‘Why is it so difficult to build peace in the world or those expert in international relations (unlike me), answers would entail testing and contesting jargonized theories of international politics. But with 15 year old students, you have to be to the point. I responded by saying ‘greed for power’ stands in between peace and wars. However, I was struck by the question and my own answer to it. I could not stop thinking that the thirst for power cannot be quenched. The more I thought about it, the more daunting it became to think of the complexities of international politics coupled with troubles like terrorism.

This dilemma was still on my mind when the killing of 100s of civilians in Afghanistan’s Ghazni Province, the bombardment of a school bus in Yemen and a suicide attack on students in Kabul hit the headlines last month. Incidents like these are the reason countries such as Afghanistan, Yemen, Somalia, Palestine, Syria and many more are known to people worldwide (including the students in Dili) as “fragile”, “failing” or “failed” states.

The crisis in these countries have become so perplexing that peace in them is equivalent to the “peace in world” that the student referred to. Their citizens have endured conflicts, wars and aggressions since the Second World War.  These troubled countries lie in regions where the sphere of “power” has been competed for or is still being competed for by the powerful nations. My country, Afghanistan, is a typical example of a country that is a victim of international and regional hegemonic contest between bigger powers. Afghanistan’s trajectory has resulted in prolonged instability and terrorism, making stability appear incredibly difficult, if not impossible. But, this has been the norm in international politics; countries pursue hegemony for their own survival. Nations have not only survived but prospered when prosperity become the National destiny and all citizens embrace that vision with their hearts. Such vision keep them united and guide their choice. The tragedy with countries like those mentioned above is the National disunity that keep their masses divided. Citizens get manipulated by rhetoric that serve narrower interests of few elites. In other words, the sense of National interest gets replaced with that of tribal, communal or ethnic.   Hence these countries become vulnerable to crisis. Continued crises make them fragile, poor and hence vulnerable to the “cold war” between regional powers and race among elites in their own countries.

With such dilemma, will conflicted-affected countries ever stabilize? Hence, will there be “peace in the World”?  NO and YES

NO, if the each and every citizen in these countries denies full responsibility in bringing peace and stability to their countries.

NO, if the citizens in these countries continue to be the means of serving narrower interest rather than a National interest.

NO, if the politics of fear, ethnicity and tribalism dominate rationalism and collective national prosperity.

NO, if the mentality of “reliance” replaces the national drive for self-sustenance in these countries.

YES, if the sense of national interest, and stability takes over that of narrower ethnic, tribal and religious interest.

YES, if the population of these troubled countries stay united in the face of a terrorism that knows no ethnicity, tribe and sect.

YES, if the people in these conflicted-affected countries keep national interest above their individual differences and make national peace and stability a common vison.

YES, if these threatened countries get together and consolidate their alliance, such as g7+, to collectively pursue  peace and stability and protect the inalienable interest of “the left behind” countries on the global stage.

And yes, it is extremely important to learn from the history of prosperous Nations. The easy access to knowledge should equip us with logic to be critical of the rhetoric we are fed with by the pundits of politics of fear and master minds of extremism. People of war affected countries need to build and protect Peace as their inalianbale right otherwise “what a nation could not protect by its own power counld not be safegaurgeded by the international community”. Hence, it is not difficult to build peace in the world when peace becomes a shared goal of all the citizens that have been suffering from violence.

View expressed in this article are of the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Pajhwok’s editorial policy.