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Email this citationCIAO DATE: 05/05
Reviving Peacebuilding Tools Ravished By Terrorism, Unilateralism, and Weapons Of Mass Destruction
Robert C. Johansen
January 2005
Abstract
Those seeking to perfect and apply the tools of peacebuilding as recommended by Chadwick Alger (1991; 1995; 1996; 1999; 2000; 2002) cannot avoid being alarmed by three recent developments that threaten to wreck already overextended tools. These developments include (1) new threats of mega-terrorism similar to the tragic events of September 11, 2001; (2) U.S. rejection of equitable implementation of international law and cooperative multilateralism by endorsing pre-emptive war and U.S. global military dominance, as expressed in the new National Security Strategy of the United States (Bush, 2002); and (3) the multiple threats posed by the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. In the face of these daunting problems, what can exponents of peacebuilding tools do to strengthen international peace?
Although none of the preceding three problems is entirely new, each now presents unprecedented challenges for multilateral diplomacy, traditional international law, and the United Nations because the new challenges are politically more complex, militarily more volatile, less amenable to reasoned discourse, and likely to interact in ways that synergistically multiply destabilizing consequences. First of all, terrorism (defined here as the deliberate threat or use of violence for political, religious, or ideological purposes against innocent civilians by either state or non-state actors) and mega-terrorism (referring to terrorism that inflicts more than 100 deaths or serious injuries in a single incident) underscore the vulnerability of all people on earth to sudden destruction. This pervasive vulnerability heightens fears and exacerbates hostile feelings almost everywhere, often leading to anxiety and doubt that traditional efforts to deter massive violence will succeed in the new context. We also face, at many points around the globe, a sense of increased impatience and distrust that negotiations will be able to reduce hostility between adversaries and a willingness to accept repressive governments and reduced support for human rights in the quest for security. Together, these developments make the U.N. Security Council's duty to maintain peace and security all the more difficult.
