Rethinking War and Peace

Diana Francis is former President of the International Fellowship of Reconciliation and Chair of the Committee for Conflict Transformation Support. She is the author of From Pacification to Peacebuilding (Pluto, 2010), Rethinking War and Peace (Pluto, 2004) and People, Peace and Power (Pluto, 2002).

• AcknowledgementsIntroduction1 Where are we?Events and realitiesPresentation and perceptions2 What is war good for? Myth and realityThe myth of warWar’s causesWar leaders and their motivations‘Exhausted alternatives’: the case of KosovoWar’s efficacy for goodThe negative effects of warConclusion3 War, violence and human naturePower as dominationViolent structuresUs and themViolence and human natureThe role of cultureGender and violenceNature and nurture: changing gender rolesBroader possibilities of cultural changePsychology and moral development4 Peace, war and ethicsEthics, self and societyEthics and warEthics and powerThe logic (and illogic) of warWar as justiceJust war theoriesThe protection of civilians – sliding boundariesMeans and ends: consequentialismMeasuring wider consequencesSins of omissionAccepting responsibilityStrengthening peace ethics5 Opposing evil and standing up for goodWhat about Hitler?Tyranny and ‘people power’Nonviolent resistance in recent historyPeople-power around the worldThe strength of nonviolence – building peaceInternational solidarityA constructive role for governments in supporting peace ‘abroad’An answer to terrorism?People-power to resist militarism and demand peace6 Peace, identity and participationFrom identity to identificationPurposes and valuesParticipationAchieving change7 Time for actionWhat needs to be done and whyGetting on with the jobReasons for hopeNotes and ReferencesIndex

'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'