WHAT
WOULD THE WORLD PEACE FORCE DO?
When
National Governments Collapse
OUTLINE:
1. WHEN CENTRAL GOVERNMENTS FAIL
2.
THE WORLD PEACE FORCE WOULD
ALREADY BE THERE WHEN A NATION COLLAPSES
3.
AFTER THE END OF CIVIL STRIFE
4.
SUB-DIVIDE THE FAILED NATION-STATE
5.
WORLD COURT MIGHT HAVE TO ESTABLISH THE NEW BORDERS
6.
EXAMPLE: AFGHANISTAN
7.
EXAMPLE: IRAQ
8.
OTHER FAILED STATES
9.
THE WORLD PEACE FORCE WOULD
BE GOVERNED BY REASON, NOT TRIBALISM
WHAT
WOULD THE WORLD PEACE FORCE DO?
When
National Governments Collapse
by
James Park
1. WHEN CENTRAL GOVERNMENTS FAIL
At present, many of the smaller nation-states on
Earth
have unstable governments, which do occasionally collapse.
When the central government can no longer maintain law-and-order,
then other forces usually take over at least some areas of that failed
state.
We in the more developed nations of the Earth
might need to remind ourselves that what are now stable governments
did not always control the territory that they now govern.
For instance, Europe a few centuries ago was ruled by many warlords,
who had control of small pieces of land.
Their control often depended on having thugs
who would make the peasants behave as they dictated.
The oldest cities of Europe were walled cities
precisely because it was often necessary to defend the cities
from hostile forces who would like to take them over.
Eventually fiefdoms merged to form the larger states
we now know.
But each nation-state still must maintain strong military forces
because of the lingering threat that other states will try to
take them
over.
And we only need to remember two world wars in the 20th century,
when some nation-states tried to take over other nation-states.
Today there are several small countries which are
similarly unstable.
When one military leader dies or is overthrown, then chaos often
results,
in which various armed factions or tribes
try to take over whatever land they can control.
Often family and clan are the bases of these smaller groupings.
And they often commit genocide against other groups,
simply because of their racial, ethnic, or geographical identity.
Sometimes these small nation-states were
intrinsically unstable
because their boundary-lines were originally drawn by outside colonial
powers.
This often resulted in a single state with several tribes or groups
that had no other reason to be together
than that they were so defined by the colonial power.
During the years of colonial rule,
peace and stability was maintained by the occupying military forces.
And sometimes such colonial rule was much better for the peoples
than when they were still fighting tribal wars
to take over one another's land, cattle, oil, etc.
Once the colonial rulers were finally withdrawn,
the tribes found that they had little reason to cooperate with one
another.
The first effort was usually for one tribe or group
to take over the powers previously exercised by the colonial rulers.
And sometimes this did result in a more-or-less stable country,
even tho the minority tribes did not like the advantages
handed out to the majority groups.
When power and wealth had to be distributed,
those who were in control 'naturally' favored their own people.
The ideal solution would be for all people to stop
thinking of themselves
as members of their own group first and only secondarily citizens of
their nation-state.
But even if the most advanced countries of the Earth,
no culture has been able to transcend factionalism.
Even when there is basically only one ethnic group,
divisions emerge within every society or sub-culture.
2. THE WORLD PEACE FORCE
WOULD
ALREADY BE THERE WHEN A NATION COLLAPSES
When law-and-order breaks down for any reason,
the World Peace Force would know about any such break-down immediately
because there would be members of the WPF already living in that
country.
And because of instant communications now possible,
thousands of additional members of the WPF could be mobilized
immediately.
They could be in the failed state within hours.
And they could appear on the streets and in the villages so soon
that the populations who might otherwise be tempted to kill one another
would re-think their first tribal urge toward violence.
It would NOT be the role of the World Peace Force
to establish a new stable form of government to replace the failed
system.
Rather, the soldiers of the World Peace Force
would keep the people from
killing one another.
And this would sometimes require deadly force:
When combatants will not stop shooting,
they might have to be killed themselves,
one-by-one by the members of the World Peace Force.
In other words, there might be battles between armed groups and the
World Police.
But because everyone will know that the World Peace Force
will always have enough soldiers to control any group of fighters,
eventually reason will prevail and the renegades will stop fighting.
3. AFTER THE END OF CIVIL
STRIFE
Once the brief civil war is over,
the area of land previously controlled by the failed nation-state
will be temporarily controlled by the World Peace Force.
Then it will be the duty of the people on that failed state
to decide what they want to do next.
One temporary solution might be for different ethnic
groups
to control different land areas.
Even a small Island like Cypress has taken this route.
The Greeks control one side of Cypress.
The Turks control the other side.
Eventually they cooperate in ways that are in the best interests of
both groups.
A small military force is enough to keep the people from killing one
another.
And sometimes, as in Cypress, the World Peace Force
will have to maintain the peace indefinitely
because even rational leaders of the various ethnic groups
cannot agree on a form of government that suits everyone.
4. SUB-DIVIDE THE FAILED
NATION-STATE
Separation into two or more smaller states is a
long-term solution
in some situations of failed nation-states.
When it is clear that various ethnic groups cannot cooperate,
then there might need to be some movement of people
from one area of the failed state to another area,
where they will be together with people of their own ethnic group.
Later such smaller states might cooperate in some areas of mutual
benefit,
such as having a common currency and banking system.
The World Peace Force can maintain some kind of
law-and-order
while the tribal groups sort themselves out.
The new lines of demarcation will have to be negotiated.
These will become the new national boundaries.
And when populations have been deeply integrated for centuries,
sacrifices will have to be made for the peace of the world.
If they give themselves a decade or more to separate,
it can be handled without much blood-shed.
People leaving one geographical area where the are a minority
will be able to sell their homes and businesses
to people who find it safer to move in from another part of the former
country.
An orderly transition will be policed by the World Peace Force.
After everyone has moved who wishes to move,
then new national boundaries can be established and recognized.
5. WORLD COURT MIGHT HAVE TO
ESTABLISH THE NEW BORDERS
In some cases, the warring factions
will not be able
to agree on stable and rational boundaries.
History shows that sometimes the borders established by warfare
are actually just the fronts of the fighting when it finally ended.
When a truce was achieved, the land was divided
according to which armies held what geography when the fighting stopped.
The World Court would have more rational bases
for establishing new national boundaries carved out of failed states.
As long as the World Peace Force is keeping the factions from killing
one another,
the World Court can take as long as needed to review all the facts
in order to determine the exact location of a new line between the
factions.
Once the new national borders have been settled,
it will be one function of the World Peace Force
to make sure that they are observed by everyone.
In a disarmed world, this should not be as difficult
as it has been in all the history of the world up until the WPF was
established.
When the only persons on Earth who are permitted to have the weapons of
war
are the members of the WFP,
then various groups and factions will have to use
non-violent means to settle their disputes.
Once everyone becomes convinced that the new
national borders are permanent,
they will have to make their next decisions on the basis of this given
fact.
If they held out hope that their old lands might be won back by force,
they might not put down roots where they are.
But once they accept the new national boundaries,
everyone will decide where to live.
Minorities might be tolerated in some societies.
When it is known that minorities will be protected by the local police,
they can live peacefully among members of other ethnic groups.
And sometimes the ethnic identities will disappear
after many years of living side-by-side and sometimes intermarrying.
A peaceful world will be better for all peoples of the Earth.
6. EXAMPLE: AFGHANISTAN
The history of the present state of Afghanistan
shows
that it is not a good candidate for becoming a stable nation-state.
Tribal loyalties are much stronger than national identity.
Only military force has been able to govern Afghanistan from Kabul.
The Russians (actually the Soviet Union)
tried for
years to shore up the central government.
And now American (and other allied troops) are trying to do the same
thing.
The Russians and the Americans had different ideas of national economy,
but Afghanistan itself is not well defined by either communism or
capitalism.
After a few more years of trying to shore up the
Kabul government,
the US troops will probably have to be removed from Afghanistan
because the majority of the people of Afghanistan
do not care for any government sustained by foreign soldiers.
If the World Peace Force were fully operational,
this would mean that none of the warlords has weapons of war.
They would have to rule because of tribal identities and loyalties
rather than because they can hold a certain territory by force of arms.
The presence of the World Peace Force would allow
neighboring tribes
to decide that it is in their common best interest to cooperate in some
respects.
But it would not be
the role of the World Peace Force
to establish and maintain a strong central government.
Perhaps Afghanistan will not be ready for a central government
for a few more generations.
Such a situation might require thousands of soldiers
from the World Peace Force.
But this is a price the World can afford because it will keep the peace.
And keeping the peace
is always cheaper than the
destruction of war.
7. EXAMPLE: IRAQ
The USA is attempting a similar solution for the
country of Iraq.
However, here the destruction of the previous nation-state
was
committed by the USA itself.
Because we think of
Iraq as one country
(which it has been for several decades because of military rule from
Baghdad),
we think that Iraq should have a new (democratic) central government.
But the people of Iraq might not be ready to support
a central government,
unless that government is run by their own tribal group.
Each group wants to control the oil revenues for its own benefit.
If there were a World Peace Force instead of the US
troops,
then the neutral soldiers would simply keep the tribes from killing one
another.
And the various groups of Iraq would be forced to
decide for themselves
just what form of government will work for them.
Instead of engaging in warfare to establish new borders,
they will rationally discuss the future shape of their country.
It might be wise for the World Court to have some
part in establishing a new Iraq
—or
whatever smaller countries emerge from the recent chaos.
8. OTHER FAILED STATES
Such examples could probably be extended to include
such failed states as:
Somalia, Sudan, Yugoslavia (which has now separated into Slovakia and
the Czech Republic),
and other nation-states that have sub-divided because of ethnic
tensions.
We can expect more examples of states put together by war or colonialism
to divide themselves into smaller states,
where the people have more in common.
As said before, some such divided states might
eventually re-unite,
after their former reasons for separating have faded away.
For example, if they all start speaking the same language,
there would be less reason for separate states based on native tongue
—and
the sometimes resulting ethnic divisions.
9. THE WORLD PEACE FORCE
WOULD
BE
GOVERNED BY REASON, NOT TRIBALISM
Even tho tribalism is likely to be a factor for the
foreseeable future,
the World Peace Force can be organized to operate against tribalism.
As the WPF emerges over a period of 100 years,
tribalism itself will fade away in some places on the Earth.
People will learn to cooperate across lines of division
which were previously used as excuses for killing one another.
And in each formerly-tribal society,
there will be individuals who have transcended tribalism,
who will support the efforts of the World Peace Force
to keep the peace in their land.
There will probably always be some individuals who
prefer to kill their enemies
(as seen even in the USA in gang warfare),
but the majority will eventually see the benefits to all
from an established system of law-and-order.
The World Peace Force will not attempt to decide new systems of
government.
The soldiers of the WPF will merely keep the factions from killing one
another
while they work out their own destiny in their own terms.
AUTHOR:
James Park is an independent existential philosopher,
living and writing in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Much more about him will be discovered on his website:
An Existential Philosopher's Museum:
http://www.tc.umn.edu/~parkx032/
Created
December 20, 2008; Revised 1-16-2009; 3-26-2009; 5-6-2009; 11-6-2009
LINKS
TO SIMILAR THINKING:
The future we create will depend on what we imagine
now.
And the Internet will be one way
that creative imaginations from anywhere on our planet
can share their visions of a world without war.
When such similar thoughts are discovered,
they will be linked from here.
World Peace
Force—Early Thinking
This
link leads to a collection of other essays by James Park
dealing with various dimensions of the proposed World Peace Force.