Gewalt und Krieg Konflikt und Frieden

Violence

and WarConflict

and Peace

nasilje

in vojnakonflikt

in mir

violenza

e guerraConflitto

e pace

Werner WintersteinerUniversität Klagenfurt

Hard to imagine peace?

Is this a world of peace?

Is peace really a world …

in perfect

harmony?without

any

conflict?

Is

conflict

only

bad?Is

harmony

always

good?

The

ideal:A nonviolent

society, not

a conflict

free

society!

Conflicts

Necessary

element

of our

lifecan

be

negative or

positive

negative is

violent

way of dealing

with conflict

non violent

conflict

transformationdemocracy

= institutionalising

conflict

transformation

The meanings of violence

DistinguishviolenceviolenzanasiljeGewalt

powerpoteremoč,

sila, oblast

Macht

Three major forms of violence (Johan Galtung)

direct

violence

structural

violence

cultural

violence

War as the extreme form of violent conflict

What

is

war?

Picasso: War and Peace

A classic definition of war

organised, violent

conflict

with

use

of weaponsbetween

states

(state

war) resp.

between

social

groups

of the population

of a state

(civil war)

a certain

length

and durationa certain

degree

of victims

Historic change of war

Forms

of war depend

on purposes, social

relationships, technical

standards

“War is

not

merely

a political

act, but also a real political

instrument, a

continuation

of political

commerce, a carrying

out of the

same

by

other

means“Von Clausewitz

War among

states: preconditions

Since

1648 (Peace

of Westphalia)For the

first

time: The

sovereign

rules

over

a geographically

delimited

territoryState monopoly

of warfare

War as a legal status

between

states: „inter pacem

et bellum

nihil

est

medium“

(Grotius)Enemy

as „iustus

hostis“

War among states I

„Diplomatic wars“

(„Kabinettskriege“) 18th

C. (instead

of disastrous

wars

of 17th

C.)„Gehegter Krieg“

= fostered

and

contained

warStanding armies

–

professional

military

cultureBarracks as „schools

of the

nation“

War among states II

Republican people‘s war („Volkskrieg“) since

French Revolution

„democratized“

war (levée

en masse)Militarisation

of society

National enthusiam

as resource

in war= background

of Napoleon‘s

success

War among states III

Total war (concept

of Ludendorff) Racial-national

justification: next

war

(after

WW I) will be

the

war for

national survivalCensorship

and police

for

„inner peace“

Centralisation

of power; president

= highest

commander

War of aggression

as apokalyptic

„final battle“

Nuclear war

A new

kind

of war?Still a kind

of war?

The

end (= impossibility) of war?„Is

the

frightening

threat

of today

just a

war? Can

we

still call

it

war? After the total annihilation

there

will be

nobody

left

to lament

or

to start again.“Austrian cardinal König

The nuclear threat

The

nuclear

danger

can

just be contained, but

never

be

canceled

„The

possibility

of our

final annihilation

is the

final annihilation

of

our

possibilities“(Günther Anders)

Civil war

„intrastate“

war„violent

conflict,

no international character“long

lasting, massively

violent

action,

strategically

planned

by

organisationsbasically

in „weak

states“, failed

states

Two

thirds

of all armed

conflicts

after 1945 are

civil wars

Guerrilla war

Archetype of violent

conflictsAsymmetric

power

constellation

Unconventional

warfare: not

abolition of the

enemy, but

breaking

its

political

willPartisan war; guerrilla-tactic, terrorirregular

forces

–

mixed

up with

civilians

„New wars“

Reprivatisationof violence

Asymmetric

warsUnpolitical

wars: robbery

Barbarisation

of violent

actionsIdentity

politics

Retrograde ideologies

–

post-modern character

of war

„Armament mania“

Doubling

military

budgets 1997-2007

2007: + 6% to 858 Mrd

€USA 350 Mrd

€

EU (25) 160 Mrd

€

= Russia, China, Middle

East,

Africa

& Latin Americadesaster

of armament

control

War as a business

The

biggest

export

nationsEurope 7.821 mill. U$ USA 7.101 mill. U$Russia

5.771 mill. U$

Quelle: SIPRI 2006

The military expenses of the industrial states are higher then the foreign depths of all developping countries together

Nuclear armament

10.200 nuclear

warheads8 states: USA, Russia, China, England, France, India, Pakistan, IsraelPreventive

strikes

> wish

of nuclear

armament

in order to protect

themselvesRisk

of proliferation

into

potentially

dangerous

hands

A new

attempt

to abolish

nuclear

weapons

Achieving the goal of a world free of nuclear weapons will require effective measures to impede or counter any nuclear-related conduct that is potentially threatening to the security of any state or peoples.

Henry A. Kissinger, Sam Nunn, William J. Perry,George P. Shultz, 2007

Barbarisation of war

World War I85-90% victims

=

soldiers

Source: Emergency

( 2005)

Today85-90% victims

=

civiliansAfrica

today

7 % victims = soldiers93 % victims = civilians35 % victimes = children

Privatisation

of War

PMCs

(Private Military Companies): Blackwater

Private-Public-PartnershipRumsfeld

Doctrine

A very

dynamic

business: 2/3 of US- secret

service

spending

for

private firms

They are allowed to do what regular forces are not allowed!

Without

legal or

democratic

control

„War“ against terror?

Is

WAR an appropriate

term?Is

this

a kind

of counter-terror?

Geostrategic

aims

under

the

pretext

of fighting

against

terror

A today‘s war balance

1990 -2003: 4 million

wardeads, 90 % civilians

18 million

refugeesConsequences: poverty

and illness

3 billion

people

(more

than

50% of humanity

) less

than2.-

€/day

45 million

deads/year

by

hunger

and malnutrition

Europ. Security Strategy 2003

Regional partition of wars

Today‘s types of war

Reasons of war I

Reasons of war II (3 levels)

Reasons for war III (State level)

The „democratic

peace“

theoryMistaken

assessments, loss

of control

of the

elites

(Misperception

theory) Distraction

of inner difficulties

of a

society

(Substitution theory)Conscious

calculation:

distribution

of

lacking

material or

ideal goods

(theories of interest

, of imperialism, revolution,

ideology)Dieter Lutz

Reasons for war IV (Deep

culture)

„Identity

wars“Ethnic

or

religious

Motivated

warsReactivation

of

myths

or

traumata: e.g. battle

of KossovoConnected

to interests

of domination

War and patriarchy: is

war a male thing?

Wars – since ever?

Ninive, Assyrian

War

chariot, 7th

C. b.c.Campaigns

up

to 500 kmSpeed

unequaled

until 20th

Century

Is it possible to abolish war?

War –

in the

nature of humankind?War –

in the

logic

of (unjust) systems

of

power?War –

anarchy

internat. Relations

War –

a historic

phenomenonCompare to slaveryCompare to apartheidExamples Switzerland, Sveden, Post-War

Germany

What

is

Peace

I: a state

A positive utopia, a regulative idea

Picasso: War and Peace

What

ist peace

II: a process From

war to peace

Picasso: War and Peace

Definitions of peace

Pace, peace

> pactumFrieden > friendsMir (russ.) world, communitySalaam, shalom

> including

inner

peace, peace

with

god

(the

universe)Eirene

> (goddess): koiné

eiréne

as

stable

peace

„Negative“

versus

„Positive“

Peace

War >

Injustice

>exploitatationstructural

violence

cultural

violence

Absence

of War

Justiceequitydemocracyculture

of peace

„Negative“ peace

Absence

of war„Peace

prevails

in an international

system, if

its

conflicts

are

continuosly solved

or

at least dealt with

without

the

use

of organised

military

violence.“Ernst-Otto Czempiel

Disarmament: Way to positive peace

Fact

ofdisarmament:No arms

Process

of Disarmament: cultureof peace

Peace is more than non-war

On the

way to a culture

of peace

„Positive“ peace“A culture of peace will be achieved when

citizens of the world understand global problems, have the skills to resolve conflicts and struggle for justice non-violently, live by international standards of human rights and equity, appreciate cultural diversity, and respect the Earth and each other. “

Hague Appeal for Peace, Global Campaign for Peace Education

War-Peace-continuum

Culture

of peace:Peace

begins

where

violence

stops

and cooperation

starts

war/violence peace

Historical

Steps towards

Peace

Civilisation

of War: Hague Convention respecting the Lawsand Customs

of War on Land (1899)

(= ius in bello)

Proscription

of war: League of nations (between WW I and WW II)UNO founding documents

Peace

politics: UNO-Charter Collective Security„Agenda for Peace“

Peace through the rule of law

Jurisdiction

as peaceful

form of conflict management/settlement

Nonviolence

and justice

Delegitimation of violence

Peace

does

not

mean„abolition

of violence“

Peace

means: „Violence

is

not

legal anymore!“„It

is

an absolute utopia

that

nobody

will

kill, but:That

the

murder

is

not

anymore

legal, is

a much

more

realistic

utopia.“Albert Camus

League of nations

Mutual

respect

of sovereigntyWar only

as ultima ratio

Each

war regards

all member

countriesArticle 11.1

Briand-Kellog-Pact

1928/29Renouncement of war as a means of politicsRenouncement of war of aggression

„Copernican turn“

UN-Charter: Prohibition not

only

of war but

also of use

of military

violence

All members

shall

refrain

in their international relations from

the

threat

or

use

of force against

the

territorial integrity

or

political

independence

of

any

state, or

in any

other

manner inconsistent

with

the

purposes

of the

United Nations. (Art. 2, 4)

Peace through organisation

System of collective

securityAbbé de Saint-Pierre (1658-1743): Union of States

Renouncement

of violence

and peace only

through

cooperation

Conflicts

between

members

states

= impulse

to reduce

violence

Special institutions

for

conflict management

The UN-SystemAbolition

of war as final goal

linking peace

through

justice

withpeace

through

organisation

with

culture

of peace

(UNESCO)

Peace strategies

Individual

Society International System

Education

Democratisation

Collective

security

From negative to positive peace

War reducing

violence, increasing

justice peace

Agenda for

peace Boutros Ghali 1992

preventive

diplomacy peace

making

peace

keeping

peace

building

Peace missions

Peace through

peace movement

Since

19th C.Peace

Movement

Peace

EducationPeace

studies

catalysator

for

political

and cultural change

Promotor of a culture

of peace

Success

of non violent movements

Ahimsa

=Active

nonviolence

The

Hague

Peace

Conference 1899

Independence of IndiaFoundation

of UN

End of Vietnam warEnd of Apartheid South AfricaPeaceful

separation

Czech Republic – Slovakia

Abolition of the institution of war

From

Utopia to thepolitical

agenda

Peace als the moreintelligent solution„La guerra

non può

essere

umanizzata,

la guerra

può

solo essere

abolita“Gianni Strada, Emergency