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If War Is Not the Answer, What Is? Frequently Asked Questions
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1.
What is the peaceful prevention of deadly conflict?
The peaceful prevention of deadly conflict is a paradigm
for addressing conflict issues, as well as a set of policies
for building national and global security in the 21st
century. It is an alternative to the current U.S. policy
of "preemptive" war and military dominance. It begins
from the premise that preventing the outbreak of violent conflict and wars
is less costly and can be more effective than responding,
often through military force, once crises have already erupted.
The UN, parts of the U.S. government, regional organizations,
individual countries, and civil society organizations are
actively working to implement programs and policies for
peaceful prevention.
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2.
How did the concept of peaceful prevention develop?
The international community, along with peace and conflict
scholars, began to develop the concept of peaceful prevention
of deadly conflict in the early 1990s. The failures of the global
community to effectively prevent the genocide in Rwanda, mass
killings in Srebrenica, and humanitarian crises in Somalia and
elsewhere pushed many to search for a new approach to managing
conflict in the post-Cold War world. The publishing of the report
of the Carnegie Commission on Preventing Deadly Conflict in
1998, followed three years later by the release of the Secretary-General's
Report on the Prevention of Armed Conflict
and the report Responsibility to Protect
by the International Commission on Intervention and State Sovereignty
marked important steps in the development of peaceful prevention.
3.
What are the benefits of peaceful prevention?
As health professionals and firefighters have already learned,
early prevention is more effective and more efficient than late
response. Preventing conflict from erupting into violence saves
lives in the short-term and enhances security in the long-term.
It is also less expensive than responding to crises after they
have erupted and rebuilding shattered communities. Peaceful
prevention frees up resources that can be used to meet basic
human needs. Its benefits extend beyond any single state's borders.
One country's armed conflict can result in economic destabilization
and undermine human security for an entire region. At the same
time, successful prevention of violent conflict in a country
can contribute to the stability and resilience of the surrounding
region. Communities and societies with the capacity to peacefully
manage conflict can often better address other issues such as
economic development, human rights, and political stability.
4.
Are there cases where violent conflict has been prevented?
Yes. Throughout the 20th century there have been many cases
of escalating tension and violence in which concerned governments,
nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), religious organizations
and social movements have worked steadfastly to confront repression
and injustice and to prevent the outbreak of deadly conflict.
In 1978, when longstanding tension between Argentina and Chile
over a strip of water known as the Beagle Channel threatened
to disintegrate into full-blown war, Pope John Paul II sent
his personal envoy to act as mediator between the two countries.
Six years of continued peace efforts, facilitated by Papal officers,
held off war long enough for the military regimes of both countries
to lose much of their authority, and a final treaty was signed
in 1984. In India in 1991, social and religious tensions in
the shantytowns of`Ahmedabad were erupting into violence with
increased frequency. Saint Xavier's Social Service Society launched
a program of peace initiatives such as street plays, festivals
and community meetings that served to counter propaganda and
diffuse confrontations. When conflict in the former Yugoslavia
threatened to spill over into Macedonia, the United Nations
deployed peacekeepers to help prevent the spread of violence.
The presence of international peacekeepers helped contain the
conflict. (For more stories on successful prevention see the
Oxford Research Group's 2001 report War Prevention
Works: 50 Stories of People Resolving Conflict.
This book is available through the publisher at 51 Plantation
Road, Oxford OX2 6JE, England, email: org@oxfordresearchgroup.org.uk)
5.
Who is working toward the peaceful prevention of violent conflict?
The UN Security Council, General Assembly, and UN agencies,
as well as the European Union, the African Union, the World
Bank, national governments like Sweden, development programs
like the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID),
and many nongovernmental groups working around the world have
taken steps to establish policies and programs for the peaceful
prevention of deadly conflict. Many peace and conflict scholars
continue to make essential contributions to the field. The Secretary-General's
Report on the Prevention of Armed Conflict
includes 29 recommendations for making progress
on prevention in the UN, among Member States, in regional organizations,
and with civil society groups. The General Assembly of the United
Nations has also affirmed the principles and policy directives
of conflict prevention in Resolution 57/337, passed in July
2003. Efforts to implement these recommendations are underway,
including planning by the Global Partnership for Prevention
of Armed Conflict for an international conference on the role
of civil society in conflict prevention, to be held at the UN
in 2005.
6.
What is the U.S. doing to help prevent deadly conflict?
The U.S. has contributed to the global dialogue on peaceful
prevention. In the Security Council, the U.S. joined in adopting
Resolution 1366 (2001), which expresses the determination of
the Council "to pursue the prevention of armed conflict as an
integral part of its primary responsibility for the maintenance
of international peace and security." At a national level, the
U.S. has also taken small but important steps. In September
2002, a new Office of Conflict Management and Mitigation was
created in USAID. It is working to integrate prevention into
its development programs and spread a culture of prevention
through USAID. Members of Congress are developing pieces of
legislation that affirm multilateral institutions, promote more
effective peace operations and present alternative platforms
for human security.
The Bush Administration clearly recognizes the need to address
the threats of terrorism and armed conflict before they reach
U.S. soil. Unfortunately, the Administration has not actively
embraced an agenda for peaceful prevention that addresses the
root causes of violence. In fact, the Administration's policies
of "preemptive" war, declarations on the potential usability
of nuclear weapons, and rejection of a number of international
treaties have undermined the movement for peaceful prevention.
In its "war on terror," the U.S. has already waged two international
wars, is undermining human rights at home and abroad, and may
be fueling a new era of global weapons proliferation and terrorist
attacks.
7.
How does the Bush Doctrine of "preemptive" war relate to peaceful
prevention?
The Bush Doctrine of "preemptive" war and global military dominance,
outlined in the 2002 National Security Strategy, diverges dramatically
from the global trends toward peaceful prevention. It turns
the concept of preventing the outbreak of violence and addressing
root causes of conflict on its head by using aggression and
war as its preferred tools of so-called prevention. By doing
so, the Bush Doctrine is threatening to create a new era of
entrenched global violence and to destroy the very pillars of
peaceful prevention, such as international law and multilateral
institutions like the UN.
8.
What about brutal dictators and terrorists? How does peaceful
prevention deal with such threats?
Preventing war does not mean ignoring or acquiescing to the
very real threats posed by brutal regimes and terrorism. However,
military force has proved an ill-suited tool for ending the
threat of terrorism or replacing brutal regimes with healthy,
peaceful societies. Instead, the peaceful prevention of deadly
conflict requires the creation of global norms, laws, institutions,
and prevention capacities that weaken, isolate and withdraw
power from dictators and terrorist networks. The International
Criminal Court is a major advance in this regard. It is designed
to handle cases of genocide, crimes against humanity, and war
crimes when national governments are incapable or unwilling
to do so. More importantly perhaps, working preventively means
understanding how threats develop and what motivates those engaged
in acts of violence and terror. What policies and practices
have contributed to the development of a conflict in the past?
Has the U.S. aided oppressive regimes in the name of short-term
national interests, only to find later that U.S. and global
security have been undermined by such policies? What are the
conditions that allow or even encourage oppressive regimes or
terrorist networks to develop? How can those conditions be altered
to ensure more participatory governance and remove the power
base of extreme factions? Societies in which democratic processes
are strong, civil society is well-established, and civic engagement
is high have mechanisms that can curtail fanaticism and authoritarianism.
If a dictatorship takes hold, these indigenous democratic institutions
can serve as a powerful and sometimes decisive counter-force
in a population's struggle to peacefully bring about regime
change.
9.
How can U.S. policy be improved to better prevent violent
conflict?
The U.S. needs a new national security strategy for the
peaceful prevention of violent conflict. Such a strategy
would invest in developing and utilizing alternatives
to war, including: 1.) international cooperation and the
rule of law; 2.) preventive diplomacy and peace operations;
3.) arms control and disarmament; 4.) human rights and
good governance; 5.) sustainable development and human
security. Click here for more
detailed policy recommendations
10.
What can I do to contribute to the peaceful prevention
of deadly conflict?
You can educate yourself, your community, and your members
of Congress on the paradigm and the policies of peaceful
prevention. Plan an event and invite an FCNL staff person
to speak, or create a study group with others in your
community. Communicate with your members of Congress about
peaceful prevention and use FCNL and other materials to
educate them on the issue. Urge them to support and vote
for policies that can reduce threats to peace and security,
prevent armed hostilities, and address the root causes
of conflict.
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If War Is Not the Answer, What Is?
Global
Civil Society & International Weapons Inspections
Iraq, 2002-2003
"Never before in the history of the world
has there been a global, visible, public, viable, open
dialogue and conversation about the very legitimacy of
war...This is a miracle. This is what 'waging peace' looks
like."
-
Dr. Robert Muller,
former Assistant Secretary-General of the UN,
March 18, 2003
In
September 2002, President Bush went before the UN General
Assembly and announced the intention of his Administration
to bring about regime change in Iraq, by force if necessary,
with or without the support of the UN Security Council.
Many people believed that the Administration's push to
war would go unchallenged, and that a U.S. military invasion
of Iraq was imminent. Instead, U.S. citizens, members
of global civil society and ordinary people around the
world mounted what would become the largest international
peace movement in history in an attempt to prevent war
with Iraq. In answer to pressure at home and abroad, the
Bush Administration went to the United Nations with its
concerns over Saddam Hussein's regime. For seven months
the Security Council held sway as it served as arbiter
and initiated intensive international weapons inspections
in Iraq. Even as the U.S. military prepared to invade
Iraq in March 2003, many long-time peace advocates believed
they had witnessed a turning point in global opinion and
action with regard to armed conflict.
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Reviewed
09/07/2005
More on the Peaceful Prevention of Deadly Conflict
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