We live in an age in which – for obvious reasons – it’s vital to understand how to build peace. Nuclear proliferation, inter-state and civil wars, terrorism and insurgencies, rising extremisms and hate crimes, social polarisation and increasingly vituperate online diction mean that learning how to reconcile enemies has never been more important.
This importance is widely recognised. Around $22 billion is spent annually by international donors on peacebuilding efforts. Since 2000, $10 billion has been spent in Colombia alone.
The world’s second largest force deployed abroad – after the United States military – is the United Nation’s cohort of 100,000 peacekeepers, while internationalist organisations such as the World Bank and the Africa Union work alongside thousands of nongovernmental organisations (NGOs), diplomats, aid workers and research institutes to contain and reduce conflict.
But let us thank those who work for peace and may go unnoticed. Read more courtesy of Tobias Jones and Aeon.co.
