Peace First: A New Model to End War - Hardcover

Savir, Uri

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1576755967 ISBN 13: 9781576755969

Publisher: Berrett-Koehler Publishers, 2008

Synopsis

Uri Savir has an ambitious, indispensable goal: to bring peacemaking into the 21st century. “Little in today’s world,” writes Savir, “is more progressive than modern warfare. Yet little is more archaic than peacemaking.” We remain trapped in a centuries-old mindset, with leaders bargaining warily for concessions and signing treaties that collapse because no one on the ground has any real stake in them.

Drawing on his experiences negotiating the Oslo Peace Accords as well as on trenchant examples from Ethiopia, Eritrea, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Afghanistan, India, Pakistan, Northern Ireland, and the former Yugoslavia, Savir argues that an enduring peace is built from the bottom up, not from the top down. He describes a new model based on establishing and nurturing mutually beneficial forms of cooperation beginning on the local level, city to city and organization to organization.

This process of “glocalization”—involving local actors in global issues—is the first step toward constructing a peace ecology: a comprehensive transnational culture dedicated to breaking down the psychological and social barriers between former enemies. These efforts are furthered through the establishment of joint ventures that give each side a tangible stake in maintaining peace. Diplomacy still has a role, but it must reject maneuvering for gain and instead emphasize the advantages both sides will gain with the cultivation of lasting peace.

Throughout Savir provides concrete examples of how these concepts have been put into practice. And he ends with a detailed vision of how this model could bring an enduring peace in one of the world’s most war-torn areas: the Mediterranean Basin. Peace First offers a pragmatic yet revolutionary new approach that promises to end our most intractable conflicts.

About this title

From the Publisher:

Praise for Peace First

"Peace First is a brave and ambitious attempt to redefine the very cornerstone of diplomacy--peacemaking. Uri Savir speaks from experience, writes with passion, and provokes thought on every page. This is a unique and timely contribution."
--Madeleine K. Albright, former U.S. Secretary of State

"Uri Savir has endeavored to confront important challenges by offering a peacemaking puzzle that is courageous, innovative and based on his extensive experience as a peacemaker. This groundbreaking book presents readers with a fresh approach to the most important challenge of this century: making peace."
--Shimon Peres, President of Israel

"Every human conflict has its own unique roots and requires its own unique solutions. There are, however, some crucial factors that are common to most conflicts and that must be considered in all peace initiatives. We can accordingly learn from the experiences of others in the never-ending search for peace. Uri Savir's new book, Peace First, analyzes many of these requirements and in so doing makes a significant contribution to our understanding of peacemaking."
--F. W. de Klerk, former State President of South Africa and Nobel Peace Prize Laureate

"One need only read today's headlines to see that the art of diplomacy has not kept pace with a fast-changing world. Peace First is Uri Savir's welcome attempt to bring peacemaking into the 21st century by having it address not only borders and the armies that guard them but the people who live behind them as well. This is an important and necessary book."
--Dan Rather, Emmy and Peabody award-winning journalist

"Uri Savir has succeeded in linking his experience in negotiation, peacemaking, and peace building to develop a fresh concept of the process of reaching consensus. His views broaden traditional approaches to recognize that holistic and lasting solutions must include consideration of value systems as well as the social and cultural context for which treaties are designed. His book is compelling both in its review of history and in its recommendations to future peacemakers."
--James Wolfensohn, former President of the World Bank

"Self-proclaimed foreign policy experts will dismiss this book as unrealistic and they will be flat wrong. Savir unmasks the formal negotiating process to which they are so addicted and shows that these table games cannot work by themselves, that they must have political support at the international and local levels. And he shows exactly how to do it."
--Dr. Leslie H. Gelb, President Emeritus of the Council on Foreign Relations and former New York Times columnist

About the Author:

Uri Savir, one of Israel’s most senior diplomats, was Israel’s chief negotiator during the Oslo Accords between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization, between 1993 and 1996. In his role as director-general of the Israeli Foreign Ministry, he also negotiated with Jordan, with Syria, and in the multinational peace tracks in the Middle East. Prior to this, Savir was Israel’s consul-general to New York and held various diplomatic positions in North America.

About this edition

• Publisher: Berrett-Koehler Publishers
• Publication date: 2008
• ISBN 10: 1576755967
• ISBN 13: 9781576755969
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 256