Abstract
Something is definitely wrong with the world. Nearly every day we hear news of bomb blasts and other acts of maiming fellow human beings. Never has peace been more needed than now and the world should understand the imperative for a more harmonious existence. The journey towards peace, no matter how tortuous, must be embarked upon by the community of nations. War has created a universal confusion which threatens to ‘even close our minds to the possibility of developing alternatives to armed conflicts’ (p. 1). This is the theme that runs through Douglas Fry's book, which debunks the ‘war bias’ and ‘presents a novel slant’ (p. 5) on conflict management so that we can live peacefully around the world. Using anthropological analysis of communities, Fry states that it is an overhasty observation to see man as ‘warrior’, which is just a ‘cultural belief in western society’, and it is baseless to assume that war is ‘inevitable’ (p. 12). The theme of war has been perfected for us by ‘Hollywood films and daily newscasts’ (p. 21), which does not match with archaeological facts (p. 63).
Fry uses several analyses to explain that peace could be achieved in our lifetime. He has no illusion that social life will be free from turmoil, but he clearly states that violence is not an option (p. 86), and the world has not done well in its search for a viable solution to conflicts. Fry presents many examples using communities we might dismiss as ancient, such as the Semai people of Malaysia, where a distinct dispute resolution mechanism of becharaá has been in place for quite some time, and the Lozi kingdom in Zambia, with a court system that spanned over 200 years.
Although in recent years the world has seen the proliferation of ‘peace institutions’, problems associated with ‘social stratification’ and a ‘plethora of injustices and cruelties’ (p. 98) and exploitative tendencies by ‘power mongers’ have all increased. If something akin to the Geneva Conventions could be found in Aboriginal Australia (p. 121), then we should examine the impact and changes caused by the arrival of Europeans. It is ‘necessary for human survival’ (p. 223) that the world should abolish war. This is a realistic proposition and one that Beyond War seeks to fulfil. Fry's book is thus a useful reminder to a world with the United Nations.