ARTICLES

Let's Do the Unexpected
BY JOHN PAUL LEDERACH

Four days after September 11, 2001, Professor Lederach published a compelling essay about the lessons he learned during more than 20 years of experience working with violent conflicts and terrorism. It is our lead article and sparked the name for this Web site.

“The biggest blow we can serve terror is to make it irrelevant. The worst thing we could do is to feed it unintentionally by making it and its leaders the center stage of what we do. Let's choose democracy and reconciliation over revenge and destruction. Let's to do exactly what they do not expect, and show them it can work.” More...

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A Force More Powerful
BY PETER ACKERMAN AND JACK DUVALL

Peter Ackerman and Jack DuVall, are the co-authors of A Force More Powerful: A Century of Nonviolent Conflict, the companion book to the PBS documentary of the same name, of which DuVall was executive producer. The case histories of the major non-violence movements are compared to movements that sought to change their circumstances through violent revolutions. The non-violent movements were incubators of democracy that involved people in a consensual process where they set the agenda and goals and accepted responsibility for the decisions. Violence is not a learning tool for governing. Violence may change an oppressive regime but it will not usher in democracy and self-government. More...

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Peace And Justice In The New Century
BY DR. OSCAR ARIAS


I believe in peace, not because it is easy, but because it is necessary. …Reconciliation is a profound and difficult process that involves years of labor, setbacks, and perseverance. …In reality, there is nothing glamorous, naïve, or idealistic about peace. Peace is not a dream; it is hard work. It is a path that we must all choose and then persevere in. This means resolving even our small daily conflicts with those around us in peaceful ways. For peace begins not “out there,” but with each one of us. We all have it within our power to do something. More...