(appeared in Nonviolent Action Monthly)

Title:               War Prevention Works

Editor:             Dylan Mathews

Reviewed by:    Vijay Mehta

Publisher:         Oxford Research Group
                      51 Plantation Road, Oxford, OX 6JE

Price:              £12 plus £3 Packing and Postage

This book, recently published by the Oxford Research Group, contains 50 stories of people resolving conflict. There are case studies of conflict resolution from Sudan, India, turkey, South Africa and a host of other countries. In Sudan the Dinka and Nuer chiefs of two opposing tribes listened to each other’s stories for three full days as though they were peeling back layers of pain and discovering afresh that at their core they are from one family.

In Tajikistan, key figures agreed to meet, to listen carefully, to speak from the heart, and respect the sensitivities of others to end the civil war. In Colombia and Nicaragua the presence of American citizens and Peace Brigades International helped to defend human rights and deter contra attacks. In El Salvador, business leaders organised a ‘goods for guns’ scheme which was so successful that by the end of the second weekend almost US$130,000 worth of vouchers had been given out when the organisers had only US$19,500 in the bank. The President of the country intervened to provide enough money to contribute to and expand the programme.

If only the great powers would learn the lessons of these stories, the world could be a much safer place.