Page 143 - Encyclopedia Of World History Vol IV

1444 berkshire encyclopedia of world history

They shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears
into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against
nation, neither shall they learn war any more • Micah 4:3

that the world would live under the threat of war for the peace projects and world order proposals drawn up in
next fifty years. the Western world since ancient Egypt. Between the four-
The existence of nuclear weapons changed the stakes teenth and the mid-twentieth centuries alone, more than
of international relations. Before the explosion of the 125 plans have been sketched. Besides many anonymous
atom bomb, war was considered a regulating mechanism and obscure authors, some historic figures stand out,
reflecting shifts in the international balance of power. such as Dante Alighieri,William Penn, Jeremy Bentham,
With the risk of destroying humanity, the focus shifted Immanuel Kant, and Thomas Paine.Well-known and un-
from warfare to peacemaking. known authors all share the same dream of doing away
with war.
Understanding Peace projects inherently pertain to relations among
Peacemaking states, whether these are kingdoms, nations, or modern
Based on the historical record, it is possible to identify a states.The goal is to obviate war by establishing a set of
model of peacemaking.At the heart of the process, peace- procedures for the peaceful settlement of disputes. Unlike
making seeks to ensure equilibrium so that no single state utopian schemes, peace projects aim at neither changing
can dominate all of its neighbors.The existence of a dom- human nature nor eliminating violence between individ-
inating nation or group can be balanced by a coalition of uals. However, most peace projects transpose the basic
states. Peacemaking assures the predominance of the elements that govern civil societies to the interstate level.
most powerful states while allowing weaker powers to A very common analogy between domestic and interna-
influence international relations. As long as the interests tional structures tends to show that the tools used to pac-
of the states remain within the boundaries defined by the ify societies—rule of law, courts, sanctions—may well be
peacemaking process, the shift to war can be withstood. applied to interstate relations, and thus used to pacify the
world.
Martin Laberge
Peace projects are most frequent during and after
wars, and even more after particularly destructive con-

Further Reading flicts, as F. H. Hinsley observed.They also appear during
political turmoil, when entities compete for supremacy.
Aron, R. (1966). Peace and war:A theory of international relations. New
York: Praeger. In fact, as one goes through seven centuries of peace
Kissinger, H. (1957). A world restored: Castlereagh, Metternich and the projects, one finds that the idea of lasting peace is often
restoration of peace 1812–1922. New York: Houghton Mifflin.
Kissinger, H. (1994). Diplomacy. New York: Simon & Schuster. tied in with a particular political order. Projects refer as
Mersheimer, J. J. (2003). The tragedy of great power politics. New York: much to the promotion of an order through which peace
Norton.
Roth, J. C. (1968). World War I: A turning point in modern history. New would be accomplished as to actually fulfilling the dream
York: Knopf. of a warless world. As the next examples show, what
Simpson,W.,& Jones,M.(2000).Europe, 1783–1914.London: Routledge.
first appears as a scheme for the achievement of a univer-
sal aspiration often conceals a particular ideology and
specific interests.
Peace Projects From the Middle Ages to the

Dawn of the Modern State
n the depths of World War II, Edith Wynner and The battle for prevalence between the papacy and the
IGeorgia Lloyd published Searchlight on Peace Plans, in Holy Roman Empire dominated medieval political think-
which they intended to provide insights into peace in a ing. Peace projects reflected this tension. Was the pope
time of suffering and grief.The book summarized the main a spiritual guide or did his power outshine the emper-