A Global Security System: An Alternative to War

by Phill Gittins

Resting on a convincing body of evidence that violence is not a necessary component of conflict among states and between states and non-state actors, World BEYOND War asserts that war itself can be ended. We humans have lived without war for most of our existence and most people live without war most of the time. Warfare arose about 10,000 years ago (only 5% of our existence as Homo Sapiens) and spawned a vicious cycle as peoples, fearing attack by militarized states, found it necessary to imitate them; and so began the cycle of violence that has culminated in the last 100 years in a condition of permawar. War now threatens to destroy civilization as weapons have become ever more destructive. However, in the last 150 years, revolutionary new knowledge and methods of nonviolent conflict management have been developing that lead us to assert that it is time to end warfare and that we can do so by mobilizing millions around a global effort. Here you will find the pillars of war which must be taken down so that the whole edifice of the War System can collapse, and here are the foundations of peace, already being laid, on which we will build a world where everyone will be safe. This book presents a comprehensive blueprint for peace rooted in three broad strategies for humanity to end 1) demilitarizing security, 2) managing conflicts without violence, and 3) creating a culture of peace. These are the interrelated components of our the frameworks, processes, tools and institutions necessary for dismantling the war machine and replacing it with a peace system that will provide a more assured common security.

245 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 2, 2020

Reviews

[Gerry · Rating 5 out of 5]

“You may say I’m a dreamer…” But this book will persuade you that it is more of a fantasy to think that war can ever bring more good than harm to anyone in the world, even weapons manufacturers and their accomplices. I know there is no magic wand to wave that will make it disappear overnight. But if you care enough to open your mind to the possibility of a better way, read this book. Our current dysfunctional system CAN be gradually phased out and gradually replaced with a more effective and humane system of defense and care for our veterans. It introduces realistic plans that will not require the current trillions of dollars being wasted annually on weapons of mass destruction for wars that only beget more wars, and will not pollute the water, air, and earth as we are currently seeing. Nighmare stories like the toxic leakage from Red Hill Fuel Storage Facility in Hawaii are just the tip of an iceberg of hidden human and environmental disasters both within and beyond U.S. national borders. The only things stopping us are ignorance, inertia, and corrupt political power. How long will we continue to turn and look the other way, ignoring the disaster we are leaving to our children and future generations? Has your life remained untouched? Or have you only been conditioned to deny your personal pain and suffer in isolation instead of realizing the power we have if we would only realize our common suffering and work together to realize the positive changes we could make to put an end to all these preventable tragedies?