The Quest for Peace in a World of Flames - Video

The world is in crisis. From Syria to Sudan, Myanmar to Venezuela, societies are being ripped apart by wars that our global institutions and laws seem incapable of dealing with. Seemingly everywhere we look, the forces of peace, security, human rights, and justice appear on the retreat in the face of rising authoritarianism, racism, and ‘warism’. Yet for as long as humans have fought wars, we have been beguiled and frustrated by the prospect of peace. This talk makes the case for taking world peace more seriously. It argues that world peace is possible, though neither inevitable nor irreversible. Peace is something every generation must strive for, because the ideas, social structures, and practices that make war possible are a persistent part of political life. This talk identifies what these conditions are, how they are shaping contemporary world politics, and what can be done about it.

Alex Bellamy is Professor of Peace and Conflict Studies and Director of the Asia Pacific Centre for the Responsibility to Protect, at the University of Queensland in Australia. He is the author of a forthcoming book published by Columbia University Press (spring 2022) on The Betrayal of Syria: War, Atrocities, and the Failure of International Diplomacy and his most recent book is World Peace (And How We Can Achieve It), published by Oxford University Press in 2019.