Rethinking War And Peace

Acknowledgements Introduction 1 Where are we? Events and realities Presentation and perceptions 2 What is war good for? Myth and reality The myth of war War's causes War leaders and their motivations 'Exhausted alternatives': the case of Kosovo War's efficacy for good The negative effects of war Conclusion 3 War, violence and human nature Power as domination Violent structures Us and them Violence and human nature The role of culture Gender and violence Nature and nurture: changing gender roles Broader possibilities of cultural change Psychology and moral development 4 Peace, war and ethics Ethics, self and society Ethics and war Ethics and power The logic (and illogic) of war War as justice Just war theories The protection of civilians - sliding boundaries Means and ends: consequentialism Measuring wider consequences Sins of omission Accepting responsibility Strengthening peace ethics 5 Opposing evil and standing up for good What about Hitler? Tyranny and 'people power' Nonviolent resistance in recent history People-power around the world The strength of nonviolence - building peace International solidarity A constructive role for governments in supporting peace 'abroad' An answer to terrorism? People-power to resist militarism and demand peace 6 Peace, identity and participation From identity to identification Purposes and values Participation Achieving change 7 Time for action What needs to be done and why Getting on with the job Reasons for hope Notes and References Index

Diana Francis has been described as one of the most experienced practitioners of conflict resolution. She is a former President of the International Fellowship of Reconciliation and Chair of the Committee for Conflict Transformation Support. Her previous books, People, Peace and Power and Rethinking War and Peace are published by Pluto Press.

Nothing is more urgent than the transformation of the anti-war movement into a pro-peace movement. We need an agenda that sets out the alternatives to war that the peace movement can commit to. Rethinking War and Peace offers an outline of where we can begin this process. Read it ... and get organising. -- Alan Simpson, MP, UK Chair of Labour Against the War A timely and necessary book. It explodes the myth of war's inevitability. -- Martin Bell, OBE, journalist and former Independent MP Diana Francis, noted advocate and leader in working for reconciliation and understanding through non-violent methods, has written a most useful and inspiring book. Her premise is that there is no just or justified war. War creates more problems than it solves and degrades the aggressors who are involved in state-sponsored murder. She discusses and give examples of successful non-violent actions and encourages the reader to explore the reasons, satisfactions and problems associated with the military. -- Naomi Goodman, former president of the Jewish Peace Fellowship This is the right book at the right time. The non-violent resolution of international conflict is no longer just desirable -- it has become essential. -- Bruce Kent, Chair of the Movement for the Abolition of War and Vice President of CND Today what the world needs most is a powerful challenge to the justification for war. That is exactly what Diana Francis offers in Rethinking War and Peace. This well researched and persuasively argued book presents an alternative to the logic and spirit of war. The urgency for its publication cannot be overemphasized. -- Samuel Kobia, General Secretary of the World Council of Churches It will come as a surprise to some people but peacemaking requires passion as well as empathy. And passionate peacemaker Diana Francis now shows us her frustration with the way that military methods and the imposition of 'solutions' have repeatedly failed and yet are treated as 'tried and tested'