Page 12 RAIN Summer 1986 FROM: Peace Resource Book (Illustration by William Harsh) extensive annotated bibliography is included. Multiple indexes are included for easy cross-referetlcing. · Peace Resource Book 1986 is the second in a series of such books prepared· by the insitute, following the American Peace Directory 1984. The institute is headed by Randall Forsberg, author of the "Call to Halt the Nuclear Arms Race," which launched the Nuclear Freeze Movement. -FLS "Constructing Peace as a Whole System," by Mark Sommer, in Whole Earth Review, Summer 1986, $4.50 per back issue from:' Whole Earth Access 2990 Seventh Street Berkeley, CA 94710 Mark Sommer, author of Beyond the Bomb (see page 10), goes beyond the material in his book in this article to outline a comprehensive plan for peace. The primary insight is. contained in the .title-seeing peace as a whole system, a tangible set of institutions and practices that we can construct, rather than the mere absence of war. The military-industrial complex is a whole system. It is composed of elements such as the Pentagon, defense· contractors, government policy-makers, and university researchers. These elements complement and reinforce each other in ·a synergistic system. While most peace and disarmament activity concerns itself with the destruction of this war system, Sommer contends that we need to be equally concerned with the construction of a peace system. War and militarism must be replaced with something else. Peace needs a positive identity. Sommer identifies four ptjmary elements of a global peace system: 1. Military transarmament-ln contrast with disarmament, "transarmament" is concerned not so much with a quantitative reduction of weapons systems as a qualitative "transformation of the arsenals of all nations from weapons of attack to technologies and strategies (both military and non-military) that protect all sides from harm." This includes both the elimination of all offensive weapons while retaining only those purely for protection, and the development of mutually protective · defense systems, such as crisis control 'networks and international monitoring agencies for treaty compliance. It also includes increased nonviolent civilianbased defense (see Gene Sharp's books, page 11) and detente practices such as cultural exchange and scientific cooperation. 2. Political integration-To avoid both "the final shootout" and "ultimate tyrant" (world government gone awry), Sommer recommends establishing "only that minimal degree of global organization required to handle problems that are irreducibly global in character · and scale," "a global legal system that becomes essentially a headless leader, enforcing the law without also making it." He identifies several elements of this legal system, many of which already exist in some germinal form. 3. Economic conversion-The restr!ction to minimal defensive weapons systems demands a major restructuring of those e.conomies now highly dependent on military manufacturing. ,To prevent massive unemployment and other dislocations, a carefully planned process ~f conversion to other industries is necessary. 4. Cultural adaptation-"ln addition to its various institutional components, a global peace system will necessarily include a nonmaterial dimension, a set of subtle but fundamental shifts in ·attitude and behavior to niake it possible for irreconcilably different societies to ' coexist." Universal love isn't necessary, just an agreement to tolerate and live with differences. Sommer doesn't seek to eliminate conflict (an obviously unrealistic goal), but rather to "make the world safe for conflict." -FLS "Force Without Firepower," by Gene Keyes, in CoEvolution Quarterly, Summer 1982, $3.50 per issue from: Whole Earth Access 2990 Seventh Street Berkeley, CA 94710 In this article, Canadian theorist Gene Keyes (rhymes with "guys") proposes 10 ways to use military forces forwhat?-unarmed, nonviolent actions. He defines his "Unarmed Services" or "disarmies" as "men and women ... forming an entire military command without weapons; well-equipped for mobility an.d logistics; trained to accept casualties, never inflict them." Keyes identifies three "military missions" for his "disarmies" in times of peace (rescue action, civic action, and colossal action), four missions in times of conflict (friendly p~rsuasion, guerrilla action, police ac;tion, and buffer action), and three mission in times of war (defense, expeditionary action, and invasion). For each mission, he gives a definitiot), set of precedents, and further ideas of a more speculative nature regarding possibilities. All proposals are well-researched and well-documented. Keyes' proposals extend nonviolent actions beyond non-cooperation and defense into a realm of constructive social action. They also extend the notion of "economic conversion" to , include military personnel as well as industries, preserving some of the challenge and noble sense of mission of military forces while eliminating the FROM: Beyond the Bomb (Illustration by Ed Koren)
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