Critical Analysis of The No Nonsense Guide To Conflict and Peace Essay Example
This book published by New Internationalist in 2006 has 144 pages and written by Helen Ware and Peter Greener. This book offers an invaluable guide towards the students, peace groups as well as the activists by providing case studies, table maps and quotes that consider how in most often times conflict does escalate thereafter provides a means and an examination in which this conflicts can be prevented. This book offers an insight into the changing forms of war that are arising in the globe including the war on terror, ethnic conflict such as that observed in Rwanda as well as the role of diplomacy with a guide of the steps in which the common people can undertake towards building their communities by offering inspiration and ideas in how lasting peace can be created (Ware 77). The aim of this review is to
...critique the fourth chapter of the book- Working diplomatically, how the authors tackle this issue and the reliability and effectiveness of the solutions that they offer towards the same.
The authors argue that as terror and war continue to dominate in the headlines of the world, there are also conflicts of all kindred that are bound are bound to arise. The fourth chapter considers in how wars, civil, internal or civilian wars have changed from the traditional wars. The methods that are applied towards resolving the conflicts and peacebuilding, that is diplomacy have also changed in the face of the globe as there are new methods that needs to be considered towards addressing conflicts that may arise within a population. Thus, the methods that are being excogitated by the authors include those that involv
nonviolent ways that can be used towards resolving the conflicts that do exist (Ware 78).
Issues and conflicts that concern the communities and tribes across the globe need to solve these issues in an amicable manner. This can be done through the steps the authors provide by stating that, first, there is the need of understanding the issues as well as the causes. Steps that are customized to the particular problems need to be initiated so as they can address the challenges that are causing the conflicts. Thereafter the authors believe that in order to fight the issues of conflicts, there is the concerted need of changing a people’s culture of violence into a culture of peace. This, they opine that is the cornerstone towards changing the perspectives of people that are consumed in their day to day lives with cultures and behaviors that glorify violence and conflict in every turn of the community (Derksen 112). Henceforth, in order to win of conflicts within communities in a broader holistic approach, the fundamental actionable that are being offered by the authors is that of changing the mindset of individuals by incorporating cultures of peace within and among them.
The authors argue that peacemaking does require both parties towards adopting the other’s values as well as styles. Diplomacy is also considered that it is hard for it in resolving the root causes of a conflict, though it is seen to be very crucial in towards addressing in how to prevent direct suffering and violence. Diplomacy requires a communicator that is able to pass their messages across as well as convince the people to change without necessarily ruining the relationship
that exists among them. The communicator that is working on the issues of diplomacy needs to be a person that has the attributes of being kind, compassionate and does reason well. They also need to demonstrate respect towards the other persons. In working diplomatically, the communication aspect needs to also be honest without misrepresenting the truth (Acuto 523). A good diplomatic communication according to the authors needs to be one that makes the other individual to feel as though the interaction was one in which it was positive and respectful.
Another writer however such as Adina argues that in this globalized world with the everyday lives of individuals getting connected by information technology as well as globalization through the cultivated links as well as relationships that are created especially in a political context have made the work of the diplomats to be different from the traditional approach that was used towards diplomacy. The diplomats nowadays do not have a difficult task as compared to the past whereby they were expected to move from country to country, adapt to that country, then be expected to adopt by flourishing without no local, immediate, concrete or exclusive bounds. A good diplomat in this scenario is supposed to never negotiate with the others culture but rather accepts it as a whole of package deal. A diplomat in this context needs to have his own perspective as well as be acculturated to the cultures of that particular society (Murray et al. 711).
In this book’s chapter of working diplomacy, the authors note that the best preventive diplomacy needs to be one that does nip the conflict in the bud. Employing coercive diplomacy
is considered to be very risky since it mostly involves usage of threats that may not augur well with the participants in the resolution of the conflicts. More other considerations that are taken include such as the traditional state oriented diplomacy is often seen to be challenging and difficult when there are more disputants that are non-state actors who are involved. In this manner, there are also less formal tracks that are also needed within the resolving of conflicts in such scenarios (Belis et al. 205). This is evidently seen in circumstances such as the period of cold war, after its end, the UN peacekeeping was observed to be one that did expand its activities that were mainly of monitoring existing peace accords to one that did try to create peace where there was none that did exist. Through this, the UN has its strengths of achieving universal diplomacy by rallying countries to agree in certain actions that are geared towards bringing peace, however, this suggestion does not always go through since there are times when it is hamstrung by the member states who oppose such particular peace operations or do lack the political will to undertake such strong actions (Ware 80).
In conclusion, from the above arguments, it can be deduced that this chapter of working diplomacy suggests clear and practical approaches that can be used towards solving conflicts that may arise within communities and societies. The authors in general provide a framework that is easy to apply and implement whenever there are any issues that pertain to conflict resolution through the usage of diplomacy. Further theories and elaborations need to however be incorporated by
the authors so as to provide an approach diplomacy that is well grounded in all the possible situations that may require interventions through the diplomatic way.
Works cited
- Ware, Helen. The No-Nonsense Guide to Conflict and Peace. Oxford: New Internationalist, 2006. Print.
- Derksen, John. "The No-Nonsense Guide To Conflict And Peace." Theological Review 27.2 (2006). Academic Search Premier
Acuto, Michele. "Diplomats In Crisis." Diplomacy & Statecraft 22.3 (2011). Academic Search Premier - Murray, Stuart, et al. "The Present And Future Of Diplomacy And Diplomatic Studies." International Studies Review (2011) Academic Search Premier
- Belis, David, et al. "China, The United States And The European Union: Multiple Bilateralism And Prospects For A New Climate Change Diplomacy." Carbon & Climate Law Review (2015) Academic Search Premier
