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CHAPTER 9 : PEACE

9.1 INTRODUCTION

1. Many important thinkers of the past wrote about the peace in negative terms.

a. Opinion of German Philosopher: The nineteenth century German philosopher Friedrich


Nietzsche glorified war. He did not value peace because he believed that only conflict
could facilitate the growth of civilization.

b. Opinion of several other thinkers: Other thinkers also condemned peace and
commended strife as a vehicle of individual heroism and social vitality.

c. Opinion of Italian social theorist: Vilfredo Pareto argued that people who were able to
use force to achieve their goals constituted the governing elites in most societies and
described them as ‘lions’.

d. Opinion of Hitler against Jews: Hitler also glorified war and initiated infamous
genocides against Jews.

2. This is not to suggest that the cause of peace had no champions. Justify the
statement.

a. In all original religions, peace occupies central position: All the oldest religions
promoted peace and it occupied a central place in their teachings.

b. Political leaders like Mahatma Gandhi: The modern era has witnessed several
advocates of peace, both in the spiritual and secular domains. Mahatma Gandhi would
prominently figure among them.

3. The world wars used advanced technology and had made people experienced
horrors. How?

Havoc was wreaked on an unprecedented scale during the 2nd world war with the help of
advanced technology-

a. Germany carpet bombed London: Germany ‘carpet-bombed’ London during the 2nd
world war and the British responded by sending 1000-bomber raids to attack German
cities.
b. Dropping of atom bombs on the Japanese cities: The war ended with the USA
dropping atom bombs on the Japanese cities, Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

c. Effects of bombing: At least 120,000 people died immediately from the 2 attacks and
many more died later due to the effects of nuclear radiation.

d. 95% casualties were civilians: Nearly 95% of the casualties were civilians.

4. How can you say that post world war decades witnessed intense rivalry between
USA & USSR?

a. Stocking of nuclear weapons by both the countries: Following the 2nd world war,
nuclear weapons had become the new currency of power. Hence, USA and USSR (who
were competing for world supremacy) stocked up nuclear weapons on a large scale.

b. Cuban Missile crisis of 1962( Soviet missiles): The Cuban Missile Crisis began when
American spy planes discovered soviet nuclear missiles in neighbouring Cuba.

c. USA did naval blockade: The USA responded by organizing a naval blockade of Cuba
and threatening military action against the USSR if the missiles were not removed.

d. Withdrawing of Soviet missiles: This crisis lasted for 2 weeks and ended when the
Soviet Union withdrew the missiles.

9.2 THE MEANING OF PEACE

5. What is peace?

a. It is often defined as absence of war: The simplest definition of “peace” is the absence
of war. However this definition might be misleading because while every war leads to
absence of peace, every absence of peace need not take the form of war.

b. Absence of violence including war riots and massacre: Peace can also be seen as
absence of violent conflict of all kinds including war, riot, massacre, assassination etc

c. Peace from social atrocities: Social institutions and practices that reinforce entrenched
inequalities caste, class and gender, can also cause injury in subtle and invisible ways.
Hence they act as obstacles to peace.

d. Violence arising from class disparity, caste hierarchy: Generally if any challenge is
made to these hierarchies by the oppressed classes it may cause conflict and violence.
6. What are the different forms of Structural violence that can affect Peace? How these
forms of violence can be eliminated?

a. The scars of untouchability in India: The practice of untouchability subjected certain


groups of people to social exclusion and deprivation of the worst sort. The country is still
struggling to erase the scars and relics of this ugly custom.

b. Social order based on class specially in developing nations: While a social order based
on class seems more flexible, it too generates inequality and oppression. In the
developing countries a majority of the labouring classes are confined to the informal
sector where the wages and conditions of work are very poor.

c. Patriarchy leads to systematic domination of women: Patriarchy results in the


systematic subordination of women. Its manifestations include several selective abortion
of female foetuses, denial of adequate nourishment and education to the girl child, sexual
harassment etc.

d. In few areas, Colonial subjugation has not disappeared completely: The ongoing
Palestinian struggle against Israeli domination shows that colonialism has not
disappeared completely. Former European colonies are also yet to recover completely.

e. Racism and Communalism also lead to oppression of the classes: Racism and
communalism involve the stigmatization of an entire racial group or community.
Examples- Negro slavery in the USA until 1865, the slaughter of Jews in Hitler’s
Germany, Apartheid regime in South Africa until 1992.

f. Grievances of the violence that persists over generations: The psychological and
tangible harm suffered by the victims of creates grievances that persist over generations.
Sometimes they also lead to fresh bouts of conflict if provoked.

Measures to eliminate violence-

a. Giving stress on age old spiritual principles: Several old age principles (compassion)
and practices (meditation) are certain ways which help eliminate notions of violence from
the minds of people.

b. Modern healing techniques: Modern healing techniques and therapies like


psychoanalysis can also perform similar functions.

c. Elimination of structural violence: The elimination of structural violence necessitates


the creation of a just and democratic society.

d. Stressing on harmonious co existence: Peace, understood as the harmonious


coexistence of contented people, would be the product of such a society.
7. Use of violence does not achieve ends in the long run. What do you think about this
statement?
Or
Violence though evil can be necessary sometimes. How far do you agree with the
statement?

a. Sometimes violence is justified to bring down oppressive regime: Sometimes it may


be argued that tyrants and oppressors can be prevented from continuing to harm the
populace only by being forcible removed.

b. Violence may also to lead to trail of death and destruction: However violence could
turn out to be self defeating, and tends to leave behind a trail of death and destruction.

c. Pacifists stressed on peace to achieve the ends: Pacifists recognize the need to fight
oppression. However, they advocate the mobilization of love and truth to win the hearts
and minds of oppressors.

d. Non violent methods are successful also (For ex Civil Disobedience Movement):
Militant but non violent forms of resistance have often been successful. Civil
disobedience is a major example.

e. Gandhiji’s stand on Non Violence: Gandhi appealed to the conscience of the British
rulers and put moral and political pressure on them by launching a mass movement
involving open but non-violent breaking of the unjust laws.

f. Efforts of martin Luther: Martin Luther King waged a battle in the 1960s against anti-
Black racial discrimination in the USA.

9.4 PEACE AND THE STATE

8. How divisions of world into States hamper promotion of Peace?

a. States being supreme entity protects self interest and ignore larger humanity: While
the pursuit of peace requires that we see ourselves as part of the larger humanity, states
tend to make distinctions between people.

b. States at times inflict injury on others: To pursue the interest of their citizens they are
willing to inflict injury upon others.

c. State has coercion power and may suppress dissent: Authoritarian regimes and
military dictatorships (like in Myanmar) may use coercion and force against their own
citizens to suppress dissent.

d. State rather should be made more democratic to safeguard peace: States should
rather focus on making themselves more democratic and expand the scope of human
rights in order to safeguard peace.
9.5 DIFFERENT APPROACHES TO THE PURSUIT OF PEACE

9. What are the different approaches for the establishment of peace?


There are three approaches to maintain peace

a. First approach is centrality to states


 The first approach is to respect sovereignty of all states and, treating competition
among them as a natural phenomena.

 Proper management of this competition between states is to maintain balance of


power to reduce competition between inter- state arrangements like this so that no
state should dominate the other country and there is no prevailing threat of
attacking other countries.

 For example in 19th century European countries fine tuned their struggle for power
by forming alliances that refrained potential aggressor countries from starting any
large scale war.

b. Second approach also stresses on global interdependence which will reduce


interstate rivalry.
 It means that states should promote more socio economic cooperation among
states which would promote international understanding and better prospects of
peace.
 For example; after the Second World War, Europe secured peace by doing an
economic integration further leading to political unification.

c. Third approach is State would act as passing phase : This approach says that with
passing time, state's importance will be reduced and after some time diminished. This is
because we are living in an global and interdependent world. There is increasing
interactions among states. Multinational companies are coming up and increasing their
presence in society. So role of state will diminish and it will become a global world
where borders will become irrelevant.

d. Role played by United nations


United nations also have tried to incorporate the elements of three above mentioned
approaches.
 The Security Council give permanent membership and veto power to 5 dominant
states which reflects prevalence of international hierarchy.

 The Economic and Social Council promotes inter -state cooperation in several
areas.

 The Human Rights Commission seeks to shape and apply transnational norms.

9.6 CONTEMPORARY CHALLENGES

10. Enumerate the contemporary challenges to world peace.

a. Despite UN’s effort to promote peace, dominant state threatens peace


There has been lot efforts under taken by UN to prevent attacks but in many cases
dominant countries try to show their sovereignty by taking direct military action against
the other countries which threatens their position.
For example US intervention in Afghanistan and Iraq has led to loss of lives .

b. The rise of terrorism


The terrorism is also threatening global peace to a great extent as these groups plan
ruthlessly to devastate any area as per their choices. For ex: 9/11 Attack on twin towers
were done by Islamic fundamentalists disturb the society a lot.

c. Failing of Global community to take action


Also global community as a group has failed to take initiatives to stop the domineering
attitude of some countries and take no action the aggressor countries.

d. Example of Rwanda
In Rwanda – the country witnesses the murder of million Tutsis by Hutus in 1994
And it was widely covered by international media also but no intervention and UN also
refused to authorize to send its peace keeping operation in Rwanda to stop killing.

11. Contemporary era has seen peace movements also. Explain.

The Contemporary eras have also witnessed peace movements also.


a. Countries like Japan & Costa Rica decided not to maintain military actions
After the end of second world war , Japan and Costa Rica decided not to maintain
military forces.

b. Creation of nuclear weapon free zones


Many nations have come together for the creation of nuclear weapon free zones by
signing various international treaties which declares that all areas could not be lost.
Ex: Antarctic territory, Latin America, Caribbean, South East Asia, Mongolia,
Pacific etc.

c. Disintegration of USSR
Also disintegrations of USSR has curbed the cold war tendencies among the two
countries and established peace.

d. Peace movements
Also there has been lot of peace movements by the people across the world from media,
workers, writers doctors, administrators to usher in peace in the world and take up
developmental issues as an prime importance for thr well being of the Human Being.

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