Peace

Fredrik Heffermehl 18. februar, 2021 TFF er stolt over at være den institution i verden, som flest Nobelpris-nominerede (7) er knyttet til: Scilla Ellworthy, Richard Falk, Johan Galtung, David Krieger, Evelin Lindner, Jan Oberg og David Swanson. Den norske Nobelkomite har mottatt nær 400 nominasjoner for 2021. Å velge den beste er selvsagt en krevende oppgave. Men den ville bli mye enklere om det kunne bli slutt på den uryddige blandingen av juss og politikk som i alle år har preget den norske forvaltningen av prisen. Som forklart i min nyeste bok Medaljens Bakside er oppgaven å drive fredspolitikk med den retning og ramme som Nobel beskrev i sitt testament.Det første og viktigste grepet – som også ville gjøre avgjørelsen mye enklere – er å tolke testamentet, stille det selvsagt nødvendige og grunnleggende spørsmålet: Hva ville Nobel med den “prisen for fredsforkjempere” som han beskrev i sitt testamente i 1895?...

The Shibuya Crossing in Tokyo – what would Gandhi think and say today? Ayako Uno February 17, 2021 Since 2000, I have been teaching courses such as “History of South Asia” as a part-time lecturer at the International Christian University (ICU), my alma mater which was founded after the WWII in order to raise peacebuilders in war-devastated Japan, and I always introduce Gandhiji in my courses. Gandhiji is well known and respected in Japan as “the Father of the Nation of India” who successfully led the non-violent struggle for independence. So young people in Japan that I teach usually have learned something about Gandhiji before. But when I introduce Gandhiji’s life and thinking, many of the students are surprised to learn that his life-long dream of realizing Swaraj or “self-rule” was shattered by Partition. When I invite the students to read Gandhiji’s writings, such as parts of his Autobiography and...

The 1987 Right Livelihood Award Acceptance Speech  Peace appeals to the hearts; studies to the brain. Both are needed, indeed indispensable. But equally indispensable is a valid link between brain and heart. The history of peace studies is, of course, a collective story, and it did not start in the 1950s – it is as old as humankind, as is the history of war studies, the study of war with warlike means. Originally published at Transcend I guess the same applies to what today is called security studies, or the study of peace with warlike means, balance of power, balance of terror, deterrence through credible retaliation etc. Needless to say, that is not what peace studies are about. Peace studies are about peace with peaceful means, and I think it is generally accepted today that this has to be done in a holistic manner and with a global perspective, or...

Dr. Gary G. Kohls February 9, 2021 A half-century ago, The New York Times accused Martin Luther King Jr. of “slander” for decrying the Vietnam War and The Washington Post detected “unsupported fantasies” in his speech, recalled more favourably by Gary G. Kohls. Originally published on Jan. 19, 2014; slightly edited for the time element. Originally posted on Consortium News on January 19, 2021 Martin Luther King Jr.’s Riverside Church speech was titled “Beyond Vietnam: A Time to Break Silence.” It was delivered exactly one year before his April 4, 1968 assassination in Memphis. In the speech, King declared, “A nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual death.” The people who heard that speech recognized it as one of the most powerful speeches ever given articulating the immorality of the Vietnam War and its destructive impact...

Kazu Haga February 9, 2021 Nonviolence is not simply the absence of violence, but about taking a proactive stand against violence and injustice, and working to repair the harm. Originally posted on Waging NonViolence on January 16, 2020 The following is an edited version of a chapter from Kazu Haga’s new book, “Healing Resistance: A Radically Different Response to Harm,” published with permission from Parallax Press. In Kingian Nonviolence, a philosophy developed out of the teachings of Martin Luther King Jr., there is a distinction made between nonviolence spelled with a hyphen, and nonviolence spelled without a hyphen. “Non-violence” is essentially two words: “without” “violence.” When spelled this way, it only describes the absence of violence. As long as I am “not being violent,” I am practicing non-violence. And that is the biggest misunderstanding of nonviolence that exists. I live in one of the most diverse neighborhoods in Oakland, with an equal mix of...

Jan Oberg February 4, 2021 At a time when the intellectual level of much politics has decreased dangerously, it may be useful to remember politicians who earlier on were leaders, visionaries, intellectually alert and able to communicate their message in ways that caught the attention of wide audiences. The Transnational has many student visitors, and if you are 20-25 today you may not have had many chances to experience the mentioned qualities. So we bring you this speech to offer an opportunity to establish some comparative standard and for you to ponder the question: Why is it that politics has become so boring? Why do today’s young people not queue up to participate in their country’s political work? And why are there so few, as it seems, who have the sense of duty that JFK expressed so eloquently in his inauguration speech: “Ask not what your country can do for...

Reflecting important global development, it is also a piece of the academic history of peace, conflict and future research Jan Oberg February 3, 2021 Here is a completely new edition of TFF Associates’ blog 2011-2017. In this blog, you’ll find almost everything posted over these 6 years by TFF Associates, our group of experts on international issues who are committed to the UN Charter’s norm, Article 1, that peace shall be established by peaceful means. There are 1360 posts here. Together with the articles posted on the old 1997-2011 homepage, you’ll find an estimated 7000 accessible articles (yes, some links are broken). During those 6 years, several very important international events took place and trends became clear. Just to mention some catchwords: Ukraine/New Cold War, Syria, the war on terror, Libya, North Korea, The Trump administration, China and the new Silk Roads, 2015 European refugee crisis, changing world order –...

Richard Falk February 3, 2021 This article is a repost from TFF’s homepage, January 20, 2015 By chance I was reading César Vallejo’s poem, “Black Stone on a White Stone,” in a translation by Geoffrey Brock, and was struck by the opening stanza: I’ll die in Paris in the pouring rain a day I have a memory of already. I’ll die in Paris – I won’t try to run – a Thursday perhaps, in Autumn, like today. Without being literal, I was reminded that I could appraise my death while alive, and not leave a final reckoning to some solemn memorial event in which speakers are challenged to find humorous anecdotes to lighten the occasion, otherwise uttering honorific platitudes quite unrelated to the experiential core of my being. I had been thinking quite a bit recently about ‘lost causes.’ Recently I gave a lecture at Columbia University on this theme,...

Welcome to my worldmoires – a word I have invented for the occasion. It means writing about my life in the perspective of global affairs and trends that have influenced my work and myself since I was born in the middle of the preceding century.  And the occasion? I’m approaching the 50th anniversary of my work as a peace, conflict and future researcher.  The Transnational Foundation for Peace and Future Research, TFF, that my wife Christina and I have established turned 35 on January 1, 2021.  I hope you will find something of interest and follow the creation of the book – of which only the first small fraction is hereby launched. Now explore…

Albert Györgi’s sculpture, “Emptiness,” at Lake Geneva TFF Associate In war, there are no unwounded soldiers. —José Narosky War is hell, and today more than ever. Although high-tech weapons make it a videogame for some, those same weapons make it unbelievably destructive for everyone else. Whatever valor was once associated with hand-to-hand combat has long since disappeared due to gunpowder, and the massive slaughters of the twentieth century have made it increasingly difficult to romanticize the death and misery war causes. Nonetheless it continues and we have learned, if not to accept it, to take it for granted. Obviously, not everyone loathes it. The U.S. economy would collapse without the obscene amount spent on the military-industrial complex, now well over $600 billion a year according to some calculations. It’s hard to rationalize such a sum without a war once in a while. That’s why the end of the Cold War...

Photo credit: Poster art courtesy paceebene.org John Dear January 20, 2021 It was early 1968. Since the previous spring Martin Luther King, Jr. had been pursuing a course that for many was unthinkable. He had deliberately connected the dots between the movement for civil rights and the struggle to end the war in Vietnam, and had paid the price. He was roundly criticized by the Johnson administration and the media, as well as by people in his own movement. From the right he was attacked for having the gall to question US foreign policy. From the left he was lambasted for losing focus and not keeping his eyes on the prize. Originally published at Satyagrahafoundation He even got it from a childhood friend who stopped by the house one afternoon to vent. “Why are you speaking out against the Vietnam War?” he carped. King put aside his customary oratory. “When I speak about nonviolence,” he patiently explained, “I mean nonviolent all the way.” As David Garrow’s classic biography of King reports, [Bearing the Cross, New York: Harper Collins, 1986], King went on...

SummaryOn top of all the global problems we must solve as soon as possible comes the Corona. This statement argues that the priorities of the world are – well, perverse; everything the UN does amounts to 3% of the global military expenditures.TFF’s Board suggests that all countries reduce their military by 50% immediately. That would save about US$ 1000 billion. And that that huge sum should be re-allocated to solve the problems we had and the socio-economic consequences of the Corona pandemic. That would also – finally – be a step to prove that governments are willing to implement a policy for true disarmament and move towards human and common security for the common good.In a civilised world, this should be common sense. If you do not want to read the whole argument, just scroll down and sign this statement. “We’ve likely only seen the beginnings of the worldwide economic...