This section discusses some of the causes of peace, not just the end to hostilities per se. Peace is more than the absence of war. It has its own rationale and causes.
Balance of Power
requires complete power equality between Nation States and their allies, balancing coalitions…
Common Interests
shared concerns, the reason why old enemies become new friends…
Compromise
the willingness to agree to get not all of what one wants…
Cooperation
the need to cooperate rather than compete…
Democratic Peace
theory that democratic countries are less likely to go to war and that democracies are less likely to go to war with each other…
Deterrence
when a Nation State has the perceived and real overriding power relative to its potential enemies…
Dispute Settlement
using negotiation and arbitration to settle arguments…
Economics
the fact that even the victors are often losers financially, and that the cost-benefit calculus does not often make sense to wage war…
Effort
peace must be actively maintained…
Empathy
the ability to feel what another feels, tolerance…
International Laws
requiring total enforcement structure…
International Peace Force
composed of all Nation States militarily organized to defend the sovereign territorial rights of any other Nation State – these rights would be determined by a parallel organization called the International Peace Tribunal, internal conflicts within the boundaries of any Nation State including civil war and other violent disturbances would not be under its jurisdiction, except in the case of genocide…
Moral Strength
the belief in themselves and their Nation State…
Neutrality
the official position of a Nation State keeping it out of war…
Non-Interference
with non-existential threats, minding one’s own business…
Nuclear Deterrent
the concept of MAD, mutual assured destruction, the fear that in a nuclear war even the victor loses, mutually assured destruction…
Nuclear Tactical Weapons
Nation States that do not possess such strategic or tactical arms are unlikely to wage war with a Nation State that does…
Recognition
respect for other Nation States…
Reliable Allies
with similar interests…
Similar Cultures
history, language, religion…
Spheres of Influence
an agreement between Nation States as to where each has hegemonic control…
Strong Argument
when a Nation State demonstrates confidence, determination and strength in communication with a potential enemy Nation State instead of relying on attempts to appease, anger, make concessions or to explain differences in a weak and charitable way…
Strong Military
highly trained forces, newest and best armaments making any potential enemy think twice before engaging in armed conflict…
Threatening Behavior
sometimes acting in a hostile manner will make a potential enemy back off…
Unintended Consequences
the knowledge and concern that any war can have serious negative effects even when a Nation State wins the war…
Victor Treatment
how the Nation State that won the war treats its allies and its former enemies…
For additional analysis please refer to the Bibliography.
Peace can be defined as the absence of organized violent international conflict between Nation States and their allies or the absence of organized massive domestic violent conflict within a Nation State. As peace is often defined as the absence of war it could be said that there is no concept of peace without the concept of war.
The causes of peace are as varied as the causes of war. However, there are different questions to be asked when dealing with the matter of peace. Why are most Nation States not at war with other Nation States. Why is the United States not at war with Mexico. Why is Australia not at war with Japan. Why is the United Kingdom not at war with Germany. In the past, these Nation States were at war with each other. Why are they not today. These questions could be posed in numerous configurations between various Nation States and their related allies. What causes of peace exist in the present to prevent causes of war between these Nation States emerging and growing into conflict spirals.
“A persistent and repeated error through the ages has been the failure to understand that the preservation of peace requires active effort, planning, the expenditure of resources, and sacrifice, just as war does” (Kagan, Donald. 1995. On the Origins of War – And The Preservation of Peace. New York: Anchor Books – Random House.)
World Peace Force
There is one concept that could be used to secure the world from international wars.
The idea is to form a strong military organization called the World Peace Force consisting of elements of the armed forces of all of the nation-states. Each country when called upon would supply the military personnel and armaments relative to their GDP and population. They would be ordered to fight the aggressor of any major armed conflict between two or more nation-states.
The World Peace Force would be under a charter that stated that any incursion into the territory of a nation-state by another nation-state would be met with the full military might of the World Peace Force.
Clearly this concept is normative in nature and not likely to occur because of the mistrust between nation-states, but nevertheless, it could guarantee world peace.