All posts by Rob Fairmichael

The meaning of democracy

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SO WHAT IS DEMOCRACY?

By Peter Emerson

“There was rightful reason yesterday – majoritarianism was certainly better than many a minority diktat – but today, there is little or no justification for the use of binary voting and its consequence, majority rule.”

While many advocate ‘majority rule’ and believe multi-option disputes may be reduced, fairly, to umpteen binary votes, others talk of ‘the nonduality’ of supposed opposites. So could our majoritarianism be improved? Maybe the procedure which identifies Jeremy Bentham’s “greatest good to the greatest number” – the superlative to the superlative – should be something better than comparative binary voting. Let’s first question our own beliefs, and then query those of others.

Northern Ireland’s “Are you Protestant or Catholic?” was bad enough. “Are you Russian or Ukrainian?” is another blatant nonduality. In effect, this was the referendum question posed in (1991 and) 2014 in Crimea. Yet both are Slav (although many Russians are non-Slav, like the Udmurts from the Urals and the Siberian Buryats); many Russians and most Ukrainians are mainly Orthodox Christians, with a few Catholics and Uniates in Western Ukraine; they both share a common script, Cyrillic, and linguistic differences are often just dialectical. Yet they’re killing each other! When I cycled over the border in 1990, a sea of land was interrupted by the road and a slab of concrete: welcome, it said; it was as incongruous as the supposed difference between two grains of sand on the Libyan/Egyptian border.

Likewise in Croatia in 1991: the question “Are you Serb or Croat?” disenfranchised the partners in or adult children of a mixed relationship, not to mention any non-Christians and, most importantly, those who wanted to vote for peace or a compromise. It was another stupid – and dangerous – question. It too ignited a war.

Furthermore, in any multi-option debate – and in democracies which aspire to be pluralist, (nearly) every controversy will be multi-optional – a binary vote will be yet another stupid question. Let’s look at the logic of it all.

There are two types of binary voting: a singleton asks “Option X, yes-or-no?” while a pairing poses “Option X or option Y?” With singletons, there might be a majority against everything; with a pairing in contrast, there will always be an (accurate or inaccurate but nevertheless) definite outcome. (In the Brexit debacle, Theresa May used singletons and, as predicted, lost the lot; Boris Johnson used just one pairing: ‘his deal’ versus the worst of all possibilities, ‘no deal’; so he won… of course.)

Now those who want to change a status quo, option S, may propose a motion, option M, or an amendment to make it option A. So the eventual outcome of a democratic process could be A, M or S. Imagine then a committee of 9 persons with these outcomes supported by 4, 3 and 2 persons i.e., so there’s no majority in favour of any one thing. The procedure (first devised by the Greeks 2,500 years ago) is based on two pairings: (A v M) v S. {And if there are two amendments, A and B, the procedure is {(A v B) v M} v S, for three binary votes.} But all these votes are pairings, and the Greeks also knew, there will always be a definite answer, even when a majority doesn’t like it!

Sticking to just three options, imagine a dispute about the colour of the front door: should it be Amber, Mauve or Silver; and the committee members have the following 1st-2nd-3rd preferences:

4 like A-M-S, 3 opt for M-S-A and 2 prefer S-A-M. This means A is more popular than M, i.e., A > M by 6:3; it also means M > S by 7:2, and S > A by 5:4.

Therefore:

A > M > S > A …..

and it goes round and round for ever: the famous paradox of binary voting. And therefore,

+ if the order of debate is (A v M) v S, we’ll get A v S and then S; but

+ ” (M v S) v A, ” M v A. ” A; but

+ ” (S v A) v M, ” S v M ” M, so

…the answer can be anything. It depends upon the order of voting. In other words, the chair can get exactly what she wants, always with a ‘democratic’ majority in favour, either 5:4, 6:3 or even 7:2!

Now maybe a majority of the committee want something, let’s say A, which the chair doesn’t want – let’s say A:M:S = 6:2:1. In which case, he could ask the committee to consider another colour, amendment B, blue; so the vote would be {(A v B) v M} v S, or {(B v M) v S} v A, whatever. If subsequently nothing has an overall majority, she can adjust the order of voting to get, again, the answer he wants. In other words, in politics, the chairperson – or in business, the majority stake-holder – is all-powerful.

The conclusion is clear: majority voting is manipulable; some politicians are manipulative; and many decisions are manipulated… but still regarded as democratic. It must be emphasised, however, that

to take a binary vote in any controversy is at least unwise, always illogical, and at worst a cause of violence and war. If the question is not contentious, then by all means take a majority vote; but when passions are high and options are many, any resort to a binary vote will inevitably infringe upon the democratic rights of many. In a nutshell, binary ballots have exacerbated countless conflicts. Yet many seldom if ever question this methodology.

___________

Others think differently. “Asking yes-or-no questions is very unAfrican,” said Senator Ephrem Kanyarukiga at a 2003 press-conference in Kigali on the Gacacas (see below); indeed, one of the biggest European mistakes in sub-Saharan Africa was to introduce majority voting, especially to Rwanda. In 1994, the slogan used by the Interahamwe to start their appalling genocide was, “Rubanda Nyamwinshi,” (we are the majority). But “majority rule was a foreign notion,” said Nelson Mandela; our “democracy meant all were to be heard… A minority was not to be crushed by a majority.” Furthermore, this non-majoritarianism was true throughout. “The elders [would] sit under the big tree, and talk until they agreed,” was how Julius Nyerere described it, talking until they found a compromise, what we might call the option with the highest average preference: the 1st preference of few perhaps, but a good compromise preference of many. Alas, the European rulers, wazungu, were impatient.

In Ethiopia, if two people “in the village are quarrelling, then the court convened beneath the tree… will set itself the sole task of… conciliating the warring sides, while granting to each that he is in the right,” was how Ryszard Kapuściński described it. And the Kinyarwanda word, gacaca, means grass; grass grows under a tree; African decision-making was always ‘under a tree’, where people can sit in comfort and in the shade. Rwanda’s reconciliation process was called Gacaca, and Senator Kanyarukiga was speaking at the launch of the Gacaca report.

{Exactly the same slogan, ‘we are the majority,’ “Мы Большевики – [mwe bolsheviki] (we are the Bolsheviks), the word means ‘members of the majority’ – was used by Lenin in 1903, when 19 members of the Russian Social Democratic Workers’ Party split from 17, the Mensheviks (those of the minority), while 3 abstained. So the 19 were not a majority at all, only the largest of three minorities.}

___________

Asia has also long since questioned (the human and) definitely western tendency to put everything into pairs. The Hindus were maybe the first when the Bhagavadgītā said those who are “free from pairs of opposites [are] easily liberated from bondage,” while “…the nonduality of right and wrong [is] the state of a buddha,” quotes Longchenpa, a Buddhist monk of the Nyingma tradition. This is strange to the westerner, who has often heard, “He who is not with me is against me,” Matthew 12:30; (these or similar words have also been used by politicians of various persuasions).

Needless to say, (not just non-Westerners but) many Europeans have also criticised this illogical habit of reducing every dispute into binary dichotomies. Aristotle noted that Hippodamus “has a not unreasonable dissatisfaction with simple ‘yes or no’ verdicts,” and the first to suggest a non-binary voting procedure was Pliny the Younger in the year 105: hence plurality voting, (the electoral system is called first-past-the-post). Europe then descended into the Dark Ages, and I think the first government to use a plurality vote was Chinese, or should I say Jurchen, in the year 1197. The Jīn Dynasty was debating the possibility of war with Mongolia, and the 84 ministers split three ways: 5 voted for war, 33 supported an alternating policy, and 46 wanted peace. {In 1211, however, Chinggis Khan invaded China on the way to conquering all of it: the Yuán Dynasty.}

It is interesting to note that the peoples to the North of the Great Wall, those whom Beijing called ‘barbarians’ – the Khitans, Jurchens and Mongolians – all had relatively advanced forms of governance. In all three, the leader was elected (or acclaimed) in a gathering of the nobles; indeed, with the Khitans, the procedure was brilliant (Mr Putin wouldn’t say): after three years, they would hold another assembly to decide whether or not he (he was always a he) was OK.

But what was it that prompted the Jurchens to use a multi-option vote? China had used majority votes over 2,000 years ago in the Former Hàn Dynasty, albeit only in the Imperial Court. Whether or not the binary vote was introduced because, like the European rulers in Africa, the Emperor was impatient, I know not. And I don’t know if Pliny the Younger deserves some credit for the Jurchen vote. Suffice to say contacts across the Euro-Asian landmass were numerous, even when life-expectancy gave the average individual barely time enough to procreate and raise a family.

The debate resumed in Europe in 1299 when Ramón Llull spoke of preference voting, and in 1433 Nicholas Cusanus proposed a points system (which by historical accident is called a Borda Count BC). Along with the non-preferential approval voting, this was used fairly extensively in medieval Europe.

Next, what is now called the Modified Borda Count MBC was devised in 1770, closely followed by the two-round system (a plurality plus a majority vote) and the Condorcet rule (the option which wins the most pairings). Later, in 1821, England’s Thomas Hill proposed a knock-out system, the alternative vote AV (which in elections is often called the single transferable vote, STV).

Sadly, many politicians prefer the win-or-lose binary vote. The BC/MBC, for example, was adopted in France by l’Académie des Sciences… in revolutionary times. l’Académie became l’Institut Français, and it had a new boss. Not liking the concept of consensus, he reverted to majority voting. Hence the 1803 referendum. He was the only candidate. And thus he was elected l’empereur, the world’s first ‘democratic dictator’, we might say: Napoléon. Sadly, today in France, hardly anyone knows about he who first devised the MBC, Jean-Charles de Borda.

___________

The MBC is the world’s first always-non-majoritarian, voting procedure. Instead of reducing everything to a short-list of two options or a series of binary battles, those concerned reduce everything to a short list of about 5 options – (ideal for a multi-party parliament). Then they vote. Let’s imagine a debate on just four options, in which 100 MPs have the following preferences:

Preferences

Number of Voters

55

20

15

10

1st

W

X

Y

Z

2nd

X

Y

X

X

3rd

Y

Z

Z

Y

4th

Z

W

W

W

Winning every pairing, option W is the Condorcet winner. But if we take every preference cast into account, then the obvious collective choice is option X, the 1st preference of only 20, but the 2nd preference of everyone else!

Now you might think that the W supporters, knowing that option X is very popular amongst the other members, will give option X their last preference… but that would mean that Y would win on a score of 305, compared to W’s 265, Z’s 220 and X’s 210.

Furthermore, if the debate were about tax levels – W-X-Y-Z at 30-40-50-60% – (or about Brexit: the UK in the EU, EEA, CU or WTO), there would be a logical way for anyone to vote: W-X-Y-Z perhaps, or Z-Y-X-W, or maybe X-W-Y-Z, or X-Y-W-Z or X-Y-Z-W. But the MP who votes, say, X-Z-W-Y… 40-60-30-50%, (EEA-WTO-EU-CU), oh his sanity will doubtless be questioned by his constituents and the media.

Admittedly, the W folk could submit just three preferences, vote just W-Y-Z, and give X nothing; this would reduce their own score from (55 x 4) = 220 to (55 x 3) = 165. But their leaders might find it difficult to persuade their followers to give Y and Z a preference, while giving their obvious second-best preference nothing. And if they give their favourite W a 1st preference only, W will lose everything – W 100, X 155, Y 140, Z 110 – and come last!

___________

Human nature being what it is, people are much more likely to vote ‘sincerely’ – as the jargon describes it, giving a true representation of their preferences – with the MBC. Why then do we still use the primitive, divisive, and often extremely inaccurate binary vote, especially when we know more precise methodologies are available? And when we know binary voting can be a cause of war!? Is it because (not just Napoléon but) many politicians like a win-or-lose polity, not least because they want to win, and win everything. Indeed, some of them would prefer to maintain this system, even if it means losing today, in the hope that they might win tomorrow. And many of them – not least the likes of Putin, Trump, Netanyahu, Modi and so on – don’t like the idea of compromise. So they won’t even consider alternatives to binary voting. Alas, nor too do many in the media and even academia. That which the late Professor Sir Michael Dummett called “the mystique of the majority,” appears to be, as it were, enshrined on a tablet of stone.

Admittedly, the COPs have realised that consensus cannot best be achieved in binary voting… but not yet have they considered multi-optional let alone preferential voting. They know the very survival of our species depends on our collective decisions – and what we decide depends so much on how we decide – so they know that COP decision-making must be non-majoritarian; yet the UN and so many others fail to consider the potential benefits of the all-inclusive MBC.

And so, to answer the question – What is Democracy? – we first state the principle: democracy is for everybody, men and women, black and white, Arab and Jew, etc., and not just for a/the majority. Secondly, we all share a responsibility to reach collective agreements. And thirdly, while everyone has the right to vote, none have the right to veto. Accordingly, in debating any controversy, nothing is binary, and the democratic decision is the option which gains the highest average preference. An average involves every MP, so governance should be based on all-party power-sharing. There was rightful reason yesterday – majoritarianism was certainly better than many a minority diktat – but today, there is little or no justification for the use of binary voting and its consequence, majority rule.

Accordingly, to take a current conflict, given that the population of Israel is 20% Arab, the members of the Knesset should be about 20 (and not just 10%) Arab, and their percentage in the government should also be about 20% and not, as is currently the case, zero. As in Northern Ireland, the Balkans, the Caucasus, Rwanda, Ukraine, and throughout the Middle East, majoritarianism was/is part of the problem. So maybe those who want peace in Gaza and beyond should first initiate preferential decision-making and all-party power-sharing in the Dáil.

Peter Emerson

Inner Mongolia, 23.5.2025.

www.deborda.org

Billy King: Rites Again, 330

Billy King, Nonviolent News, , , , , , ,

Billy King shares his monthly thoughts –

Well, welcome again to my musings, not too many amusings this month but still. Not very entertaining perhaps, INNATE did receive an email advertising wholesale ‘shotguns’ (rifles, including semi-automatic ones) during the month, prices starting at $200. Just what we always wanted. We are neither for gunning nor gurning so we will bid them begone before we have begun.

Northern culture wars

When it comes to De Nort, a k a Norn Iron, one good cultural or even sectarian expression of identity seems to demand an equal and opposite response from The Other Side, even where the appropriate response is either appreciation of difference or simple silence. Unfortunately the numbers in the Jewish community in Belfast have been declining for a long time as those associated with it have moved away for work, marriage or simply a desire, in the context of declining numbers, for places of greater religious vitality.

Obviously Judaism is a rather different and more diverse religious and cultural phenomenon than political support for Israel. The current context of the Israeli onslaught however makes things difficult for Jews, whatever their political views – and some Jews in Ireland have put their heads above the parapet to oppose the genocidal Israeli war on Gaza which followed the Hamas massacre of Israelis on 7th October 2023. The recent arrest of a 72 year old Jewish woman, a member of Jews for Palestine, for supposedly putting stickers (!) on a Barclays ATM in Belfast is a case in point.

However some people never miss a trick to make a political point and, while disagreeing absolutely with their actions, you have to admire their ingenuity. With most Catholics and pretty much all republicans in Northern Ireland supporting Palestine, loyalists have for a long time taken to supporting Israel. This manifests itself most prominently in Belfast with respective displays of Palestinian and Israeli flags. Irish language place names being included with English on street signs is also a political football, notwithstanding the fact that the origin of most such names is in the Irish language.

However the move to have Irish language signs has brought forward the proposal to have Hebrew language signs near the, predominantly Protestant, Village area off the Lisburn Road in Belfast. This is the latest in proxy battles in Norn Iron. However the move for this in Ebor Street has been stymied because a request for Irish language signs was made first – and Belfast City Hall will only deal with one request at a time. Time for a bit of shalom / salaam / síocháin in the culture wars I think.

The Paisley pattern

I am usually, not always, reading books long after they are out and been a topic of conversation. I recently read David Gordon’s 2009 book “The fall of the house of Paisley”. While not necessarily part of that book, part of the fascination of the whole Paisley phenomenon, at least so far as IRKP (Paisley Senior) is concerned is the extent to which he was a prisoner of his followers. The Rev Ian prospered while he stoked up the prejudices of his followers. Until his final conversion to powersharing, any time he had a progressive, original idea he quickly withdrew it when his followers raised questions.

As many commentators have said, making a judgement on a man like Ian Paisley Senior is difficult. Does a few years of saying yes and cooperating with others across divides wipe out a bitter legacy of stoking up sectarian discontent for decades? I think the answer to that is in the way I have phrased the previous sentence. No is the answer. Yes, we should be grateful that he did See The Light. But he ensured the years of violence and bitterness in the Troubles were longer and more bitter than they could have been, indeed more than anyone he helped create them.

Only towards the end of his life, perhaps more aware of his mortality following illness, and wanting to leave ‘a legacy’, did he face down those who questioned his path – and get chucked out of his position in the church he founded as a result. That he did finally join the establishment who were busy praising him for a few years before his conversion (the plámás was painful to watch) was a fascinating and positive move. But it could have been so different if he had Seen The Light many years earlier (I am deliberately using the term ‘Seen The Light’ to imitate the conservative evangelical language Paisley would have used). And he only saw that light when he was already political top dog which is another relevant factor.

Of course Ian Paisley Junior has been a different kettle of fishiness, not afraid to jump in to the promotion of dubious business arrangements or take fabulous and expensive holidays from brutal regimes (which he then supported) and didn’t declare in his parliamentary returns. It was the latter which finally got him ousted from the Westminster seat which he had inherited from his Da; he was beaten by the intelligent but even more hardline Jim Allister at the British general election of July 2024. That perhaps was a further twist in the fall of the house of Paisley. ‘Junior’ hasn’t gone away but it proved further that the house of Paisley did not have solid foundations. Political edifices that seem to be securely built are shown to have feet of clay retrospectively when popular (and sometimes brutally engineered) support is withdrawn.

And that brings us on to one of the theoretical foundations of nonviolent action: regimes of any kind depend on the support of the people, voluntary and/or forced. The withdrawal of support can be fatal for protesters, given the nature of the regime and its reaction, but if enough people do it then the state is literally powerless. Or, in the words of the originally Chilean protest song, “El pueblo unido jamás será vencido” that I know as a chant – or in the translation ‘the people united will never be defeated’.

But….in Belarus

While the last paragraph above is undoubtedly true, in the short to medium term repressive regimes can make the lives of activists – and ordinary non-political people – hell on earth. An account by Belarusian activist, Olga Karach, in exile in Lithuania, shows the extent of that repression. “……the Belarusian authorities have intensified their campaign of repression and censorship, culminating in a new wave of court rulings that declared over 23 social media accounts and digital resources associated with the Belarusian human rights organization Our House (Наш Дом) as “extremist materials.” These decisions are not symbolic — they are instruments of legal persecution & legal harassment with potentially devastating consequences. Individuals who are members of organizations labelled as “extremist,” or who subscribe to resources designated as such, can face up to 7 years in prison under Belarusian law.” And those 7 year prison sentences can be consecutive, so for a number of charges, all for nonviolent civic activism, people can face an extraordinarily long prison sentence.

“Belarusian courts are now criminalizing not only content, but entire platforms, logos, phrases — even letters of the Russian alphabet. The phrase “Наш Дом” (Our House), regardless of context, is now effectively banned in Belarus.” In 2020, Dmitry Dudoits, a 43-year-old father of two, posted a comment under a photo on Olga Karach’s Odnoklassniki profile, calling a police officer a “bald scum.” He was sentenced to 7 years imprisonment but died shortly afterwards by suicide under extreme torture and abuse; he was later recognised as a political prisoner.

Olga Karach states that “Several Our House activists currently face deportation from Lithuania, despite documented political persecution in Belarus. If deported, they face immediate arrest, torture, or indefinite imprisonment under Belarus’s extremism laws.

But she does go on to say “What You Can Do”: “We urge you — as defenders of democracy and human rights — to take action:

  1. Publicly condemn the persecution of human rights defenders of Our House and the criminalization of digital freedom in Belarus.

  2. Demand international protection and asylum guarantees for the whole team of Our House — especially those now under threat in Lithuania. [[Contacts for the Lithuanian embassy in Ireland can be found at https://ie.mfa.lt/en – Ed]]

  3. Support and amplify the work of Our House in exile: https://news.house/donate “

Repression and dictatorships do not go on for ever. It is the work of bodies like Our House which help to keep hope alive. Belarus is like the worst of old Soviet-era regimes and in 1989 most of those got swept aside – and the day of Belarus will come too, let’s hope sooner rather than later. The effect of one effective action of international solidarity in relation to Belarus can be found at https://www.flickr.com/photos/innateireland/54519453518/in/dateposted/

Doolough Famine walk

The Doolough Famine walk is the highest profile event in Afri’s year www.afri.ie with around a couple of hundred people gathering in Louisburgh (the ‘meadow of the buttercups’ in the Irish name), Co Mayo for the walk from Delphi Lodge back to Louisburgh. It commemorates a real walk Louisburgh-Doolough-Louisburgh in 1849 when the starving people on it died like flies. Refused help by the Poor Law Commissioners having lunch at Delphi Lodge, many were effectively condemned to death; by this stage the ‘Great Famine’ was declared over and supports withdrawn – but people had nothing.

Afri’s walk is never just about commemorating those people and their 36 km futile trudge in poor weather, poor clothing and poor health over poor paths. It always links with what is happening in the world today. This year photojournalist Eman Mohammed left not a dry eye in the house with her factual but also very personal account of realities in Gaza. This is another situation, very different to An Gorta Mór, where people and their lives are considered expendable – by the Israeli state and by the West. Biblical quotes can come across as preachy but Paul Laverty quoting the prophet Ezekiel that “They have eyes to see but do not see and ears to hear but do not hear” was never more appropriate.

Clare O’Grady Walshe who has done much work and writing on food and seed sovereignty shared some of her considerable insights on how the multinational seed companies – often one and the same as the pesticide companies – are stitching up the world and depriving the poor of economic advancement by trapping them in in monocultural food production and crops where they cannot save seeds. Avoiding such control is a key part of empowerment in poor rural areas of the world, and for us all in taking control of our destinies. There is very powerful analysis by Clare O’Grady Walshe and more on this can be found in her book “Globalisation and Seed Sovereignty in Sub-Saharan Africa” which is available in an affordable ebook option (or look for the printed version through your library or college); you can also find out more online if you search her name. And photos of this year’s event, along with many others, can be found in the Afri album on the INNATE photo/documentary site https://www.flickr.com/photos/innateireland/albums/72157623376298793/ and look out for video and maybe audio on the Afri website in due course.

Afri is involved in other, shorter, famine walks and commemorations elsewhere but the scenery and personal interactions as you walk make the Doolough walk special. There is a wild beauty to Doolough and passing Mweelrea (slightly higher than Croagh Patrick) that is really memorable. Not everyone is fit to walk 18 km but those who aren’t are well catered for. On occasions the event can be wet and wetting but determination sees people through. This year the problem with water was not getting wet but ensuring people had enough water to drink not to get dehydrated in the sunshine and heat.

Why riot? Why not?

The final report on an action-research project in relation to the ‘Why riot?” programme, covered at the start of the news section of this issue, is an important one not just for Norn Iron but more broadly. Why do young people, particularly young males, get involved in violent and anti-social behaviour? The importance of well supported and creative youth work shines through the report, about allowing young people to be fully who they can be despite all the negative influences and pressures around them.

Some people might say that the conclusions given are obvious (to those ‘in the know’) but this would be a very trite judgement on what was a very well grounded project. It is worth quoting the ‘key finding’ on what were the mechanisms that supported change: 1. Safe spaces (emotionally and physically) for learning. 2. A structured process for critical thinking. 3. Context specific tools e.g. Non-violence. 4. Dialogue and reflection. 5. Youth worker methods. 6. Led by and responsive to youth needs, issues and concerns.

One of the points in how it ‘works’ is “Using ‘safe dialogic space’ for young people to discuss difficult, contested topics of concern. By dialogic we mean non-judgmental spaces that foster questioning (‘the why’s beneath’), actively challenge biases and assumptions, and encourage young people to explore different perspectives and become self-reflective.” But there is much more which you can read in the report at https://societal-challenges.open.ac.uk/media/projects/145_learningfromwhyriot-report-final-28-05-2025.pdf

And while in Northern Ireland the problem of youth alienation and violence has very particular local aspects, and the report has very specific Northern Ireland recommendations, the methodology and learning involved have much wider implications.

–

Well, we are officially into summer so we’ll see how that goes after a record-breaking or near record-breaking spring of much fine, warm weather. In terms of being dry, April and May are often/usually better in Ireland than July and August but let’s see how we get on this year……. Things are rarely simple and while global warming may bring greater heat it will also bring more wind and flood-causing rain to Ireland. The vagaries of the weather allow some climate change deniers to excuse their pathetic lack of any scientific understanding of what is happening – but, tragically, the direction is clear; downhill all the way to damaging higher temperatures globally – and other damaging weather in Ireland. Nevertheless, make hay while the sun shines (‘make silage while the sun shines’ doesn’t have quite the same ring to it….), and see you at the start of July, Billy. l

News, May 2025

Nonviolent News,

Afri Doolough Famine Walk: Remembrance and Solidarity

The annual – since 1988 – Doolough Famine Walk in Co Mayo organised by Afri takes place on Saturday 17th May with the theme ‘Sowing Seeds of Change: In Remembrance and Solidarity’. The walk brochure states that the theme “calls on us to honour the lives needlessly lost during An Gorta Mór—the Great Hunger—by confronting the enduring injustices of our time in solidarity with communities affected today.” Walk leaders are Clare O’Grady Walshe, Paul Laverty, Eman Mohammed and music is by Farah Elle. The Walk just goes one way Doolough-Louisburgh (17 km) compared to the 1849 famine walk when people died by the score going to Doolough from Louisburgh looking for relief from the Poor Law Commissioners, being refused, and attempting to return. The participation fee, including bus to Doolough from Louisburgh, is €30, €20 concessions, and registration is from 11am in Louisburgh and the opening ceremony takes place at 12 noon. More information and booking at https://tinyurl.com/mvsk6ppn and the Afri website is at www.afri.ie

The Legacy Of Frank Aiken – and the role of small countries

An hour long video of the inputs at the Dublin seminar on ‘The Legacy of Frank Aiken and the role of small countries in times of danger and uncertainty’, which took place on 2nd April 2025, organised by Lex Innocentium and the Irish School of Ecumenics, is at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J0HP1qNtUSg The talks are by Dr. Stephen Kelly (Liverpool Hope University), Dr. Patrick Bresnihan (Maynooth University) and Dr. John Maguire, Professor Emeritus of Sociology at University College Cork and provide a valuable input on Ireland’s non-aligned and peacemaking past and compares it with the current attempt to fully integrate Ireland into an EU-NATO militarist alliance.

European Peace Project launch 80 years after Europe war end

9th May sees the launch of a European Peace Project including the declaration “We are ashamed of our governments and the EU, which have not learned the lessons of the 20th century. The EU, once conceived as a peace project, has been perverted and has thus betrayed the essence of Europe! We, the citizens of Europe, are therefore taking our destiny and our history into our own hands today, on May 9. We declare the EU a failure. We start with citizen diplomacy and refuse the planned war against Russia! We recognize the co-responsibility of the “West”, the European governments and the EU in this conflict.” https://europeanpeaceproject.eu/ Lex Innocentium 21st Century is backing this and will launch an Irish manifesto at the GPO in Dublin at 4pm Irish time on 9th May while other readings of the manifesto may take place, e.g. Newbridge (Co Kildare) and Galway. https://lexinnocentium21.ie/

AVP/Alternatives on Violence Project: 50, 30

This year AVP celebrates 50 years of work internationally – and has been running in Ireland for over 30 years (in the Republic – sadly attempts to get it going in the North have not come to fruition). It is defined as is a network of volunteers running workshops for anyone who wants to find ways of resolving conflict without resorting to violence. Workshops explore the underlying causes of anger and violence with empathy and are experiential, creating a safe space for sharing; they take place both in prisons and the community. In the first quarter of the year AVP Ireland ran 8 workshops with over 70 participants. The AVP Ireland website at https://avpireland.ie/ gives much more information including portraits of the board members, information on volunteering and contacts. The email address is info@avpireland.ie You can also support the work financially at https://donate.stripe.com/14kaFy5l15GH70QdQQ

ICCL: New director, know your rights on protest

The new executive director of ICCL, the Irish Council for Civil Liberties, is Joe O’Brien who has a wide variety of experience in the community and voluntary sector for over twenty years. He is a former Green TD and Minister for State. The upcoming conference on policing on 19th May in Dublin looks at Policing Far-Right Intimidation in the Republic of Ireland and includes contributions from CAJ and the North; details on www.iccl.ie Meanwhile in the current environment ICCL has been publicising its Know Your Rights – The Right to Protest (2019) https://www.iccl.ie/your-rights/#protest Points they give include that you can film interactions with Gardaí, that is allowed, and that you can’t be moved on without reason – Gardaí must give you a reason when asking you to move.

l The Know Your Rights to Protest guide for Northern Ireland is available to download at https://caj.org.uk/publications/submissions-and-briefings/know-your-rights-the-right-to-protest/ It is produced by CAJ (Committee on the Administration of Justice), Public Interest Litigation Support (PILS), Environmental Justice Network Ireland (EJNI) and Friends of the Earth (FoE) .

Roger Cole retires as PANA chair

Roger Cole, veteran campaigner for Irish neutrality, recently retired as the Chairperson of the Peace and Neutrality Alliance (PANA). Roger co-founded PANA in 1996 with peace campaigner Carol Fox, who originally thought it was to be a Neutrality/peace study group! However, Roger had plans for a more activist peace organisation and for nearly thirty years he has overseen the development of PANA into one of the main anti-war groups in Ireland, with membership and affiliation across the island. However Roger has now stepped down and the new elected Chairperson will be announced in June.

PANA has been highlighting the value of Ireland’s neutrality, our role as UN peacekeepers, and our history as initiators and supporters of various arms control and disarmament treaties. The threats posed to neutrality by the ongoing militarisation of the European Union have been a major focus of PANA’s campaigning and the group vigorously opposed both the Nice and Lisbon Treaties, helping to ensure their defeat and the need for the Government to rerun the referendums with assurances attached to address the Irish voters concerns about neutrality being compromised. PANA also helped organise opposition to the Iraq and Afghan wars and is currently campaigning on both Ukraine and Gaza. The issue of Shannon Airport’s use by the US military has been constantly highlighted, exposed and opposed, and the war in Gaza has witnessed the transport of US weapons to Israel through Shannon and through Irish airspace.

Currently the Irish Government is intending to eliminate Ireland’s Triple Lock (Roger Cole authored a campaigning leaflet on the TL), which ensures that Irish troops serving abroad must have a UN mandate as well as Government and Dail approval. This is being done in order to facilitate Irish involvement in evolving EU military initiatives, including full participation in EU Battlegroups. The Government is refusing to have a plebiscite/referendum on this important policy change and also refused to have a People’s Assembly (a procedure it has used successfully with other important public issues) to discuss its implications. Instead, a Consultative Forum on International Security Policy was established in 2023 to address such issues as neutrality, cyber security, relations with NATO and the triple lock. There were a number of panel discussions across the country with Questions and Answers sessions. The panels were heavily biased and PANA’s Roger Cole was one of the few pro-neutrality speakers. The Government now points to this ‘consultative’ process as supporting the elimination of the Triple Lock.

The Government knows from constant public opinion polls (some commissioned by PANA) that neutrality is strongly supported by the Irish people (over 70%). And PANA will continue its strong campaigning work to hold the Government to account on this issue. Roger has left a strong legacy in his retirement and we’re sure PANA will continue to promote the anti-war message.

Contacts: +353 87 2611597 +353 87 2937558 contactpana3@gmail.com or info@pana.ie website www.pana.ie

Creativity in cultural peace work, Feminists and military power

Upcoming sessions run by the Mitchell Institute at QUB, Belfast, include 1) ‘Creativity in Cultural Peace Work: Opportunities and Challenges’ from 12 noon to 4pm on 15th May; this workshop aims to bring together various people to examine the significant relationship between creativity, culture and peace in Northern Ireland. https://tinyurl.com/2pkmupy5 2) On 17th June from 6.00 – 7.30 pm there is a lecture on ‘What feminists reveal when they investigate masculinities: the case of military ‘manpower’ ’ with Prof Cynthia Enloe as speaker; this “will explore how and why military recruiters – in Myanmar, Fiji, UK, Russia, Ukraine, US – wield popular hopes and anxieties about “manliness” to build their forces.  Feminists have shown that governments depend on (and worry about!)  women in their often-failed efforts.” https://tinyurl.com/5cdfdrww

VSI: Summer opportunities, volunteer positions

For 2025, VSI/Voluntary Service International has over 200 short-term volunteer projects happening across Europe including promoting nonviolence and veganism in Finland with Food Not Bombs, running activities for children in Poland, or helping preserve Ireland’s native woodlands in Killarney National Park. These short term projects are usually two weeks and an opportunity to see and learn about places while contributing in a very different way to being a tourist. See https://www.vsi.ie/latest/volunteer-for-peace-with-voluntary-service-international-in/ for more details. VSI have many other opportunities including longer term volunteer projects in Europe and the Global South and global citizenship activities.  

lMeanwhile VSI are seeking two full-time volunteers for funded positions on its staff team for one year, a Programmes Officer and a Marketing and Communications Officer. Applications can only be accepted from residents in the Republic (because of the funding) aged 18 – 30. See https://www.vsi.ie/latest/join-the-vsi-team-as-an-esc-volunteer-two-roles-available/ and closing date is 5th May.

FOE Youth Climate Gathering

Friends of the Earth Ireland is hosting a Youth Climate Gathering from Friday 18th  July to Sunday  20th  July 2025 at Brú Moytura Eco Lodge, County Sligo. It is open to people aged 18 – 30 and the aim is to swap campaign tips and sharpen organising skills. More info at https://www.friendsoftheearth.ie/events/youth-climate-gathering/

Rochtain workshops; Lobbying, political structures, communication

ICCL’s Rochtain training programme has different online workshops coming up. 1) Thursday May 8th 11:00-12:30 Understanding Your Obligations Under the 2015 Lobbying Act – Training Being Delivered by the Standards in Public Office Commission. https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_jezGD5zBQoWWi872vkr47Q 2) Thursday May 29th 11:00-13:00 The “New” Oireachtas, Understanding Irish Political Structures and Where to find Information
https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_wil0cb7RSTWLArldh7yD3Q 3) Wednesday June 4th 11:00- 13:00 Effective Political Communications for NGOs https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_xeq5c4INQ3q2qkQuKfdrIw See also https://www.iccl.ie/activism-protest/rochtain/

Pope Francis on nonviolence

A 73-page compilation or compendium of the thoughts and writings of Pope Francis on nonviolence, compiled by Ken Butigan, appears on the Pax Christi International website at https://paxchristi.net/thank-you-your-holiness/ (scroll down to “Pope Francis’ Legacy on Nonviolence”). This includes statements, references and full documents on or referring to the topic and is a valuable resource both for Christians and in general.

Sudanese work for peace

An account by a Sudanese peace activist, Mamoun, of work for peace in the incredibly difficult situation there appears on the WRI/War Resisters’ International website at https://wri-irg.org/en/story/2025/resilience-times-war-how-wri-members-sudan-are-sustaining-their-work-peace

EU rampant rearmament

For a quick run down on further militarisation efforts by the EU, see page 10 of the QCEA/Quaker Council for European Affairs publication ‘Around Europe’ for March, download at https://www.qcea.org/ See also ENAAT/European Network Against Arms trade at https://enaat.org/

Chernobyl Disaster Remembrance: Past….and future?

Marking UN Chernobyl Disaster Remembrance Day on 26th April, Chernobyl Children International and its voluntary CEO Adi Roche issued a statement on current dangers there: “…on St Valentine’s Day 2025, the world woke up to news that Chernobyl had been attacked and the sarcophagus that is meant to protect humanity – once deemed impregnable – was breached.  This emboldened act heightens the risk of another devastating nuclear catastrophe demonstrating that nuclear facilities, once considered off-limits, are now pawns in geopolitical warfare……Since the beginning of the war and the invasion of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in February 2022, CCI have been advocating for all nuclear facilities be deemed a ‘No War Zone’ and for World Leaders to invoke the Hague Convention which defines any attack on a nuclear facility to be a ‘war crime’.  However, with the weaponising of nuclear power at Chernobyl and Zaporizhzhia, the country falls further and further away from the confines of safety……” https://www.chernobyl-international.com/

Editorial: Politics as the art of the possible?

Editorials, Nonviolent News, ,

The idea of politics as the art of the possible is a common conception which has valuable insights. ‘We’, whoever we are, can only do so much. We cannot suddenly change the course of a whole country or the world – perhaps if you are president of the USA you can disrupt things significantly but you still cannot persuade capitalist financial markets to fall into line and thus even that level of power does not give you complete freedom to do whatever you want. We are also dealing not just with current policies of governments but with cultural perceptions, some of which are unique to our own part of the world but all influenced by powerful forces including vested interests of media owners.

In this situation there are limits to what we can do but we can still do plenty. Witnessing and symbolic actions can point to a different way forward. Thinking about better possibilities can take many forms though leaflets, articles, blogs, video as well as longer works. Street theatre and innovative forms of communication, including ‘listening projects’ (listening to people’s concerns without a particular goal or project in mind) can help us break out of our silos. And constructive action in building alternatives and alternative ways of doing things can show that a different kind of politics and future is possible, including how decisions are made inclusively.

Idealism and realism should be partners rather than enemies. While we need an ultimate vision of the kind of society we are working for, we also need concrete achievable goals – these may be very small, even insignificant to an outsider – so we know that our work can bear fruit. And we also need to celebrate what successes we do have, and learn from both them and our failures.

But we need to be careful what we wish for. Donald Trump may be working at a very different level to most of us but he has not been careful in what he wishes for, nor thought out the repercussions of his actions. His stated goal, whatever that might mean, is to Make America (the USA) Great Again. But his policies are actually making the USA less powerful, less influential, and potentially poorer in the longer term. Confidence in the USA has dived internationally and even within the USA those concerned with the capitalist economy are negative or uncertain about his policies. Being nasty and mean has repercussions.

Whether the military empire of the USA, with 800 or so military bases internationally (Shannon Airport clearly counts as one), continues in the same way as before remains to be seen. But the president of the USA making threats against neighbouring countries, whether he acts on those threats or no, is a very poor policy in winning friends and influencing people – and ‘soft power’ is ultimately much more important than ‘hard’ power or military might. ‘Might is right’ is the approach to ruin.

At ‘our’ own level of NGOs, peace, voluntary and community action, it is clear that cooperation and building alliances is key. Politics goes through phases and cycles too and the going can be tough currently with right wing and militarist policies being predominant, even with a supposedly social democratic government as in the UK. And in Ireland, North and Republic, we have forces afraid to depart from the status quo except to take things in a more reactionary direction (as with the reprehensible attack on the Triple Lock on the deployment of Irish troops overseas).

Politics is the art of the possible. But it is also our job to expand both our own and other people’s perception of what is possible. Mohandas Gandhi said (and it is available as a mini-poster for home printing on the INNATE website at https://innatenonviolence.org/wp/posters/ – look under ‘Gandhi…’) “We are constantly being astonished these days at the amazing discoveries in the field of violence. But I maintain that far more undreamt of and seemingly impossible discoveries will be made in the field of nonviolence.”

We know a different world is possible from all the examples of love and solidarity that exist, and from whole societies in the past who have done things rather differently. We know that current policies and relationships are unsustainable. We need to build bridges from where we are currently to where we need to be to survive – ecologically and in relation to military power so we neither destroy our ecosystem nor kill ourselves off in warfare. There is much work to be done and our steps, small but resolute, can help to make the essential difference.

There are different takes on the nature of humanity, of homo ‘sapiens’. However the notion of the ‘survival of the fittest’ is largely discredited. ‘Survival’ is more a question of cooperation, innovation and cross-fertilization and we can take that into the political world too.

– – – – – –

Eco-Awareness with Larry Speight: The recent wildfires

Eco-Awareness, Nonviolent News, , , ,

by Larry Speight –

March and early April were the driest and warmest on this island in 60 years. This means that if you are under sixty they were the driest and warmest spring months you will have experienced during your entire life. Many people appreciated having sunny June weather in early April, taking the opportunity to spend more time outdoors than they usually do and if this involved physical activities such as gardening, walking, running or cycling this would likely have improved their physical health and emotional wellbeing.

The warm weather also benefited a whole range of life forms with a host of insects on the wing and in the undergrowth providing nourishment for bats and birds including the cuckoos who travelled all the way from the Democratic Republic of Congo to County Fermanagh and other parts of Ireland to feast on them. While we and our nonhuman neighbours took advantage of the summer-like weather in life affirming ways a few but significant number of people set fire to delicate, bio-rich, CO2 absorbing peatlands and gorse covered hillsides.

The Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service reported that over this dry sunny period they attended 300 wildfires most of which they thought were set deliberately. Some of the most destructive were in the Mourne Mountains in County Down including one on Slieve Binnian and another near Hilltown. In the latter 100 firefighters fought to extinguish the fire over a period of two days. People in Newcastle complained that they were suffering from smoke inhalation.

In County Fermanagh there were wildfires in Belleek, Brookebrough, Cuilcagh and Lisnaskea. During the same period there were a large number of wildfires in the Republic of Ireland one of which was in Nephin National Park in County Mayo which turned a bio-rich habitat into a dead zone and destroyed a specially designed boardwalk eliminating peoples’ access to the peatland park.

Many people were upset and bereaved on learning about these catastrophes while at the same time baffled as to why people would deliberately destroy ecosystems which are not only home to multiple forms of life but provide humans with a life enriching amenity including services such as absorbing climate altering CO2 emissions, purifying water and providing a haven for pollinators.

Although the destruction seems to defy comprehension it was not as many have said mindless. The perpetrators have minds which means they have reason, impulse and motive. The wildfires were imagined, planned, rationalised and then acted upon. In the absence of an in-depth study of the mindset of these destroyers of nature, human health and material resources we can only hypothesise, drawing on what we know about human behaviour.

A viable hypothesis is that the arsonists feel that they lack agency in the overall schema of their lives and setting fire to a defenceless community of lifeforms, with a minimum chance of apprehension, is a potent way of demonstrating to themselves that they can make their mark on the world. The sense of being able to act beyond the sphere of their personal concerns might well be sharpened by the association of fear with fire. Causing fear is likely to have heightening their sense of power.

Although destroying habitat and disrupting lives simply because one can is monstrous the desire to feel that one has agency and is significant is part of what it means to be human. In the case of the arsonists the tragedy is that their existential drive for a sense of significance is void of empathy for the wildlife they intentionally destroyed and the people whose lives were endangered including the dedicated, highly trained and courageous fire fighters and the people in agencies who provided support.

The arsonists are a tiny fraction of the number of people here and across the globe who have a distinct lack of empathy for life-forms and people who they perceive as categorically different from them.

In terms of the latter there has been no groundswell of demand from across the human community, and in particular from governments, for an immediate halt to the genocide of the people in Gaza. The UN’s Human Rights Office puts the figure of women and children killed in Gaza by Israel with the active support of the United States at 70% of the total. The war waged by Israel involves the systemic destruction of all civic infrastructure including, hospitals, sewage treatment plants, water provision, electricity, homes, roads and the deprivation of food, fuel, medicines, sanitation products and the means by which people can earn a livelihood.

A case that vividly illustrates the extent of our alienation from nonhuman nature, our lack of empathy for the nonhuman lives we destroy, is that of Brazil building an eight-mile long (13km), four-lane highway through pristine rainforest ahead of the COP30 climate change summit it is hosting in Belem this November. The road, and the inevitable negative consequences it will spawn, will destroy a Garden of Eden treasure trove of biodiversity and disrupt the lives of the Indigenous people.

This act of vandalism leaves one wondering about the mental game-play involved in wilfully destroying what one claims to love. The seemingly unfathomable equation is resolved by the realisation that we, humanity, does not love nonhuman nature at all. Like the genocide in Palestine and Sudan the measure of universal empathy does not suffice to prevent our destruction of that which we perceive as categorically different from us but is in fact that which we are.

The tragedy of the arsonists who this spring turned large areas of this island’s precious biodiversity into a blackened wasteland, the living soils and imbedded seeds washed away by the rain, is their lack of empathy. Sadly, we can expect further hostility directed at our natural heritage during the long sunny spells forecast this summer.

That we are what we call ourselves, which is the wise ape, Homo Sapiens, is to be questioned given that other species have thrived for millions of years while we, a relatively evolved species, are on the verge of extinguishing ourselves.

Readings in Nonviolence: Nonviolence and climate change – Healing our relationship with the Earth

Nonviolent News, Readings, , , ,

by Kate Laverty

Nonviolence is often spoken of in the context of human conflict, but its scope is far broader. To live non-violently is to reject harm in all its forms—including the harm we inflict on the natural world.

As I water the plants in our community garden in Forthspring, and tenderly feed the olive trees from Palestine we’re keeping safe for our partners in Gairdin An Phobail, I am reminded that climate change, deforestation, pollution, and mass extinction are not merely environmental issues; they are forms of violence. They are violations of our sacred relationship with the Earth and with each other.

Pope Francis, in Laudato Si’, his landmark encyclical on the environment, writes:

“The earth herself, burdened and laid waste, is among the most abandoned and maltreated of our poor… We have forgotten that we ourselves are dust of the earth.”

His words call us to recognize ecological degradation not just as a crisis of the planet, but as a moral failure—a betrayal of our interconnectedness. In this light, ecological action becomes an act of nonviolence: a commitment to preserving life, honouring creation, and repairing harm.

Islamic perspectives also offer profound insight into this ethic of care. Renowned scholar and peace activist Maulana Wahiduddin Khan, a Muslim practitioner of nonviolence, taught:

“Violence begins when man sees himself as master, not servant, of the world.”

He urged Muslims to embrace rahma—compassion—as the lens through which to relate not just to other people, but to all living beings. In the Qur’an, humans are called khalifah—stewards of the Earth. Stewardship implies responsibility, humility, and restraint. It is a sacred trust, not a license to dominate or destroy. I am mindful of this as I stand with the loppers in in our community garden in Forthspring, preparing to prune back brambles which have overtaken the pathway – every cut must be intentional.

The violence we do to the environment mirrors the violence we allow in our societies: exploitation, neglect, and short-term thinking at the cost of long-term peace. The burning of fossil fuels, the razing of forests, the poisoning of waters—all stem from the same root causes as interpersonal violence: greed, disconnection, and disregard for life.

Practising nonviolence for the Earth

If we accept that ecological destruction is a form of violence, then we must also accept that ecological protection is a form of nonviolent resistance. The methodologies of nonviolence—well established in social justice movements—can guide our response to the climate crisis.

In Kingian Nonviolence, developed from the teachings of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., six core principles form the foundation of practice. Among them:

  • Nonviolence seeks to defeat injustice, not people

  • Nonviolence chooses love instead of hate

  • Nonviolence believes the universe is on the side of justice

These principles challenge us to confront the systemic roots of environmental harm—colonialism, capitalism, and extractivism—without turning to dehumanization or despair. They encourage creative, disciplined action: organizing, educating, lobbying, marching, blockading, and building alternative systems rooted in equity and care.

Nonviolence is not passive—it is active resistance rooted in moral courage. Movements like Extinction Rebellion, Fridays for Future, and countless Indigenous-led land protection campaigns are expressions of this active, compassionate resistance. They use tactics such as civil disobedience, symbolic protest, community organizing, and storytelling to call attention to the urgency of climate justice.

Another methodology—Gandhian Satyagraha (truth-force)—calls us to live in alignment with truth, even when it means sacrifice. For Gandhi, nonviolence was a way of life grounded in simplicity, humility, and service. Applied to climate change, it urges us to reduce our consumption, live closer to the Earth, and reject systems that thrive on domination and excess.

A revolutionary kindness

To practice nonviolence in the age of climate collapse is to live differently. It is to advocate for sustainable systems, to support climate justice movements, to hold corporations and governments accountable, and to make personal choices that reflect reverence for the Earth. It is also to listen—to indigenous wisdom, to frontline communities, and to young people crying out for a liveable future.

Thich Nhat Hanh, a Zen Buddhist monk and peace activist., wrote that “When we harm the Earth, we harm ourselves. The Earth is not just our environment. The Earth is us.”

The same forces that exploit the planet also exploit people. Environmental nonviolence is therefore deeply entwined with social justice.

And perhaps more than anything, nonviolence calls us to believe that healing is possible—not only between people, but between humanity and the Earth. By living with intention, compassion, and courage, we help craft a future rooted in justice and peace for all beings.

–

As reported in Nonviolent News 328, Kate Laverty as director of Forthspring Intercommunity Group in Belfast is working for it to become the Nonviolence Institute in Northern Ireland. https://innatenonviolence.org/wp/2025/04/01/readings-in-nonviolence-nonviolence-and-plans-for-a-nonviolence-institute-in-belfast/ You can contact her at phone 07746984833 or email director@forthpsring.com

NATO – an analysis

Nonviolent News, Readings, ,

INNATE Introduction

The Irish government’s plan to ditch the Triple Lock on the deployment of Irish troops overseas is actually part of a plan That Dare Not Say Its Name. It is to fully sign up to an EU army, for the EU to become (even more of) a world power, and the perpetual mantra that Irish neutrality is unaffected in all of this is, of course, a dirty lie. NATO membership is clearly out in terms of public opinion in the Republic but to the powers that be that does not matter since a) Ireland is closely integrated, and becoming even more so,with NATO through its ‘Partnership for Peace’, and b) the EU is effectively the western European arm of NATO. Meanwhile some suggest that a united Ireland, if it comes about, should be in NATO, a dangerous non sequitur just because the North is already in it through being part of the UK.

What follows is a review article by Ann Garrison on a book by Medea Benjamin and David Swanson about NATO https://orbooks.com/catalog/nato-what-you-need-to-know/ The article originally appeared in Black Agenda Report https://www.blackagendareport.com/nato-was-founded-crush-communist-socialist-and-anti-colonial-movements-worldwide but we came upon in in Transcend Media (Medea!) Service https://www.transcend.org/tms/2025/04/nato-was-founded-to-crush-communist-socialist-and-anti-colonial-movements-worldwide/

NATO was founded to crush communist, socialist, and anti-colonial movements worldwide

By Ann Garrison

Medea Benjamin and David Swanson explain NATO’s supremely violent history in “NATO: What you need to know”.

The organization was born on April 4, 1949, when foreign ministers from 12 nations came together in Washington, D.C. to sign the 1100-page North Atlantic Treaty. Its original members were Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

The treaty proclaimed its commitment to peace and the principles of the UN Charter, but “the real glue that brought NATO countries together was opposition to communism and socialism.”

It was created not only to counter the USSR, but also to defeat European communist and socialist movements and crush revolutionary, anti-colonial struggles. At the time of its founding, Britain, France, Belgium, and Portugal were waging vicious campaigns to try to hold on to their African colonies.

The USSR didn’t create the Warsaw Pact until six years later, in May 1955, in response to NATO. The previous year, it had actually asked to join, fearing the revival of German militarism, which had cost between 20 and 30 million Russian lives in World War 2. A shared commitment to preventing another war in Europe, regardless of ideological differences, could of course have changed history, averting the nuclear arms race, but that would have undermined NATO’s fundamental purpose.

“NATO also had an economic purpose,” Benjamin and Swanson write. “In its founding ‘Strategic Concept’ paper, NATO conceived the integration of its members to be ‘not just military, but also political, economic, and psychological. NATO countries were expected to disseminate an anti-communist worldview and to promote pro-capitalist, free trade economies.’”

No nation could join NATO without privatizing its economy. In 1997, then Senator Joe Biden told Poland that it would have to privatize its large state-owned enterprises like banks, the energy sector, the state airline, the state copper producer, and the state telecommunications monopoly.

US political leaders before Donald Trump have complained about NATO members not carrying their weight financially, but the alliance has fortified US economic interests favoring privatization, dollar hegemony, and prevention of bilateral trade agreements between member nations and the Soviet Union and then Russia. Europe accordingly acquiesced to US destruction of the Nordstream2 pipeline.

The weapons manufacturers of NATO nations, most of all those of the US, have also greatly benefited by sales to other NATO members, as have Israel’s. A section of the book on NATO and Israel details their exchange of military technologies.

Nations like Romania were made to understand that they could join only after making huge purchases of US weapons.

NATO expansion after the collapse of the Soviet Union

In 1991, after the collapse of the Soviet Union, the people of NATO nations all expected a peace dividend that of course never came. Instead of disbanding, NATO grew from its original 12 members to 32. In keeping with its founding ideology, it requires applicants to practice liberal democracy and market economy and contribute to NATO’s military operations.

Expansion actually met some resistance within the US foreign policy establishment, including the US Senate, with concerns ranging from increased costs, military over-extension overseas, and the consequences of poisoning relations with Russia by adding former Soviet nations.

Expansionists, however, always prevailed. The dissolution of the USSR eliminated the ideological competition, but the US drive for global hegemony proceeded apace. NATO, with its European junior partners, cloaked it in the seemingly moral guise of “the international community.”

Russia asked several more times to join NATO, but that was out of the question because it could not have been expected to subject itself to US military command, as the USA’s European partners dutifully did. “Every NATO member nation is required to serve under U.S. command during NATO wars, whereas the U.S. military has never agreed to obey any other nation’s command.”

Promises to expand toward Russia’s borders were never codified in a formal military treaty, but according to declassified US, Soviet, German, British, and French documents posted in the National Security Archive at George Washington University, Western leaders gave multiple assurances not to expand to the USSR’s borders to Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev and other Soviet officials throughout the process of German unification in 1990 and 1991.

All those promises were of course broken, and despite the advice of prominent foreign policy experts, Bill Clinton aggressively pursued NATO enlargement and expansion. When Poland, Hungary, and the Czech Republic joined in 1999, NATO made its way right up against Russia’s borders.

In 2004, it admitted seven more countries: Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia, and Slovenia. Albania and Croatia followed in 2009, Montenegro in 2017, and North Macedonia in 2020.

Prominent US government officials, and Vladimir Putin, all warned that this would eventually lead to confrontation with Russia, as it ultimately did, so far by proxy, in Ukraine.

The Ukraine War united more of Europe behind NATO, with formerly neutral Finland joining in 2023, Sweden in 2024, and both countries’ weapons industries benefiting as a result.

Finland had already sent troops to join NATO in Afghanistan, and Sweden had participated in NATO missions in Bosnia, Kosovo, and Afghanistan. Swedish fighter jets and support planes took part in the bombing and covert invasion of Libya in 2011.

“Against whom is this expansion intended?” Vladimir Putin asked. “And what happened to the assurances our Western partners made after the dissolution of the Warsaw Pact?”

The answer seemed to be, again, that Russia could not have been expected to subordinate its military to US command. NATO and the military industries also needed enemies, as they now have in both Russia and China.

NATO’s history of aggression

NATO’s presentation of itself as a defensive pact has always been a lie. “Its readiness to act as a junior partner in U.S. aggression,” Benjamin and Swanson write, “poses an implicit threat of devastating military violence to any countries involved in international disputes with the United States or other NATO members.”

They recount the sordid history of the US/NATO and its junior European partners, which, with Russia in disarray, waged war on Yugoslavia, a nominally socialist nation and leader of the Non-Aligned Movement. The propaganda campaign about humanitarian intervention to stop ethnic persecution became a blueprint for future illegal bombing campaigns like those in Libya and Syria. “What U.S. leaders took away from their ‘success’ in Kosovo was that legality, humanity, and truth are no match for CIA-manufactured chaos and lies, and they doubled down on that strategy to plunge the U.S. and the world into endless war, with a subservient NATO along for the ride.”

Although there was some division over the US War on Iraq, unity emerged behind the destruction of Libya, which, like Iraq, Syria, and Iran, had nationalized its oil resources. “Altogether, 14 NATO countries took part in the war on Libya, along with Sweden, Jordan, Qatar, and the UAE.”

Destroying Libya was in keeping with NATO’s founding goal of crushing anti-colonial movements because Gaddafi had used his oil wealth to provide free health care and education to his people, fund projects to give African countries more control of their natural resources, and co-found the African Union, envisioning it as a military alliance and common market with a single currency.

A white organization with junior “partners” of color

Article 10 of the North Atlantic Treaty limits new members of NATO to European nations that are invited by NATO to join it, but it has junior partners of color. Its Mediterranean Dialogue includes Algeria, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Mauritania, Morocco, and Tunisia, and its Istanbul Cooperation Initiative includes Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates. Its “Partners Across the Globe” include Iraq, Pakistan, and Afghanistan. These include some of the most brutal, authoritarian, oppressive, and dictatorial regimes on the planet, making a farce of NATO’s claim to be defending democracy and human rights around the world.

In a chapter on NATO and international law, Benjamin and Swanson make it clear that NATO, and most of all the US, have never respected it, but that they maintain a pretense of global citizenship by acting in coalition, aka as a gang: “If attacking Yugoslavia or Afghanistan or Libya is illegal, then it remains illegal even if you bring together a big gang of governments to do it with you.”

In a chapter on NATO and nuclear weapons, they make it clear that NATO, again with the US in the lead, have thoroughly disregarded every attempt at nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation.

Throughout the book they make the point that NATO, a US-dominated military alliance that threatens life on earth, is an unelected body accountable to no one. Its workings and decisions are anything but transparent and far from the eyes of citizens who elect the leaders of its members.

Alternatives

“Ukraine,” Benjamin and Swanson write, “is being treated as a sacrifice zone, and Finland should expect nothing else.” That makes further escalation sound like a grim inevitability, but, as longtime peace activists, they of course offer alternatives. These include pushing for adherence to global treaties, military and nuclear divestment movements, and nonviolent civilian resistance.

Montenegro, for example, set out to build an enormous NATO training ground, far too large for the entire military of Montenegro, but local residents put their bodies on the line as human shields to prevent it. “They organized events, handed in petitions, put up billboards, met with government officials, marched, protested, and—as of this moment—seem to have finally succeeded in eliminating the plans to destroy their mountain plateau for NATO.”

This battle, they point out, was waged on environmental and cultural grounds, and there are many such battles to be waged against NATO. Its member nations’ claims to be on the forefront of battling climate change could not be more hypocritical, given the carbon costs of its wars.

However, with the Doomsday clock closer to midnight than ever, the battle against NATO’s very existence and its trajectory is a battle for life itself.

Billy King: Rites Again 329

Billy King, Nonviolent News, , , ,

Billy King shares his monthly thoughts

Tittle title

Periodically someone in the Republic suggests in a letter to the papers, or such, that the state should have an honours system, and there is a debate on possible merits and demerits, including the view that any Republic worthy of the name doesn’t need such a system. I agree with the latter point.

But living in Norn Iron I can perhaps reflect my views on the matter from a territory which has such a system with UK honours bestowed on various people – including a few friends and acquaintances. The first problematic in a divided society like the North is that people of a unionist/British persuasion are more likely to accept the offer of an award from the UK state (or even be offered it) however much those making the decisions may try to make it all balanced. It thus tends to have what amounts to a sectarian dimension.

If an honours system exists then there are likely to be various gradations and various reasons why someone would accept. Some may believe they deserve the award because of their hard work, enterprise, and uprightness. In one case I know an award was accepted partly because what it would mean to their parents and be justification for choosing a career in the community and voluntary sector which might not have been what their parents wanted for them. Others certainly feel that it gives their work, and cause, recognition and a boost, and this may or may not be true. These are legitimate and valid reasons for accepting an award when such exists.

However I do have a number of negative points. The titles of the awards are not just anachronistic but imperialist – e.g. “Member of the British Empire”. And for every person who you might say deserves the award there are probably a couple of place servers who get a gong because of their position and sitting there for years. In general it creates a division between those recognised as ‘worthy’ in respectable causes and others [You’re not jealous, are you? – Ed] [Who, moi? I am not ‘worthy’. But ‘worthiness’ does come in to it, most awards are for what is considered ‘worthy’ work, and who is to say that ‘your’ mainstream activities are more worthy than ‘my’ fringe ones? There is an inherently conservative politic at work here – Billy].

The now dead brilliant black British poet Benjamin Zephaniah refused an OBE a couple of decades ago because of his opposition to empire and British involvement in slavery; his acceptance would also have indicated co-option by the system. While most awards are to the ‘worthy’, a few are offered to maverick choices to show the ‘openness’ of the system, and that would have been the case with Zephaniah.

I have a further objection which is not usually made. It is an old ‘law’ of physics that to every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. Choosing worthy recipients, including occasionally people outside the usual box like Zephaniah, is not just an ‘honour’ for the individual but reflects back ‘worthiness’ on the system; ‘X’ is a person who deserves an honour for their work, the state has recognised ‘X’, so the state and its relevant apparatus must also be worthy to recognise such worthiness. This I find objectionable in a society as unequal and unjust as ours. The honours system thus helps maintain the status quo and division, not least with anachronistic and imperialist names for the awards given.

MAGAlomania – the game

I have written before [Well, it is quite a long time ago though maybe rather more than once – Ed] about the exceptionalism and/or imperialism in the USA referring to itself as ‘America’. OK, US Americans may be a majority in North America but they certainly are not in ‘the Americas’. There are nearly 350 million in the USA while Canada has 40 million, however Central America (including Mexico), South America and the Caribbean has an estimated population of nearly 670 million. Thus the USA has only a third of the population in the Americas. This blinkered nomenclature of using ‘America’ for one part of the Americas has perhaps reached its apotheosis – or perhaps nadir would be a better term – with President Trump’s childish relabelling of the Gulf of Mexico as the ‘Gulf of America’ – and penalising anyone who didn’t toe the line on his conjured up name. This is just one point where the 78 year old president of the USA seems to be not 78 but 7.8 years old (and that is perhaps being unfair to 7 year olds everywhere). He believes when it comes to the USA everyone is agin’ us [‘A Guinness’? But he doesn’t drink alcohol, maybe his confusion comes from all the Diet Coke he puts away – Ed].

I have also pointed out the irony that Amerigo Vespucci, after whom the Americas are incongruously named, never actually wandered anywhere near the territory of what is now the USA, since he only ventured rather further south.

You may already know the game of rejigging the acronym MAGA from its Trumpian meaning. The G can stand for lots of things: Gerontocratic (rule by the elderly – Biden and Trump have been the oldest elected presidents I believe), Gasp (you never know what idiotic or quixotic idea or policy Trump and his cohorts will come out with next), Grotesque (a self explanatory explanation I think). See what you can come up with by yourself or with friends. ‘G’ up then. GUBU.

Signs of the times

Placing Irish language signs at Belfast’s ‘Grand’ Central Station (henceforth GCS in this piece) is one of Norn Iron’s ongoing divisive shibboleths at the moment. It wasn’t included in the original plans and the new minister responsible, who happens to be from Sinn Féin, decided it should happen. Unionists state that as a controversial matter it should be subject to a cross-community vote at Stormont but most don’t want to rock the boat too hard for fear of the Stormont barque (its barque is worse than its bite) sinking again. Perhaps there should be a vote so we can see where people stand. But some people, right across the divides, are perpetually looking for ways to ‘get’ the other side. Of course symbols and symbolism matter.

There are a variety of factors at work here. Is Irish ‘weaponised’ by some republicans? Undoubtedly. Is resistance to anything Irish weaponised by some loyalists? Also undoubtedly. Is the Irish language a treasure of many kinds and also a resource in relation to placenames throughout the island of Ireland? Yes. Is knowledge of Irish, partly through Irish medium schools, increasing in the North? Yes. And is signage at GCS going to include placenames as a key element? Of course. Was the Irish language virtually stamped out by official British policy? Yes (though that is only part of the story). Will the cost of the signage changes be substantial? Yes, perhaps £150,000. Could the money be used for other purposes including social need? Yes. Would it be so used? No, highly unlikely.

I have previously written about the use of ‘Grand’ in the ‘GCS’ name. But I have also pointed out that if unionists want to persuade nationalists, Catholics, and indeed some Prods, to keep Norn Iron in the UK then they need to bend over backwards in allowing Catholic and nationalist concerns to be catered for. As reasonable and redoubtable a figure as SDLP MP Claire Hanna has pointed out the extent to which nationalists in Norn Iron are perpetually subjected to British state imagery which they don’t go for.

Having Irish language signs at GCS should not be an issue for a variety of reasons and Welsh language signs in Wales are considered necessary. Unionists who object to Irish language signs at GCS are helping to book a ticket south for the whole of the North; they should think about that train of thought while the unification train is still in the station without a departure time. Action on the issue is currently halted because of loyalist legal action. However the two main unionist parties have not gone with a TUV/Traditional Unionist Voice petition on the matter at Stormont, as stated above because they don’t want the whole Stormont edifice to come crashing down yet again, so maybe some credit is due there.

Herbivores

A herbivore is an animal that eats plants or only eats plants. However I am deliberately mis- or re-interpreting the word here to talk about the use of herbs in food. I have to admit that I would feel distinctly impoverished if I didn’t have access to certain fresh herbs; yes, certainly, I use dried herbs in cooking but for some things I feel fresh is much superior because of the added flavour. But herbs in your supermarket or greengrocer are expensive for what you get, and you never know what you will need and when you will need it, and most don’t last too long in the fridge. So GYO (grow your own). This can be easily be done successfully, as I do, in tubs and window boxes, without needing too much space – though a bit of sun in that space helps. You do need to feed and water them though, and tubs dry out faster than the soil.

For some herbs you can cut the bother and buy a plant in a garden centre, for others you may want to or need to sow from seed. What? Sage, thyme, tarragon, rosemary, fennel, mint and oregano are some of the basics and are relatively perennial. Parsley you need to sow at least annually and you may need to cover it with protective mesh or fleece to protect it from carrot fly (yes, parsley is the same family as carrots); it would appear some years we have carrot fly about, other years not, and I can’t say whether it will be in your vicinity or not – but your burgeoning parsley getting sick and dying because carrot fly larvae have eaten the roots is very disappointing so I tend to cover it in case in the relevant period (around April to September, certainly for newly sown parsley). I only grow basil indoors or in a protected space because it is a favourite with slugs and snails as well as us humans. Mint is best grown in a bounded space because the roots spread so easily.

For salad herbs you can use some of the above but I also grow chives, garlic chives, Welsh onions (like chives but larger and I cut the stems but leave the bulbs to grow on) and lovage (a celery flavoured plant which I presume is a close relation). Garlic chives don’t grow so much in the winter but are still standing and can be picked then unlike regular chives.

Thyme and tide wait for no one, and I love lovage, so now is the time to get your herb garden sorted. Most herbs aren’t a lot of work apart from parsley and basil – and I wouldn’t like to being without those. With your own herb garden you can develop your own favourite salad dressings and bask in flavour for very little cost, and never be without that herb ingredient when you need it. When it comes to gardening, take the herb side not the herbicide.

–

Well, it has been a strange month in one way as I nearly went up in flames, and I am deliberately not going to go into details out of respect for someone we had just met who did get seriously injured in the accident concerned, this was out of the domestic environment is all I will say. It can be hard to take in when something like this happens and hard to appreciate how near I was/we were to either extinction or serious injury. But here I am and I shall return for June, come what May, Billy.

News, April 2025

Nonviolent News, ,

Forthspring plan Belfast-based Institute for Nonviolence

Forthspring https://www.forthspring.org/, a cross-community centre at the Catholic-Protestant interface on the Springfield Road, Belfast, is transforming to an Institute for Nonviolence.  New Director, Dr Kate Laverty, is bringing to the fore her work with the Martin Luther King Institute for Nonviolence in the USA https://www.nonviolenceinstitute.org/ Her experience in promoting nonviolence principles in her youth work practice will serve as a springboard to launch the new methodology in Forthspring as it enters its 30th year later in 2025. For anyone interested in being part of this evolution, get in touch. Contact: Dr Kate Laverty, Director, 07746984833, director@forthspring.com     See also article by Kate Laverty in email and web editions of this issue.

Resistance continues to Triple Lock axe

The ‘Save Irish Neutrality, Save the Triple Lock’ campaign involving a wide variety of groups continues to work in opposition to Irish government plans to axe it. While a Social Democrat motion in the Dáil to hold a plebiscite/referendum on the issue was voted down through a government counter-motion, the government plans to move legislation through the committee stage so there is still time for citizen pressure to work. A comprehensive rebuttal of government arguments is made in various resources including the August 2024 document from the Transnational Institute https://www.tni.org/en/publication/saving-the-triple-lock

Mothers Against Genocide manhandled at Dáil

There were eleven arrests and three legal charges, plus some police cautions, on 30th March at the end of a Mothers Against Genocide all night Mothers’ Day vigil on Palestine outside the Dáil in Dublin. The group had already announced their intention to leave a couple of hours later. What some found particularly distasteful was that photos of dead Palestinian children were treated like dirt by by the Gardaí. See coverage at https://www.facebook.com/search/posts/?q=mothers%20against%20genocide and other media.

Missing Peace toolkit

The Glencree Centre for Peace & Reconciliation (Glencree), together with its consortium partners from five different countries in the Missing Peace project, have launched a new resource to help youth workers, educators and community practitioners engage young people in peacebuilding and reconciliation. The 68-page Missing Peace Project Toolkit, developed as part of the EU-funded Missing Peace project, provides 12 interactive activities designed to foster dialogue, critical thinking and conflict resolution skills. Further information and a link for downloading can be found at https://glencree.ie/homepage-highlight/missing-peace-toolkit/

Mairead Maguire in Gaza fast

Nobel Peace laureate Mairead Maguire is undertaking a 40 day liquids only fast for Gaza and the world’s children suffering from the violence of hunger and war. “Refuse to hate, refuse to kill each other and demand instead dialogue and negotiation.  Today in Gaza, the policy of starvation of 2.5 million people, by Israeli policies, is continuing and it is killing the children,  we see it and it is breaking our hearts!!!”. https://www.peacepeople.com/nobel-peace-laureate-maguire-starts-40-day-fast-for-gaza-and-the-worlds-children-for-peace/

Frank Aiken lectures

There has been a change of date for the Frank Aiken Evening previously announced (e.g. in last issue) to take place on 27th March. This will now take place on Wednesday 2nd April. “The Legacy of Frank Aiken – The Role of Small Countries in Times of Danger and Uncertainty” – An Evening of Talks and Discussion hosted by Lex Innocentium, 21st Century  and  the Irish School of Ecumenics now takes place on Wednesday, 2nd of April 2025, at 7.00 p.m. in Room G16, Loyola Building, Trinity College Dublin Speakers include Dr. Stephen Kelly, Dr. Patrick Bresnihan, and Dr. John Maguire. Lex Innocentium, 21st Century website is at https://lexinnocentium21.ie/

Thales to open third NI site

With war in Ukraine and rearmament in many countries, business and profits are booming for the lagest arms company on the island of Ireland, Thales. They have announced new investment and the intention to set up a third site in Northern Ireland, recruiting 200 more workers. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cgl0z7gxpg2o See also Thales fact file in email and web editions of this issue.

Adi Roche on 14 years after Fukushima

Adi Roche, Voluntary CEO of Chernobyl Children International (CCI), in a statement issued for the 14th anniversary of the Fukushima disaster, said “It’s devastating to see that patterns laid down by Chernobyl are being mirrored now in Fukushima.  Any potential explosion or meltdown at any nuclear power plant, by accident or design, would cause irreversible damage to the environment and human life that will last for thousands of years. Though Fukushima happened because of a natural disaster, and Chernobyl was a man-made disaster, their long lasting impact are the same.  Now, recent attacks in Ukraine have shown us how little mankind have learned about the fragility of nuclear power and now innocent children are, once again, paying the highest price.” See https://www.chernobyl-international.com/fourteen-years-after-fukushima-the-unfolding-nuclear-nightmare-and-parallels-with-chernobyl/

lMeanwhile CCI reports that, not being the recipient of any state aid, they are unaffected by governmental aid cuts but that “However, in the communities where we work, the effects of these cuts are devastating and we anticipate that we will see a knock-on effect in the demand for our support over the coming months. “ https://www.chernobyl-international.com/

Good Relations Awards 2025

The Northern Ireland Good Relations Awards presentation event took place on 25th March at Shankill Shared Women’s Centre, Belfast. Here are the six award winners: CRC Exceptional Achievement Award – Kathy Wolff: Volunteer of the Year – Cooper McClure; Youth Award – Emma Baptista; Community Champion – Jonah Atos; Connecting Communities – Jubilee Community; Housing for All – Portstewart Community Association. Full details are available on the CRC website at https://www.community-relations.org.uk/news-centre/good-relations-awards-2025-winners-announced

ICCL petition on facial recognition use by Gardaí

ICCL/Irish Council for Civil Liberties have a petition opposing the Minister for Justice giving the Gardaí permission to use facial recognition technology (FRT). They state “FRT has been shown to exhibit significant racial bias leading to wrongful arrests, surveillance and discrimination. Studies have shown that these technologies are less accurate in identifying people of colour. This can result in severe consequences for innocent people. This is not just a technical issue but a systematic injustice built into these technologies that reinforce racial inequality. Recent developments in Hungary have also highlighted the dangers that FRT holds for minorities, where attempts are being made to ban pride events. FRT has been proposed to track members of the LGBTI+ community who gather publicly, which will also disproportionately affect racial minorities within that community.” See https://www.iccl.ie/i-do-not-consent-to-frt/

CAJ human rights news

You can catch up with valuable insights on various human rights issues in Northern Ireland with the March issue of the CAJ/Committee on the Administration of Justice newsletter Just News which is available at https://caj.org.uk/publication_type/our-newsletter/ (where you can also subscribe for updates). Issues covered include the Irish government and legacy issues, extremism, the ongoing effort to get the NI Executive going on an antipoverty strategy, racism and Sperrins goldmining.

Voters in Republic want more climate action

A poll taken in January shows a clear majority of voters in the Republic, 55%, want the government to take more action on climate change than the last government, compared to only 21% who want less action. This includes 59% of Fianna Fail voters and 55% of Fine Gael voters. Interestingly there was little difference between urban and rural voters; three in every four rural voters want the same or more climate action, 72%, compared to 81% of those living in cities. See https://www.friendsoftheearth.ie/news/new-poll-shows-fianna-fail-and-fine-gael-voters-want-more-cl/

Major German peace congress

A major online German-language peace congress takes place at Easter time. See https://friedenistmoeglich.de/ Entitled “Wie geht Frieden? “ (‘How does peace go?’) with a wide variety of speakers and activities…..as some of those involved speak in English (German subtitles added) those reading this but not speaking German may still view videos with interest. The Northern Ireland peace process, and history, feature along with a myriad of other situations.

Church and Peace call on justice and peacebuilding

Church and Peace, the European church peace network, has called for an orientation to justice and peacebuilding in the current environment. Their statement includes “The European Union’s aim is to promote peace, its values and the welfare of its peoples. For that reason it is irresponsible, according to the Board of Church and Peace, to declare a ‘pre-war situation’ and so legitimize massive armament, especially as this might be a self-fulfilling prophecy.” https://www.church-and-peace.org/en/2025/03/in-view-of-current-developments-church-and-peace-calls-for-clear-orientation-to-justice-and-peace/

Inclusion in the Northern Ireland peace process

An academic article “Inclusion in the Northern Ireland Peace Process: A ‘History of the Present’ “ by Catherine Turner (Professor of Law at Durham University) is available at https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/epdf/10.1080/17502977.2024.2365512?needAccess=true appearing in the Journal of Intervention and Statebuilding. This 21 page article has some useful insights on the peace process, the resultant consociational form of government, the role of civil society, and how narratives have narrowed.

Editorials: Rules-based international order, ‘Defence freeloading’

Editorials, Nonviolent News

A rules-based international order

“A rules-based international order” is what some Western politicians and commentators say has been lost with Donald Trump’s second elevation to the White House. To this issue perhaps we could take Mohandas Gandhi’s (falsely) attributed response to the question on what he thought about western civilisation – “It would be a very good idea”. The idea that ‘the West’ has kept to the rules when it doesn’t suit them is a fallacy. It may have suited them to keep most of the rules most of the time to ensure stability but when they wanted they had other policies and principles too. But we should also remember the alternative ‘golden rule’ – ‘whoever has the gold makes the rules’.

Examples of western rule flouting are perhaps too numerous to mention more than a few. The previous administration in the USA, that of Joe Biden, effectively looked the other way in continuing to massively support genocidal weapons and financial support to Israel. Most western European countries also looked the other way. Britain produced a ‘dodgy dossier’ which was basically false to justify participation in a war on Iraq in 2003. To the adage ‘Do no harm’, NATO’s action in overthrowing the Gaddafi regime in Libya destabilised much of north Africa. Talking about ‘peace’ but bringing or threatening military force is not something pertaining only to the Trump era in the USA.

The USA proclaims (loudly under Trump but still staunchly under other regimes since the Monroe Doctrine in 1823) its hegemony in the Americas but has refused to allow that Russia might have, on the same basis, strategic interests regarding its neighbours; the broken promise to Russia not to extend NATO eastwards after the collapse of Soviet communism has been, in the case of Ukraine, a red rag to a Putin bull – and part of his unjustifiable justification for full-scale invasion more than three years ago. However in a possible rapprochement between the USA and Russia under Trump, each allowing the other to misbehave is not an answer either. And those in the rich world who believe in global heating have been unconscionably slow in acting on that knowledge when it is poor countries who least contributed to the problem who suffer most.

Of course we question military hegemony in any region by any country but within the existing order there is a severe lack of self perception ‘in the West’. While President Trump’s erratic and sometimes threatening behaviour has made other countries look askance at the USA, there is also a huge lack of awareness of how conflict develops and wars start. Europe at the moment feels a bit like the arms race prior to the First World War with two sides gearing up for a military confrontation that would be totally disastrous and would be the worst of lose-lose results. How is rearmament in western Europe seen by ‘the other side’, i.e. Russia? That is a question which is demonstrably not asked.

Yes, there is a need for a ‘rule-based international order’ but it may not look much like what Trump, Putin, Starmer or even Martin envisage. We need a rules based international order with the primacy of a reformed United Nations, with the UN Security Council either stripped of its ‘great power’ privileges or sidestepped in favour of the General Assembly. We need an international order where human rights is prioritised and bodies like the International Criminal Court are strengthened. We need moves towards disarmament, not rearmament.

‘Defence freeloading’

An accusation made against Ireland (Republic), largely abroad but also at home to some extent, is that it is a ‘defence freeloader’, i.e. that it spends little on military defence and relies instead on being protected by NATO ‘for free’. This is complete nonsense while based on the reality that Ireland does spend relatively little on its military – although rapidly increasing expenditure.

The alternative accusation which can be made, and we would support, is that NATO and many other countries are ‘military wasters’, i.e. spending money on their military which is needed for welfare, green and infrastructure development. The ecological crisis is undoubtedly the largest contributor to forthcoming conflicts on a global scale. We currently have the scenario in Britain, our nearest neighbour and custodian of Northern Ireland, of the government cutting disability benefits while ramping up military expenditure. Military expenditure does create employment – not as much as in other government supported sectors – but is money wasted in terms of social development. However it can also contribute to an arms race – which we currently have in Europe.

There are many points which can be made here. The Irish government and establishment would undoubtedly join NATO if the citizenry would allow it, which they won’t, but they have played a clever game in cosying up to NATO through the so-called ‘Partnership for Peace’ and through removing the Triple Lock on deployment of Irish troops overseas they want to buy in to EU and NATO operations – and warfare. Part of the rationale is being ‘good Europeans’ – we would argue that it is actually being ‘bad Europeans’ and acting against peace.

From the start of the Irish Free State there was an attempt to contribute to international peace through involvement in the League of Nations. Later on Ireland had a strong non-aligned policy and contributed significantly to nuclear non-proliferation and more recently to treaties banning landmines and cluster munitions. The direction the country is heading is a total negation of that history and experience.

The idea that Ireland is at risk of invasion is nonsense and there is an argument that in the Second World War Irish neutrality was more beneficial to the Allies because they did not have to have troops tied up to defend it. Some people have tried to create the idea that, vague as it may be, Russia is a threat to Ireland. It is not, reprehensible as its war on Ukraine may be. And the only risk to Ireland, including international communication cables, is though general escalation and warfare in Europe.

NATO is an aggressive military force and is prepared to use nuclear force as it deems necessary (including ‘first use’). The EU is ramping up to be a regional, if not world, superpower. Ireland’s role, consistent with its history and the desire of its people, should be as a conciliator, an actor for peace, continually looking at how de-escalation and disarmament can be brought about, not just in Europe but globally. A small country such as Ireland could make a significant contribution to world peace.

Within conventional military thinking there is a concept of ‘non-offensive defence’, i.e. military defence and preparations which cannot be considered provocative by ‘the’ – or any – ‘other side’. This is totally missing in Europe at the moment and is part of the reason for the Russian invasion of Ukraine which, as stated, we consider totally reprehensible. In expecting Russia to accept what would be totally unacceptable to the USA – an opposing military force on its borders with Ukraine through possible membership of NATO – ‘the West’ played in to Putin’s hands and gave him a perceived justification for invasion.

The Forum on International Security Policy held by the Irish government in 2023 refused to consider possibilities for nonviolent civilian defence; INNATE offered in good time for this to have been included but this was fobbed off. The government seems to have a one track mind which is a sad reflection on Irish independence and any possibility of an imaginative and creative response to world issues.

Yes, the Irish government should spend more on active involvement in the international sphere but we would say this should be through contributing to peace. Much could be done in terms of diplomatic and mediative actions, and work to address potential conflicts before they simmer to boiling point. This should include financial assistance to areas in need where conflict is a likely outcome of poverty and lack of developmental infrastructure. Simply being another small actor in NATO and EU militarism will contribute, not to peace, but to war, warfare and military waste.

This is the 21st century. Have we learned nothing from the wars of the 20th and early 21st century?