Peace First: A New Model to End War

"Former Israeli peace negotiator Savir (The Process) unveils his proposal for achieving lasting world peace: a carefully conceived and constructed model 'that leads to a future of cooperation and understanding.' The model for peace is predicated upon a shift from globalization to 'glocalization,' based on the idea that city leaders can forge bonds across boundaries that national leaders cannot because 'cities have become our primary social unit... in both the developed and developing worlds.' Savir emphasizes that peace must come from the grassroots rather than the top down and offers practicable solutions, from joint economic ventures designed to attract tourists to a NATO-like Mediterranean alliance. This book is compelling not for its specific blueprint but for the author's eternal optimism in the face of so many depressing obstacles. A history of his dynamic relationship with his Palestinian counterpart Abu Ala, a former Palestinian Authority prime minister who has become Savir's close friend since their first meeting in Norway 15 years ago, would provide fodder for another, less theoretical book about putting peace first. (Sept.)" Publishers Weekly (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)

In contrast to current models of peace processes and treaties, which "have been left stranded somewhere in the nineteenth century," Savir (former director general of the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs and chief negotiator for the Oslo Accords) proposes a "revolutionary model" for peacemaking. His model takes the emphasis off governments as agents of peacemaking and puts it on world citizens acting through the medium of local governments and nongovernmental organizations and also adds notions of social mobility to the idea of security. His model aims to create cooperation and understanding between local actors on the global stage in order to link former enemies and establish joint ventures that encourage peacebuilding. He discusses how his model should be applied to Israel/Palestine, the wider Middle East, the former Yugoslavia, Cyprus, and the tensions between southern Europe and northern Africa. Annotation ©2008 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

In this groundbreaking new guide to building peace, international ambassador Uri Savir exposes the deadly ironies and anachronisms in contemporary efforts to solve global conflicts, and presents a radical new model for modernizing our efforts to build real and lasting peace, from the ground up. Peace First draws on Savir's own deep, first-hand experiences from the Oslo Peace Process, as well as his peace-building efforts between enemies and former enemies in the African nations of Ethiopia, Eritrea, Rwanda, and Sierra Leone, the European regions of Northern Ireland and the Former Yugoslavia, and in Asia, Afghanistan, India and Pakistan.