Synopses & Reviews
In the last twenty-five years alone, by Ernie Regehr’s count, there have been ninety-eight wars, twenty-six of which are still raging around the world. Regehr puts the cost of armament for a global military made of seventy million people at $1.7 trillion per year. And yet, the overwhelming majority of wars are not settled on the battlefield, where they end in devastating, violent stalemates. Instead, they are ended in a conference room among diplomats and politicians. In this brave and discerning book, Regehr argues that we should keep in mind the proven futility of global, military effort and keep wars from ever leaving the bargaining table.
Drawing on four decades of experience in conflict zones, advising and leading diplomacy efforts, and contributing to the adoption of the “Responsibility to Protect Act”by the World Assembly, Regeher boldly shows that political stability will never be issued from the barrel of a gun.
Review
“Disarming Conflict made me want to stand up and cheer—finally, a book that confronts, articulately and impeccably, modern assumptions about the utility of war in resolving global disputes. I will be quoting liberally from Disarming Conflict for years to come.”
Review
“A masterpiece highly recommended to commanders-in-chief, diplomats, and peacemakers. Let us heed the call and invest just as much in peace diplomacy as we do in arms.”
Review
“Studious, graceful, and authentic, Regehr's writing shatters the illusion that war is necessary for peace.”
Synopsis
From a highly decorated general, a brilliant new way of understanding war and its role in the twenty-first century.
Drawing on his vast experience as a commander during the first Gulf War, and in Bosnia, Kosovo, and Northern Ireland, General Rupert Smith gives us a probing analysis of modern war. He demonstrates why today’s conflicts must be understood as intertwined political and military events, and makes clear why the current model of total war has failed in Iraq, Afghanistan, and other recent campaigns. Smith offers a compelling contemporary vision for how to secure our world and the consequences of ignoring the new, shifting face of war.
About the Author
Ernie Regehr, O.C. is co-founder of Project Ploughshares, one of Canada’s leading peace and security NGOs. He is a senior fellow in arctic security at the Simons Foundation of Vancouver, and a research fellow at the Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies at Conrad Grebel University College at the University of Waterloo.
Table of Contents
Preface
Introduction
1. Fighting to lose: A quarter century of warfare
2. How wars start
3. How wars end
4. The limits to military force
5. Preventing war
6. Disarming conflict: Conventional disarmament
7. Disarming conflict: Banning all WMD
8. Disarming security: Reshaping the security envelope
9. When prevention fails: Protecting the vulnerable
10. Winning the peace: Building a stable peace