Making the Case for Peace to Conservatives

In the United States, political conservatives tend to support American wars and military interventions abroad and generally favor a hawkish foreign policy. People dedicated to peace and alternatives to violence need to persuade such conservatives to oppose US military action more often. Persuading people, whatever their ideological affiliation, to change their minds is extremely difficult. … Continue reading Making the Case for Peace to Conservatives →

“More Lives Were Saved”: Annihilated Cities and Choosing the Lesser Evil

The American atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki (whose 72nd anniversaries were this past summer) have long been defended because they supposedly saved more lives than they destroyed. By using atomic bombs to force Japan’s surrender in August 1945, the United States (so the argument goes) avoided either an American invasion of Japan or a … Continue reading “More Lives Were Saved”: Annihilated Cities and Choosing the Lesser Evil →

Using Empathy during a New Cold War

An American contemplating the hostile state of current US-Russian relations might well be pessimistic. Russia, this American observer might conclude, is an implacably hostile enemy whose actions reflect Russian President Vladimir Putin’s ambition to act aggressively abroad while suppressing dissent at home. From this perspective, America has no choice but to wage a new Cold … Continue reading Using Empathy during a New Cold War →

Engagement, Not Confrontation: The Need for a New US Policy toward Russia

America and Russia are currently engaged in a new Cold War: a conflict marked by mutual suspicion and hostility; confrontation in certain regions of the world, such as Ukraine and Syria; and at least potential military competition. Over a quarter-century after the last Cold War ended with the Soviet Union’s formal dissolution in December 1991, … Continue reading Engagement, Not Confrontation: The Need for a New US Policy toward Russia →

The Just War Case for Abolishing Nuclear Weapons

Although nuclear weapons receive far less attention today than during the Cold War, the weapons—and the dangers and ethical problems they pose—remain with us. The nuclear weapons currently held by the nine nuclear powers number almost 10,000. Of these, over 3,900 are deployed with operational military forces. Almost 2,000 nuclear weapons are on high alert … Continue reading The Just War Case for Abolishing Nuclear Weapons →

Resolving the Ukraine Crisis: A Proposal

Relations between the United States and Russia have deteriorated dramatically this past winter and spring as the result of the unfolding civil strife in Ukraine. Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich accepted and then rejected a trade agreement with the European Union, resulting in popular unrest that led to Yanukovich’s overthrow. Russia then initiated a military occupation … Continue reading Resolving the Ukraine Crisis: A Proposal →