A Melody Called Peace. Scott Johnson
most frightening indication of this trend is cyberwarfare. Wyatt Hoffman and George Perkovich explained this novel phenomenon and what peacemaking could create if it is to be stopped. They warned about exaggeration of cyberwarfare: all and all, no one has still died from it. This is conflict with no violence (a mirror image of the phenomenon described by
Muggah and Kleinfeld, as violence without conflict). However, its worst-case could still be expected. According to these authors, the cyber peacemaking challenge is something beyond the capacity of governments alone. Wherever cyber starts, other kinds of warfare, where humankind has the reliance on intelligent technology, will indeed pursuit.
Tell us if there is peace in our modern life?
Complicated solutions are needed for global problems. Given the increasing global disorder in its different forms, it is necessary to reimagine an international peace project, although it should be totally different from the project in a century ago.
If we want to revive the term “peace” as a political notion, we obviously should handle it carefully. Even Brendan McAllister, the notable peace activist, ascertains to being delicate concerning this term, admitting to call it “an exhausted platitude, which has been used and misused by all sides of conflict and, subsequently, long past its sell-by date and best avoided.”
Nevertheless, according to McAllister as the first to volunteer, if there is a correct enabling context, this notion can be reestablished-with an eye on the “spaces between the words.” At different periods some endeavors have been made for positing this notion as something beyond just the absence of war, or as McAllister puts it, shalom instead of pax. Johan Galtung, who is generally recognized as the father of peace research essays in 1960s, devised the term “positive peace” in this regard.
John F. Kennedy in June 1963 tried to boost the same notion in a popular lecture at American University in Washington, DC. Kennedy, who reached out to the Soviet Union aiming at de-escalating the nuclear arms race, asked rhetorically,
Do you know the kind of peace that I mean? What type of peace do we look for? It is not a Pax Americana imposed on the world by American war weapons. It is not the slave security or peace of the grave. I mean pure peace, it is such a peace that makes the earth worth to live, the kind of peace enabling growth and hope of individuals, and building a better life for their children-not just peace for Americans but for all women and men-not just peace in our time but for all time.12
The kind of peace intended by Kennedy is a more attainable and practical peace, which is not based on a sudden revolution in human nature, rather it is based on a gradual evolution in human institutions. The notion of “a continuous development in human institutions, which supports a rule-based order, is what we try to achieve through our works and efforts, although it seems that most global trends work in the opposite direction. When the nations with less power, particularly those in the Global South, would be pessimistic to a novel rules-based order when they witness making and breaking the rules by the big powers of the world.
First of all, a novel set of rules requires stronger endorsement of international law institutions than many of the big powers of the world, including USA, Russian, and China, have been willing to give. This is the story that Frédéric Mégret narrates in his work; it is an unfinished story that aptly interweaves the law and history. It narrates endeavors for building an international justice system in the contemporary era for dealing with conflicts of the world, it is story of the resistance of big powers against the project. They agreed the project only if it was aligned with their interests. Besides, it recounts the internal contradictions faced by the project, like in cases that there was incompatibility in pursuit of peace and justice.
Andrew Carnegie passionately believed that international justice is the remedy of world conflict. He had pursued the modern chapters of this story with interestingly. He would feel refuted in some respects. Nevertheless, The Hague Peace Palace endowed by him yet hosts two international courts that work as arbitrators on very quarrelsome global conflicts. As already mentioned, based on the judgment of the Permanent Court of Arbitration in 2009, the dilemma in the conflict about the boundary of Abyei, a province in Sudan, was resolved.
The authors reached a convergence in description of a more hopeful phenomenon. They described a type of global civil community that is currently alive in the form of civil groups and NGOs. It is a much greater movement compared to the small groups of citizens funded by Carnegie in European countries and the USA in the 1900s. We can describe it as the other side of the coin of the evil non-state actors we already talked about. Using this global civil society, we can start to look for peace drivers, instead of conflict agents.
Brendan McAllister made a warning. He is a veteran of the Northern Ireland peace settlement. In the case of absence of persistent collaboration and inclusivity, peace processes would be limited. When the peace process is merely a legal and technical process, it would be chiefly negotiated based on interests, needs, and positions and agreements would be designed mainly based on structures instead of attempting to strengthen relations between opponents who should eliminate enmities and cooperate for suit inability of the peace. The chemistry of a peace settlement is as significant as the physics.
This reminds the lessons of a century ago. A civil movement that advocates a wider scope of peace would be achieved just if it gets across marginalized groups in the world outside North America and Europe. A “democratic drive” should also give a chance to less powerful nations and minority groups. When a commitment to handle global economic inequalities is absent, the liberal internationalism is empty. We can see faulty peace of 1919 as a warning of lost opportunity and the devaluation of international peace.
An urgent necessity is being felt that the unheard voices of the youths shall be heard and welcomed;
We, the messengers of peace and civilization, from Iran, have a message for the whole universe and we are determined to deliver that message to the ears and eyes of the peace seekers like ourselves.
tutto l'amore e la pace!
A Letter
From: Willem Petrus Burger, M.O.P Peace Ambassador to Africa
To: Ellias Aghili Dehnavi, the President of the M.O.P
The peace within ourselves is the ultimate key to an international everlasting peace!
Why violent conflict? What are the reasons for war, terrorism, genocide, violation of human rights and gender base violence? Why these horrible things?
Is this the responsibility of governments, politicians, collective groups, organizations or business?
My taking is that most individuals (irrespective of race, skin colour or origin) are not in peace with themselves! How can we then expect that communities and a whole world be at peace as its very building blocks, being billions of individuals, are not?
Individuals do not take care of themselves and has no value in doing so. There is only value in the short term and they plainly do not see the long term consequences of their actions. The lack of individual inner peace is founded in anger for a lack of various wants as luxury amenities, living conditions, greed and thus pure unhappiness!
Avoid toxic people, excessive self-blame, staying comfortable, victim mentality, trying to impress others, the pursuit of perfection, grudges, a constant quest for material things, complete self reliance and the chasing of happiness.
Forgive excessively and know that happiness starts with you!
No your beliefs and act accordingly then the collective i.e. our societies will change from in itself
Either be a victim of your circumstance or be someone who sees challenges as opportunities!
You are not the best at all, but do not need to! Everything on this earth takes time and has a time!
Saint Francis De Sales once said: ‘Never be in a hurry; do everything quietly and in a calm spirit, do not lose your inner peace for anything whatsoever, even if your whole world seems upset”
Nobody can cheat the timeline! Follow it and peace will follow you and the collective!