| FT-56709-09 | Research Programs: Summer Stipends | Nir Eisikovits | Truce: A Neglected Alternative between War and Peace | 7/1/2009 - 8/31/2009 | $6,000.00 | Nir | | Eisikovits | | | | Suffolk University | Boston | MA | 02108-2770 | USA | 2009 | Ethics | Summer Stipends | Research Programs | 6000 | 0 | 6000 | 0 |
We have not thought enough about truces. By and large, Western political thought is committed to a false dichotomy between war and peace. Since truces are neither, we don't pay them serious conceptual attention. That's too bad for three reasons: (1) There are cases where the empirical track record of truces compares favorably with that of peace processes. (2) The desire for perpetual peace--the ambition to fight the war that would end all wars--has made wars longer and more brutal than necessary. (3) Political Islam has a nuanced theology and jurisprudence of truces. Truces save lives. Might we be missing chances for de-escalation by not having a well-developed understanding of truces? |