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  • About us
  • World Federalism
    • What is World Federalism?
    • Inequality and Economic Justice
    • Environment
    • War and Conflict
    • Democracy
    • The Way Forward
  • Activities
    • Course on Global Democracy
    • Talks and Lectures
    • Ventotene Seminar
    • World Citizenship
    • World Parliament
    • Real Democracy
    • ICC
    • 1 For 7 Billion
  • Lecture Series
    • Videos
    • Podcast
  • Resources
    • Our Partners
    • Quotes
    • Recommended Readings
    • Videos & Podcasts
    • Recommended Websites
  • Get involved
    • Join the email list
    • Join the 10 week course
    • Organize an event
    • Volunteer with us!
    • Become a member
    • Donate

World Federalism, War And Conflict

The idea of World Federalism has often arisen after periods of war, as people try to imagine a way for humanity to live together in peace. The two world wars of the 20th century have inspired ensuing waves of world federalist thinking. In the aftermath of the Second World War, in particular, the idea gained massive popularity in many parts of the world. Early World Federalists reasoned that peace could not be dependent upon mutual deterrence, because sadly the arms race is likely to eventually come to a tragic end. True and lasting peace can neither be dependent solely upon the free will of the opposing factions, as disagreements that rise from conflicting interests, misunderstandings and mistrust can always make one of the sides choose again to resort to war.

 

The Federalist prescription to peace, rather, is appointing a neutral third party as the final arbitrator, who bears the responsibility and possesses adequate powers to effectively restrain any violence and thus maintain peace. Such a powerful third party, in turn, must be democratically accountable to the different sides and constitutionally bound by a rule of law. Democracy does not eliminate disagreements, disputes or even hatred among individuals or groups, but it sends them to resolve their conflicts in non-violent routs such as courts and party politics.

 

Furthermore, many of the causes of conflict would be removed by having a democratic world government and by regulating the global economy and protecting the global environment. Violence is very often a response to injustice (which is also a type of violence) and much of the violence in today’s world can be seen as a response to the glaring injustices which people see around them. A more just global system, in and of itself, will lead to less violence in the world.

      >>   What is World Federalism?

      >>   Inequality and Economic Justice

      >>   Environment and Climate Change

      >>   War and conflict

      >>   Democracy

      >>   The Way Forward

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Associate Member
  • "If I can get freedom for India now [...] empire idea dissolves and world-state takes its place, in which all the states of the world are free and equal, no State has its military, there may be a world police to keep order in the absence of universal belief in non-violence."

    Mahatma Gandhi, 1942
    Mahatma Gandhi, 1942
    - Quotes
  • “With all my heart I believe that the world’s present system of sovereign nations can only lead to barbarism, war, and inhumanity. Mankind’s desire for peace can be realized only by the creation of a world government.”

    Albert Einstein, 1945
    Albert Einstein, 1945
    - Quotes
  • "I am a citizen, not of Athens, or Greece, but of the world."

    Socrates, ~400 BC
    Socrates, ~400 BC
    - Quotes
  • "A federation of all humanity, together with a sufficient means of social justice to ensure health, education, and a rough equality of opportunity, would mean such a release and increase of human energy as to open a new phase in human history."

    H. G. Wells, 1920
    H. G. Wells, 1920
    - Quotes
  • “Our task is not to overthrow globalisation, but to capture it, and to use it as a vehicle for humanity’s first global democratic revolution.”

    George Monbiot, 2003
    George Monbiot, 2003
    - Quotes
  • "Faced with the globalization of economy and finance, the mounting imbalance in the distribution of wealth, and asymmetric threats to international security, the answer that is provided by the cooperation of nation-states is often no longer enough. There's an increased urgency that political institutions and instruments of participation and democracy also go through a process of globalization. That's why I support the establishment of a UN Parliamentary Assembly."

    Federica Mogherini, 2013
    Federica Mogherini, 2013
    - Quotes
  • "Today the universal common good poses problems of worldwide dimensions, which cannot be adequately tackled or solved except by the efforts of a public authority [...] which is in a position to operate in an effective manner on a world-wide basis. The moral order itself, therefore, demands that such a form of public authority be established."

    Pope John XXIII, 1963
    Pope John XXIII, 1963
    - Quotes
  • "I have no doubt in my mind that the World Government must and will come, for there is no other remedy for the world's sickness. It can be an extension of the federal principle, a growth of the idea underlying the United Nations, giving each national unit freedom to fashion its destiny according to its genius, but subject always to the basic covenant of the world Government."

    Jawaharlal Nehru, 1948
    Jawaharlal Nehru, 1948
    First Prime Minister of India - Quotes
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