Tag Archives: causes of peace

A Conversation with Carl Sagan, Part III: Disarmament

Posted on October 1, 2020 by Fred Zilian

(Note: Forty years ago I exchanged letters with Carl Sagan. In his letter, he asked me two questions. The first focused on how we might move people to think more in terms of the interests of the “human species as … Continue reading →

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The Causes of Peace, Part VII: Guernica and the Horror of War on Innocents

Posted on January 14, 2016 by Fred Zilian

The horror that war brings to non-combatants or “innocents” can help to restrain the initiation of war and to curb its most destructive tendencies once it has begun. The bombing of the city of Guernica, Spain, in 1937, showed the … Continue reading →

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Causes of Peace, Part VI, Civil War, The Military Level and Political Will

Posted on December 7, 2015 by Fred Zilian

The Military Level First, The South had some notable advantages, including what are called “interior lines.” Defending its own territory from an external threat, it had shorter “lines of communication,” had greater familiarity with the terrain, and could count on … Continue reading →

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The Causes of Peace, Part V: The American Civil War, Section I

Posted on December 5, 2015 by Fred Zilian

Let us now apply the Multi-Dimensional War Model to the American Civil War. Political Level On the domestic political level, the South faced a dilemma, a contradiction. In the name of defending Southern rights, the Confederate government had to infringe … Continue reading →

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The Causes of Peace, Part IV, Paradigm #2: Zilian’s Multi-Dimensional War Model

Posted on December 4, 2015 by Fred Zilian

Paradigm #2 views war not as uni-dimensional but rather as multi-dimensional. War is more than warfare. Call this Zilian’s Multi-Dimensional War Model. To truly understand why one side won and the other lost, we cannot simply look at the military … Continue reading →

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The Causes of Peace, Part III, Thinking About War, Paradigm #1

Posted on December 3, 2015 by Fred Zilian

In order truly to understand war & peace, we must delve into some military theory. A theory lays out the principal concepts of a given field of study and their relationships, and it must also explain the “why” of things: … Continue reading →

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The Causes of Peace, Part II

Posted on December 1, 2015 by Fred Zilian

The authoritative, London-based, weekly magazine, The Economist, has just issued its annual look into the next year: The World in 2016. It contains an essay written by John Andrews entitled, “More War than Peace.” He notes International Peace Day, September … Continue reading →

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The Causes of Peace

Posted on January 29, 2012 by Fred Zilian

The terms war and peace can relate to many dimensions of society. This essay examines very briefly the causes of peace in the international state system: war and peace within states (intrastate conflict) and between states (interstate conflict). Political scientists … Continue reading →

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