Maintaining peace

From time immemorial, the only blessing humankind has craved so much but that has eluded its grasp is peace. Born with war, peace in the past was regional as war was also localised. With the growth of science and the closer integration of society, the modern world has formed a single unit. As it has borne many advantages, it has also created one serious evil — war is no longer a local affair. Any conflict between two nations may develop into a global strife, plunging the whole world into a bloodbath, inconceivably more disastrous than the one from which humanity has still not fully recovered. This is to say that any wrangle now hides the potentialities of an ultimate international war.

As the idea of war has extended national and continental boundaries, so has the concept of peace. Maintaining peace is now a global concern, and not of one or two nations. The idea of peace has gained more importance with a probable Third World War, as the likely use of nuclear weapons by opposing groups will not spare any country. Directly or indirectly, every country will be drawn into the orbit of war. Hence, the growth of peace in today's world has developed into an international ideology to counteract the grim prospects of a world war.

The threat to world peace is the result of conflict of ideologies — the most recent one being between capitalism and communism. The former is championed by America while the latter was upheld by Soviet Russia. America had her allies and Soviet Russia hers. But the alliance, unlike the Second World War, was forged up by clear ideological agreement. States espousing capitalism as their economic pattern had lined up together. On the other hand, those following the economic cult of Marxist socialism had united under the leadership of Soviet Russia. Both classes possessed destructive weapons in enormous quantities. America sought to justify her actions by the slogan of defending democracy and human freedom all over the globe. On the other hand, Soviet Russia pointed her finger to the pacts created around her. Thus, colossal expenditure on war preparation was made by both the groups to defend their respective economic ideologies.

Abuse of power is the cause of conflict and is dangerous for peace. The situation is explosive because capitalist countries have already lost many past markets. In many countries, a nationalist movement is able to oust foreign domination; both political and economic. The result is mounting global tension. There are also some other troubled spots in the world theatre, which continue to be volatile. The Kashmir issue is yet unresolved and India's threat to Pakistan can result in the loss of world peace.

With these potentialities of a Third World War hanging overhead, humanity is crying out for peace and an end to bloodshed. The question now is: how to ensure world peace and maintain a balance of power?

Countries must submit to the principle of coexistence. Upgrading their military prowess is the goal of every nation, but they all must stand for peace. There is no co-relation between the intention and action. The UN must be strengthened and made to freely deal with disputed issues. Above all, a spirit of internationalism must be cultivated in place of the intense nationalism that has been growing in the past few years. Internationalism is the call of the times we’re living in. Issues must be addressed in their international perspective and not in the interest of a particular zone or state. Only that can prevent a global war permanently.

The writer is an English Literature and Linguistics graduate based in Islamabad. She can be reached at zainab.nazir@gmail.com