Is a World Without War Possible?

IMAGINE never seeing or experiencing again the ghastly reality of war and its aftermath. Imagine never hearing the sound of gunfire or bombs, never watching hoards of half-starved refugees in flight, never wondering if you or a loved one will die in some cruel and pointless conflict. How wonderful it would be to live in a world without war!

‘Not a likely prospect,’ you may say. Yet, the vision of a peaceful world burned brightly just a few years ago. In 1990 and 1991, many were saying the nations were on the threshold of a new era of security and cooperation. Reflecting the mood of the times, George Bush, who was then president of the United States, spoke on many occasions about an emerging “new world order.”

Why the optimism? The Cold War had come to an end. For more than 40 years, the threat of nuclear war had hung menacingly over humankind like a sword suspended by a thin thread. But with the demise of Communism and the breakup of the Soviet Union, the threat of a nuclear holocaust seemed to evaporate. The world breathed easier.

There was another major reason why people viewed the future with confidence, and why many still do. For four decades rivalry between the East and the West had made the United Nations little more than a debating society. But the end of the Cold War liberated the UN to do what it was designed to do—to work toward international peace and security.

The UN has in recent years intensified efforts to discourage warfare. Equipped with troops from member nations, the United Nations engaged in more peacekeeping operations in the 4 years preceding 1994 than in the previous 44 years. Some 70,000 civilian and military personnel served in 17 operations throughout the world. In just two years, peacekeeping expenditures more than doubled to $3.3 billion in 1994.

Boutros Boutros-Ghali, secretary-general of the UN, wrote recently: “There are signs that the system of collective security established in San Francisco nearly 50 years ago [at the founding of the UN] is finally beginning to work as conceived . . . We are on the way to achieving a workable international system.” Despite these developments, the vision of a new world order rapidly fades. What has happened to darken hopes for a world without war? Is there reason to believe we will ever see global peace? The following articles will consider these questions.

[Picture Credit Lines on page 3]

War planes: USAF photo

Anti-aircraft guns: U.S. National Archives photo