. On the other hand, the majority of Tunisians negatively assess all these countries’ policies toward the Syrian conflict. Another major finding suggests that political identity reflecting secular/religious cleavages shapes how citizens view the policies of these three countries toward both issues, but its effect is higher in assessing the Uprisings.