Pathways for Peace
Pathways for Peace

Author: United Nations;World Bank

Publisher: World Bank Publications

Published: 2018-04-13

Total Pages: 415

ISBN-13: 1464811865

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Violent conflicts today are complex and increasingly protracted, involving more nonstate groups and regional and international actors. It is estimated that by 2030—the horizon set by the international community for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals—more than half of the world’s poor will be living in countries affected by high levels of violence. Information and communication technology, population movements, and climate change are also creating shared risks that must be managed at both national and international levels. Pathways for Peace is a joint United Nations†“World Bank Group study that originates from the conviction that the international community’s attention must urgently be refocused on prevention. A scaled-up system for preventive action would save between US$5 billion and US$70 billion per year, which could be reinvested in reducing poverty and improving the well-being of populations. The study aims to improve the way in which domestic development processes interact with security, diplomacy, mediation, and other efforts to prevent conflicts from becoming violent. It stresses the importance of grievances related to exclusion—from access to power, natural resources, security and justice, for example—that are at the root of many violent conflicts today. Based on a review of cases in which prevention has been successful, the study makes recommendations for countries facing emerging risks of violent conflict as well as for the international community. Development policies and programs must be a core part of preventive efforts; when risks are high or building up, inclusive solutions through dialogue, adapted macroeconomic policies, institutional reform, and redistributive policies are required. Inclusion is key, and preventive action needs to adopt a more people-centered approach that includes mainstreaming citizen engagement. Enhancing the participation of women and youth in decision making is fundamental to sustaining peace, as well as long-term policies to address the aspirations of women and young people.

Congressional Record
Congressional Record

Author: United States. Congress

Publisher:

Published: 1968

Total Pages: 1350

ISBN-13:

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The Congressional Record is the official record of the proceedings and debates of the United States Congress. It is published daily when Congress is in session. The Congressional Record began publication in 1873. Debates for sessions prior to 1873 are recorded in The Debates and Proceedings in the Congress of the United States (1789-1824), the Register of Debates in Congress (1824-1837), and the Congressional Globe (1833-1873)

How Not to Go to War
How Not to Go to War

Author: Vijay Mehta

Publisher: New Internationalist

Published: 2019-03-15

Total Pages: 175

ISBN-13: 1780265239

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War has been institutionalised. Giant military industries, formed from thousands of companies and employers, ensure that every old generation of war profiteers is replaced by a new one. Admirals, generals and senior defence officials demand that trillions of dollars are funnelled every year into the coffers of arms companies. People whose careers depend on the cycle of arms and warfare, insist that any break in funding is some kind of betrayal or national humiliation. Manipulated by vested interests, mainstream media justify increased military spending with spurious appeals to patriotism. In 2017, the world spent all time high $1.7 trillion on its uniformed fighters. That's equivalent to about a thousand dollars per family on the planet. Yet all these weapons have not made the world less violent. In 2015, violence cost the global economy some 14 trillion dollars, a surge of 15% from 2008. That number might seem high, until one considers the escalating inequality, famine, pollution, disease, collapse of public services, environmental damage and climate change that follows in the wake of war. Institutions endure. They can outlast the people that create them. The question asked by this book is, How can peace be institutionalised? The book finds that the institutions of war need to be matched by institutions of peace. For every department of defence, there needs to be a department of peace that allocates public resources to forestall violence and militarism, by measures of pre-emptive conflict resolution rather than waiting for it to occur and then deploying violence against it. Such departments of peace will be distinct from foreign and development ministries, compromised as they are by espionage, export-promotion and securitisation of aid. By opening peace / social centres / franchises, in each city, town and village, the Peace Department can contain violence and foster a culture of peace. Fundamental to all this is the pressing need for institutionalised Peace- a network of self-sustaining peace centres and social enterprises / companies, governmental peace departments and commentators that have peace as their core mission, in the same way that arms manufacturers and defence ministries institutionalise conflict. The book shows how the establishment of Departments of Peace and Peace Centres worldwide will result in saving of trillions of US dollars which governments can utilise in jobs creation, healthcare, education and peace building. Only by institutionalising peace at many levels of society, can the peace movement become powerful enough to face-down the many commercial and official networks that have a vested interest in armed violence. A better world has less violence and war. That is what this book aims to achieve. The time for action is now. There may not be a tomorrow to wait for.