Chapter 15 — War and Peace in the Modern Age

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Chapter Summary

This chapter begins by posing the question, What creative breakthroughs can help us achieve a more peaceful world order? By peace we mean the absence of war, a condition of harmony between nation-states (or organized groups aspiring to become nation-states) that enables them to cooperatively, lawfully, and voluntarily work out conflicts and deal with disputes. Peace does not mean the end of all conflict, competition, and tension. It means eliminating catastrophic world wars, regional wars, civil wars, and wars of national liberation.

Before considering alternative approaches to peace, several factors that affect war and peace in the modern world are presented. They include the threat of nuclear war, the terrible consequences of conventional war, the enormous costs associated with arms races, the serious problems presented by the very structure of the nation-state system, the unprecedented war on terrorism being led by the United States, and the weaknesses demonstrated by the United Nations.

Six approaches to a more peaceful world order are then presented. The alternatives do not exhaust all the possibilities, and they may sometimes overlap. They do illustrate the strengths and weaknesses of key approaches.

First, a new balance of power is a position based on the assumption that foreign policy must realistically accept the struggle for power in world affairs generally and between great powers specifically. Great powers will seek to exert and extend their influence on behalf of their vital national interests. Only power can balance power; only strength can deter or defeat aggression. Current trends in the international system reflect the enormous power of the United States--a near unipolar condition. But this may not last for long, and a new balance of power may well emerge. While based on the power-versus-power equation, it would differ in some ways from the balance-of-power system that characterized the cold war. It would likely be multipolar rather than bipolar, and it would place greater emphasis on economic power.

Second, United Nations’ third-party activities cover a wide range of techniques including good offices, conciliation, investigation, mediation, arbitration, observation, truce supervision, and peacekeeping. The ending of the cold war has profoundly affected the United Nations, and this is most evident in the UN Security Council, where, since the cold war’s end, it has been far easier to gain consensus on issues. Perhaps this development provides a new hope for the quest for peace.

Third, collective security must be considered as an additional avenue for peace. It involves an agreement among states, usually within the context of an international organization like the United Nations, to protect each other from aggression by fellow member signatories to the agreement. In the aftermath of the cold war, the United Nations Security Council passed a dozen resolutions condemning Iraqi aggression against Kuwait, establishing economic sanctions, and authorizing collective military action against Iraq. For the advocates of collective security, this was an encouraging development.

Fourth, global economic integration provides another alternative for dealing with war. Groups of states, either at the regional or even on a global level, dramatically increase their economic interaction--in trade, finance, transportation, communication--to the point where the separate national economies become more interdependent. The more integrated and interdependent economies become, the higher the cost to be paid for engaging in violent conflict.

Fifth, functionalism is a theory positing that the world would be better off if it were organized around the fulfillment of basic human needs such as food, water, shelter, health delivery, environmental health, and communication. Those who endorse this approach maintain that human beings will move toward world peace if functional organizations can better meet common needs and advance mutual interests. With increased powers, funds, and activities, and by grappling with common problems, these organizations can build a trusting global community.

Finally, advocates of nonviolent civilian defense maintain that a breakthrough to a more peaceful world order can be achieved only if nonviolence is seriously considered. Nonviolent action is defined as various forms of protest and noncooperation without physical violence.

Chapter Objectives

After reading this chapter, you should understand...

• what is meant by peace.
• some of the key factors affecting war and peace in the modern world: the threat of nuclear war, the consequences of conventional wars, the costs associated with the arms race, the dangers of the sovereign nation-state system, the new war on terrorism, and the weaknesses of the United Nations.
• the basic characteristics of the following approaches to peace and the extent to which they have the potential for a creative breakthrough in addressing the problem of violent conflict: a new balance of power, the United Nations’ third-party activities, collective security, global economic integration, functionalism, and nonviolent civilian defense.