ID :
207835
Sun, 09/18/2011 - 13:42
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/207835
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World peace is achievable when people become tolerant: academic
TEHRAN, Sept. 18 (MNA)-- “World peace is achievable when people become tolerant towards differences of religion, traditions, customs, opinions, and ideas,” says Sujata Ashwarya, an assistant professor of political science in Jamia Millia Islamia (National Islamic University) in New Delhi.
In an interview , Ashwarya also says, “Tolerance involves fostering growth of knowledge about one another, which can enable us to discern values that bind us all in common humanity.”
Following is the text of the interview:
Q: How can we have world peace?
A: World peace is a profound concept, resonant with meanings and implications for the well-being of entire humanity. I think, it is possible, to discern two basic dimensions in it. First, world peace is achievable when people become tolerant towards differences of religion, traditions, customs, opinions, and ideas. Tolerance involves fostering growth of knowledge about one another, which can enable us to discern values that bind us all in common humanity. Here prejudice, stereotype, hatred or bigotry has no place. When nations of tolerant people conduct international relations, a non-militaristic approach inheres. There is a greater tendency to cooperate than go to war. When cooperation acquires primacy, nations become interdependent, making the benefits of engagement higher than the cost of conflict. World peace might be a difficult proposition in a world beset by strife, but it is worth the effort, in order to safeguard the precious lives of human beings, their achievements and their future.
Q: What is the relation between ethics and peace in international relations?
A: In an anarchical international system, states have long conducted international relations based on national security and economic interests, which have led to conflicts and wars with grave consequences for humanity. Ethical concerns become imperative to eliminate the threat of an ever-looming devastation. Peace, then, becomes a normative concern. It involves developing a set of principles that create a moral universe, where self-interest can be reconciled with issues of global concern. Jawaharlal Nehru’s panchsheel, I would say, is a ready-reckoner here. Mutual relations of all countries based on respect, non-aggression, non-interference, equal benefits, and peaceful coexistence, Nehru believed, would reduce conflicts and certainly eliminate the occurrence of war.
Q: How can we deepen ethics in international relations?
A: When states can resolve to promote a culture of mutuality over brazen self-interest, ethics would gain a prominent place in international relations. A number of concerns in international affairs have profoundly ethical dimensions. Issues, such as, humanitarian intervention, sanctions for violation of international law, human rights abuse, and poverty and hunger, require a framework for deliberation above and beyond national security or economic interest. If peace is seen in more positive terms than merely the elimination of war, states need to come to a normative agreement that such issues are important in the interest of all and that they need to be dealt with in concert.
Q: Which organization(s) uphold ethical principles in international relations?
A: International organizations obtain their character from the principles that states resolve to uphold. For example, the General Assembly, has always upheld the cause of the downtrodden in global affairs but the same cannot be said about the Security Council. The International Court of Justice has awarded punishments to the high and mighty in the best traditions of European liberalism and justice. The IMF and the World Bank have espoused neo-liberal policies that do not work out in the best interests of the developing countries. So you see, an international organization reflects who is at the helm of affairs, and what principles have been embedded in the course of its life. Ethical principles often need reiteration to be kept alive and relevant. The consistent voting of a majority of the members for the Palestinian cause in the General Assembly is a case in point.
In an interview , Ashwarya also says, “Tolerance involves fostering growth of knowledge about one another, which can enable us to discern values that bind us all in common humanity.”
Following is the text of the interview:
Q: How can we have world peace?
A: World peace is a profound concept, resonant with meanings and implications for the well-being of entire humanity. I think, it is possible, to discern two basic dimensions in it. First, world peace is achievable when people become tolerant towards differences of religion, traditions, customs, opinions, and ideas. Tolerance involves fostering growth of knowledge about one another, which can enable us to discern values that bind us all in common humanity. Here prejudice, stereotype, hatred or bigotry has no place. When nations of tolerant people conduct international relations, a non-militaristic approach inheres. There is a greater tendency to cooperate than go to war. When cooperation acquires primacy, nations become interdependent, making the benefits of engagement higher than the cost of conflict. World peace might be a difficult proposition in a world beset by strife, but it is worth the effort, in order to safeguard the precious lives of human beings, their achievements and their future.
Q: What is the relation between ethics and peace in international relations?
A: In an anarchical international system, states have long conducted international relations based on national security and economic interests, which have led to conflicts and wars with grave consequences for humanity. Ethical concerns become imperative to eliminate the threat of an ever-looming devastation. Peace, then, becomes a normative concern. It involves developing a set of principles that create a moral universe, where self-interest can be reconciled with issues of global concern. Jawaharlal Nehru’s panchsheel, I would say, is a ready-reckoner here. Mutual relations of all countries based on respect, non-aggression, non-interference, equal benefits, and peaceful coexistence, Nehru believed, would reduce conflicts and certainly eliminate the occurrence of war.
Q: How can we deepen ethics in international relations?
A: When states can resolve to promote a culture of mutuality over brazen self-interest, ethics would gain a prominent place in international relations. A number of concerns in international affairs have profoundly ethical dimensions. Issues, such as, humanitarian intervention, sanctions for violation of international law, human rights abuse, and poverty and hunger, require a framework for deliberation above and beyond national security or economic interest. If peace is seen in more positive terms than merely the elimination of war, states need to come to a normative agreement that such issues are important in the interest of all and that they need to be dealt with in concert.
Q: Which organization(s) uphold ethical principles in international relations?
A: International organizations obtain their character from the principles that states resolve to uphold. For example, the General Assembly, has always upheld the cause of the downtrodden in global affairs but the same cannot be said about the Security Council. The International Court of Justice has awarded punishments to the high and mighty in the best traditions of European liberalism and justice. The IMF and the World Bank have espoused neo-liberal policies that do not work out in the best interests of the developing countries. So you see, an international organization reflects who is at the helm of affairs, and what principles have been embedded in the course of its life. Ethical principles often need reiteration to be kept alive and relevant. The consistent voting of a majority of the members for the Palestinian cause in the General Assembly is a case in point.
