Peace Studies

With George Orwell no doubt smiling widely, George Bush attended the groundbreaking of the new home of the US Institute for Peace today. Well know for his tireless commitment to diplomacy, Bush began his speech thusly: I appreciate what you do to resolve conflict and support new democracies and to build peace by promoting effective diplomacy. And speaking about effective diplomacy, it seems like you used some to get this special piece of land. One hesitates, then, to inquire just how said...Read Full Story

During the Dirty War in Argentina, that is the period between 1976 and 1983 which corresponds to the military dictatorship of General Jorge Rafael Videla, the military junta found a very convenient way of getting rid of their political opposition and of making sure the next generation would not be a problem. The regime would target young pregnant women among the opposition groups, arrest them but let them go through their pregnancies and give birth. THEN, the mothers would be killed and the...Read Full Story

Via le Monde, Le Français Jean-Marie Guéhenno va quitter l’ONU LEMONDE.FR | 06.03.08 © After eight years at the head of the United Nations Department of Peacekeeping Operations ( DPKO ), Jean-Marie Guehenno will leave at the end of June. The DPKO is one of the most prestigious UN agencies and there is speculation going on as to whether this high-ranking position will be remain in French hands. Guehenno was the highest-ranking French within the UN. The DPKO is a big agency. It has a...Read Full Story

Kosovo is now an independent nation, already recognized by the major European powers and the United States. However, this case has been far from uncontroversial and perfectly illustrates issues of global governance and the status of the nation-state in the global context. In the Guardian , Paul Laughland argues that the independence of Kosovo is a legal fiction with consequences but also that it does not matter. “Whatever legal trickery the west uses to override UN security council...Read Full Story

India emerges as leading competitor in global military market following $10bn jet fighter contract. The US secretary of defence, Robert Gates, arrives in the Indian capital, New Delhi, next week to promote a $10bn jet fighter contract, underlining the country’s emergence as one of the world’s biggest military markets. To update its Soviet-era arsenal India says it will need to spend $45bn in the next five years, and it has been courted by western states that are barred by arms embargoes...Read Full Story

Via Liberation , the French school of political sciences, Science Po , has launched a free Online Encyclopedia of Mass Violence . The project was spearheaded by Professor Jacques Semelin , who teaches at Science Po and is also Research Director at the Centre d’Etudes et de Recherches Internationales ( CERI ). Semelin is a specialist in the study of mass violence and genocide. This encyclopedia is NOT the wikipedia of genocide. It is scholarly work, based on strong theoretical foundations...Read Full Story

A relatively recent introduction through the use of a comment, has given me the opportunity to meet what I consider to be a gifted and talented , teacher , whose personal life’s journey and understanding of more than his own chosen faith has sought to lend ,edification, to humanities spiraling descent… It is through invitation that I have chosen to participate in promoting a common goal, of a “ Path Toward Peace “. I have chosen to do so through the creation and use of a series of ,mirrored...Read Full Story

The other morning I was delighted to see an article with a date line Bujumbura in Le Devoir. Not much news comes out of the African Great Lakes except the occasional horror story, so it was a pleasure to read this account of a modest success. A Québécois of a certain age Jean-Claude Gosselin, has opened a sports bar in Buju with some associates. Not only does La Cervoise de gaulois feature tablecloths and pennants with hockey logos, the team has started growing vegetables to serve in the...Read Full Story

"The Peace Treaty" If any of our politicians had courage, and were free from AIPAC influence, that politician would call for a Peace Agreement with the entire Muslim/Arab world; said Peace Agreement would acknowledge and resolve unlawful U.S. government conduct resulting in the needless deaths of thousands of Americans and untold number of Muslims and Arabs. Again, the illegal U.S. government policies I'm referring to are the Bush Doctrine of pre-emptive strikes/military occupation and...Read Full Story

Lynndie England, of Abu Ghraib fame, gives a lengthy interview in the German magazine Stern . England was sentenced to three years in prison for her part in the deeds there. She served 521 days and is now out on parole. How’s life for her? “(She sighs) Oh, it’s just little things going wrong. I’m just trying to get by. Trying to find a job, trying to find a house. It’s been harder than I expected. I went to a couple of interviews, and I thought they went great. I wrote dozens of...Read Full Story