The 1983 Unesco Yearbook takes a more theoretical approach to the subject of peace and conflict research than previous editions. The first section, Trends and Approaches to Peace and Conflict Studies, is itself divided into three parts, beginning with two socio-psychological views of perceptions of threat and attitude formation in societies and among individuals. This is followed by the results of a study which used content analysis to relate perceptions of threat to the arms race and examined the use of mass media to shape those perceptions. The second part continues the debate begun in the 1982 yearbook over the notion of security itself, relating it to international legal and economic problems in general and perceived threats and corresponding conceptions of security in Africa, the Middle East, and Europe. Theoretical and Bibliographical Surveys provides sources and material on peace and conflict research. The report of the Unesco meeting on Different Perceptions of Threat and Conceptions of Security opens the final section. The yearbook ends with a brief discussion of the newly formed Peruvian Peace Research Association.
