A better world is possible - Global Commons Institute

Copyright Bruce Nixon 2010. All rights reserved. This electronic copy is provided free for personal, non-commercial use only.
www.brucenixon.com
The report points out the fundamental inconsistencies in British policy, how Britain falls behind other
countries and the EU in allocating resources to peace building and training people in these skills. Whilst force
is sometimes needed, research shows that in general, prevention and peace building are not only more
successful but far less expensive.
A fundamental inconsistency in British defence policy MoD emphasises the importance of conflict
prevention activity supported by confidence and security building measures to help create transparency and
trust. It vaunts its efforts to counter the threat from the proliferation of conventional arms whilst at the
same time spending some £426 million to subsidise British arms sales. The UK regularly achieves second or
third place in sales of arms to developing countries.
The main response to terrorist attacks, especially from the United States, has been military action in
Afghanistan, the extension of military bases into Central Asia, support for counter-insurgency activities in
numerous countries and the war with Iraq. Others have taken quite different approaches to problems of
political violence and conflict, approaches that seek to prevent conflict while understanding some of its root
causes. In particular, there is a growing understanding of the classic cycle of violence. This cycle is evident in
the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, in central Africa and repeatedly in different regions of former Yugoslavia; if
unbroken, this cycle ensures that conflict follows conflict.
Break the cycle of violence A key part of conflict is the cycle of violence. Scilla Elworthy argues that, to break
the cycle, effective intervention must address the physical, the political and the psychological security of
people trapped in violence; all are equally important, and one without the other is insufficiently strong to
break the cycle. In every case, the people involved in situations of violence must be supported in the
development of their own resources for transformation.
What works – grounds for hope
It always makes sense to study what works. It is easy to feel hopeless about the enormity of the challenges
that face us in transforming human addiction to war and violence. After all, there never has been a time
when there were no wars. We need the encouragement of successful initiatives that provide grounds for
hope, and the inspiration of good news.
Evaluation and cost effectiveness: "bang for the buck" Recent experience both in Afghanistan and Iraq has
conclusively demonstrated the need for greater emphasis on non-military measures in Britain's defence and
foreign policy forward planning. These measures are relatively cheap as well as cost-effective ways of
preventing war, reducing the destructive effects of conflict, or enabling those caught in a cycle of violence to
break out of it.
From the available figures it appears likely that non-military interventions, while slower, not only tend to
cause less destruction than bombing or armed intervention, but also work better in saving lives. They are
definitely far cheaper. In 1999 the Oxford Research Group examined 240 cases of non-violent intervention in
conflict in different parts of the world and the fifty most effective of these in "Conflict Prevention Works: 50
stories of people resolving conflicts". These case studies show that small groups of highly motivated people,
determined not to use weapons, can achieve extraordinary results in preventing or stopping killing. These
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