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Peace and Security

Simulated ICJ Judgment : Revisiting the Lawfulness of the Threat or Use of Nuclear Weapons
Flaws in the Concept of Nuclear Deterrance
Rising Expectations, Social Unrest & Development
Revolution in Human Affairs: The Root of Societal Violence
Human Rights, Liberty & Socio-Economic Justice: Economic Theory and the Ascent of Private Property Values
Universal Nuclear Disarmament
Mediation of Conflicts by Civil Society
Myth, Hiroshima and Fear: How we Overestimated the Usefulness of the Bomb
How Reliance on Nuclear Weapons Erodes and Distorts International Law and Global Order
Re-examining the 1996 ICJ Advisory Opinion: Concerning the Legality of Nuclear Weapons
India’s Disarmament Initiative 1988: Continuing Relevance, Valid Pointers for an NWFW
Nuclear Threats and Security
The Arms Trade Treaty Opens New Possibilities at the UN
Cooperative Security: A New Paradigm For A World Without Nuclear Weapons?
Actions to Enhance Global Security*: Focus on WMD and Terrorism
Integrated Approach to Peace & Human Security in the 21st Century*
A Flat World with Deep Fractures
Social Power, Law and Society
Peace, Security, Globalisation & Cultural Diplomacy
Challenges are Opportunities for Korea and the World*

Gilbert Ahamer
Editor’s Note: The views expressed in this article represent the personal views of its author, rather than the official position of the World Academy of Art and Science. Get Full Text in PDF Abstract How is it ever possible to experience such a cruel war in Europe? Why has Ukraine been attacked by Russia? What are the credible details? Why did international institutions fail to prevent tensions... Read more
Neantro Saavedra-Rivano
The Roots of Human Insecurity Get Full Text in PDF Abstract What follows are notes attempting to place into context the current discussion on Human (In)Security with special attention to the case of Brazil. In this article, we will observe that insecurity has been the norm since pre-historic times. We will also observe that the uncertainties associated with this insecurity have been the engine... Read more
Gilberto C. Gallopín
Uncertainty: The New Situation Get Full Text in PDF Abstract In this short article, the author will present his vision and concerns about some mega-processes that are already beginning to impact Latin America (and the World), which he believes will radically change the frame of reference for policies and development strategies in the region. 1. Some Conceptual Clarifications Given the diversity... Read more
Danielle Sandi Pinheiro
Revisiting the Power Triangle: A Note on Spillover Effects of Positive Power Externalities Get Full Text in PDF Abstract The environment is not an entity external to socioeconomic activities; but it directly interacts with and suffers from their effects. Sustainable development policies are a hard task for every country and power externalities may arise at any time. The spillover effects of... Read more
Joanilio Rodolpho Teixeira
Human Security and Socio-economic Agenda: Need for Refinement and Action* Get Full Text in PDF Abstract The modern concept of security can be understood as the Socio-economic study of short, medium and long-term risks of society. The adoption of such an enlarged view expresses the new priorities, multidisciplinary relations and strategic conditions. Nowadays, security must encompass all... Read more
Saulo Casali Bahia
Human Security and Democracy: What’s next for Brazil Get Full Text in PDF Abstract When discussing Human Security and Democracy, especially from a Brazilian perspective but also with global implications, it becomes essential to consider the impact and influence of what is commonly called cyber activism, which has started influencing public opinion and altered the approach to electoral outcomes.... Read more
Thomas Reuter
Seed Idea: The Crisis of Containment – Time for a New Approach? Get Full Text in PDF In a recent discussion in the WAAS working group on Existential Threats to Human Security, David Harries, former chair of Pugwash Canada and associate executive director of Foresight Canada, raised the concern that the conventional approach to threat containment, based to a large extent on early warning, is... Read more
Jonathan Granoff
Multiplicity: Threats, Partnerships, and Stories of Success* Get Full Text in PDF Abstract The article discusses the crucial concept of human security in the context of global challenges and multilateral efforts. It highlights the interconnectedness of sustainable development, security, and human rights, emphasizing the imperative for collaborative international actions. The evolution of human... Read more
Donato Kiniger-Passigli
Time for a Peace Offensive* Get Full Text in PDF “It requires both neither gains nor loses.” – Bertrand Russell Foreword This article describes a proposal for a new WAAS initiative presented by the author at the WAAS General Assembly on June 27, 2024. It is intended to generate positive, practical momentum for the Academy’s HS4A global campaign on Human Security for All. In these precarious,... Read more
Ivo Šlaus, Aleksander Zidanšek
Stop All Wars Now! Get Full Text in PDF As the interconnected wars in Africa, the Middle East and Ukraine are threatening the lives of millions and could even lead to the use of weapons of mass destruction, thus endangering the survival of human civilization, there is an urgent need for action. None of us can stop these wars alone, however, all of us together as citizens of Earth have the power... Read more
Ranjani Ravi
Seed Idea: Human Security – The Bedrock of Sustainable Development Goals Get Full Text in PDF In the grand tapestry of human history, we have woven remarkable achievements and innovations. Yet, there is a persistent thread of impermanence—our goals, once reached, often unravel over time. Why does this happen? Because we have overlooked the unyielding cornerstone: Human Security. "Sustainability... Read more
Aleksander Zidanšek
Get Full Text in PDF Abstract Physics is the basic natural science that studies fundamental constituents of matter and related entities, with the main goal being to understand how the universe behaves. Its contribution to human security is, therefore, at least twofold. On the one hand, physics contributes valuable knowledge to addressing various critical issues confronting the world today,... Read more
Fadwa El Guindi
Get Full Text in PDF Abstract This article argues, on the basis of insights1 drawn and generalized from six recent global events identified as relevant in this analysis, that the notion of Human Security as currently presented needs further refinement. The six global events (2019-2023) are: The COVID-19 Pandemic, The Ukraine War, COP-27 in Egypt, The World Cup in Qatar, The Arab-China Summit in... Read more
Aleksander Zidanšek, Ivo Šlaus, Uroš Cvelbar
Get Full Text in PDF Abstract As global threats to human security have expanded significantly in recent years, the reasons and opportunities for innovative technological and educational solutions are more abundant than ever in modern human history. In addition to significant environmental, social, and economic threats to sustainability, the COVID-19 epidemic depleted both health issues and... Read more
Joanna Nurse
Get Full Text in PDF Abstract A key priority for Human Security in the 21st Century is the prevention of existential threats to human civilisation to ensure the well-being of our future generations. This article describes the significant and escalating nexus between human security and existential threats and outlines the main risks to humankind from existential threats, considered under the... Read more
David Harries, Lorenzo Rodríguez
Get Full Text in PDF Abstract Human Security has had a checkered history since its formal announcement in the 1994 UNDP HDR. This paper argues that current circumstances should be exploited to recontextualize security to better acknowledge planetary realities. Humans’ security is only one of three fields of planetary security and needs to be considered in concert with the other two; states’... Read more
Ashok Natarajan
Get Full Text in PDF Abstract This article explores the complex and multifaceted nature of human security, which extends beyond protection from military threats to encompass physical, food, health, financial, community, political, and environmental dimensions. It traces humanity’s historical challenges, including natural disasters, epidemics, and food shortages, and highlights how technological... Read more
John Scales Avery
Get Full Text in PDF Abstract Among the topics discussed is the current crisis of civilization, to which the institution of war in an era of all-destroying thermonuclear weapons strongly contributes. Another issue that is discussed is the human emotional tendency that might be called “tribalism”. It is our tendency to be kind and altruistic towards members of our own group, and extremely hostile... Read more
Pavel Luksha
Get Full Text in PDF Abstract In the second decade of the 21st century, humanity again faces existential risks related to the risks of global wars. The collective decision to make wars obsolete (or not) will be the crucial choice that will determine our capacity to survive and thrive. Yet since the global security architecture has been established in the aftermath of World War 2, the notion of... Read more
Alyn Ware
Get Full Text in PDF Abstract The UN Secretary-General is currently preparing a New Agenda for Peace, which is expected to broaden the traditional framework of security as it relates to relations between nations, to also include the notion of Human Security which focuses on well-being of individuals and communities. This Human Security framework integrates traditional peace and security... Read more
Thomas Reuter
Get Full Text in PDF Abstract Achieving Human Security For All (HS4A) is a process that depends on our ability to imagine a future state that is different to present conditions, under which HS4A remains elusive. Only a very few eminent thinkers have recognised, however, that imagination is its own unique and important noetic or cognitive function independent of rationality, giving us access to... Read more
Ullica Segerstrale
Get Full Text in PDF Abstract This article addresses existential security, an aspect of security that has to do with the sustaining of the individual as a physical and mental being as well as the larger context of this individual. The ‘larger context’ can mean many things, including physical reality at different scales, socioeconomic realities, cultural conventions, the political state of the... Read more
Fadwa El Guindi
Get Full Text in PDF Abstract While the overall theme selected by the World Academy of Art and Science (WAAS) for the 2023 6th Future Education Conference was that of Human Security, the particular panel* in which I contributed the presentation upon which this article is based focused more explicitly on Education and less obviously on Security, with a particular emphasis on experimental ways in... Read more
Jerome C. Glenn
Get Full Text in PDF Abstract Zero-sum power politics is a fundamental threat to human security. Synergetic relations among nations are proposed to improve human security. Among existential threats to humanity, the most immediate and little understood is the development of Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) before agreements are in place for its management. Examples of potential beneficial... Read more
Garry Jacobs, Janani Ramanathan
Get Full Text in PDF Abstract * The global challenges confronting humanity are interlinked and interdependent. They are all global in nature, and none of them can be addressed successfully by individual nations acting on their own. In order to effectively navigate the closely interconnected world that we live in and address its challenges, we need new levels of organization and strategy, and the... Read more
Ash Pachauri, Drishya Pathak, Komal Mittal, Norma Patricia Muñoz Sevilla, Philo Magdalene A, Saroj Pachauri
Get Full Text in PDF Abstract The human security index consists of three key components: economic fabric index, environmental fabric index, and social fabric index. These three components include various different indicators like health, education, diversity, peacefulness, governance, food security, environmental vulnerability, protection and sustainability, measures of human, societal, and... Read more
Marta Neškovic
Get Full Text in PDF Abstract As a Youth Delegate of the Republic of Serbia, from the Institute for Political Studies, in Belgrade, Serbia, and a representative of the World Academy of Art and Science (WAAS), I summarize in this report the most capturing sessions I attended during the 27th Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) – COP27, which took... Read more
Stefan Brunnhuber
Get Full Text in PDF If we look in detail at the dozens of Green Deal agendas globally and the UN SDGs, we will find that around two-thirds of them relate not to private goods but to global commons. Given that 85% of our global wealth is privatised already and we have a lot of liquidity on the capital market, we need to look carefully at how we can generate the money we need without privatising... Read more
Ashok Natarajan
Get Full Text in PDF Abstract The quest for human security has pitted the individual against the collective throughout history. Individualism and collectivism are two competing philosophical and social movements that have divided the world for centuries and trace their origin back to ancient times. They are founded on different interpretations of the value and place of freedom and equality in... Read more
Mariana Bozesan
Get Full Text in PDF Abstract The demand for human security is growing proportionally with the exponentially growing complexity of the existential threats born in the Anthropocene. After discussing the Meta Crisis as a steppingstone for problem solving, the paper aims to give hope by arguing that human security is tightly related to the implementation of the UN SDGs within Planetary Boundaries... Read more
Federico Mayor
Get Full Text in PDF Faced with global threats that are today looming over mankind—some of them possessing an irreversible nature—and looking into the eyes of our descendants and the forthcoming generations, it is inevitably up to “Us, the Peoples” to fulfil our essential duties, now that we are aware of the seriousness of the situation and we know, at last, that we are equal in dignity and able... Read more
Nebojša Nešković
Get Full Text in PDF Human security is the state of being secure from danger, fear, and anxiety for all humans and social groups. The roots of these insecurities were clearly recognized in the Sustainable Development Goals, which were adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in September 2015 within the resolution Transforming our World: 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Most of... Read more
Benno Werlen
Get Full Text in PDF Abstract The semantical as well as the practical implications of ‘human security’ need to be re-adapted due to the constantly changing kind of vulnerabilities of all people around the planet, independent of their place, culture, status or beliefs. Today major threats are of global nature, which can affect anybody. With this, the international organization of the efforts to... Read more
Alberto Zucconi, Luca Rolle
Get Full Text in PDF Abstract Finally, after many years of resistance, the majority accepts the scientific evidence that we live in what Paul Crutzen, Fellow of the World Academy of Art and Science, defined as the Anthropocene Era, because humanity has left a major impact on not just the planet but all life forms. (Crutzen and Stoermer, 2000). Nowadays, with the rising frequency and magnitude of... Read more
Ganoune Diop
Get Full Text in PDF Abstract Human security is a comprehensive paradigm to assess and understand the deepest needs of the whole human family. The concept of human security transcends the traditional reduction and limits of security to national security, border security, military security, or cybersecurity, to encompass other incontrovertible aspects and multifaceted dimensions of human existence... Read more
Walton Stinson, Douglas Weinstein
Get Full Text in PDF Abstract The recent Consumer Electronics Show (CES) held in Las Vegas in January 2023 was a remarkable event and projected a powerful message to the leading companies in the industry and the rest of the 115,000 business and global press representatives who participated. For the first time, CES 2023 adopted a theme for the conference and projected it to participants through... Read more
Jonathan Granoff
Get Full Text in PDF Abstract Change is urgently needed. Ideas that can generate change are critical at this time and age where humanity is facing multidimensional crises that are characterised by complexity. Human security is that idea that can help us address the crises in their entirety because it‘s comprehensive, integrative, people-centered and goes beyond conventional disciplines and... Read more
Phoebe Koundouri, Konstantinos Dellis
Get Full Text in PDF Abstract The notion of Human Security has regained traction in the public domain, mostly following the disruptive impact of the global pandemic and the geopolitical tensions in Eastern Europe. The concept, however, was molded during the second half of the twentieth century, as scholars, policy makers and the public became ever more disillusioned with the focus on national... Read more
Irina Bokova
Get Full Text in PDF Abstract WAAS should be credited for its contribution to promoting integrated, multidisciplinary approaches to tackling global problems, emphasizing the importance of science, education and culture in their entirety, in recognising their close interdependence and interconnection. In the Millennium Development Goals and in the Human Development concept before, there was one... Read more
Jon-Hans Coetzer, Lucía Morales, Patrick Flynn, Lia Pop, Nadia Barkoczi, Sonia Munteanu, Cristina Campian, Daniel Rajmil
Get Full Text in PDF Abstract In this paper, we provide in-depth critical analysis and reflections on how technology, innovation and digital literacy can help to bring awareness on the need for a new dimension and approach to foster a transformational attitude towards education. Learning drives change, and if we aim to make an impact, there is a need to enable collaboration between different... Read more
Garry Jacobs
Get Full Text in PDF Abstract Humanity confronts complex, multidimensional challenges to the security of the people and the planet we live on. These threats continue to defy resolution by means of the existing policies, institutions and actions of nations around the world. In spite of unprecedented and remarkable achievements, our sense of insecurity continues to rise. A fundamental change is... Read more
Vaira Vike-Freiberga
Get Full Text in PDF Abstract We are at a turning point in history and are faced with a choice: should we go back to the past or embrace and accept the present, wherein lies the answer to our present problems. Russia has always had an aggressive attitude towards countries that lie in its geographical periphery. It has always demanded compliance from these nations and since Ukraine stood up for... Read more
Marcel Van de Voorde
Get Full Text in PDF Abstract The Russian invasion of Ukraine has shaken up the academic world. Universities in Ukraine have been bombed and academic staff and students have been killed and injured and many professors and students have fled the country. Institutions especially in Europe are trying to help the academic world in Ukraine and refugee professors and students are helped so that they... Read more
Elena Andreevska
Get Full Text in PDF Abstract Following the Second World War, the international community was reinvigorated to design an international body with the capability to limit the onset of another world war. Enshrined in the United Nations (UN) Charter was the vision for the organization to be “a guardian of international peace and security, as a promoter of human rights, as a protector of international... Read more
David Harries
Get Full Text in PDF Abstract The accelerating pace of change and even the near-term unpredictability of its consequences calls for more enlightened and timely analyses of the most globally disruptive events. The continuing war for Ukraine is indisputably such an event. This essay presents an academically unconventional assessment of what that war means, addressing its consequences in terms of... Read more
Peter Nijkamp, Karima Kourtit, Gabriela Pascariu
Get Full Text in PDF Abstract This paper argues that science has not been very successful in preventing wars between nations, but may play a significant role in re-building a country or region after devastations from a military conflict. This is illustrated by the case of Ukraine. The specific potential contribution of regional science to the country’s recovery process is highlighted (a ‘phoenix... Read more
Rodolfo Fiorini
Get Full Text in PDF Abstract The goal of this paper is to focus on learning major divergences for understanding global human security and modern world order in the 21st century, with the strategic perspective of an integrated approach for peace and economy, considering current events. No global structure of peace can be stable and secure unless all parties recognize others’ legitimate security... Read more
Piero Dominici
Get Full Text in PDF Abstract Both democracy (nowadays known as “global democracy”) and war are examples of complexity. Simplification and closing-off (isolation) will never accomplish anything when dealing with either of these kinds of complexity. We have taken for granted that aggression, invasion and war are by definition immoral and illegal and that it is always necessary to distinguish... Read more
Renzo Cianfanelli
Get Full Text in PDF Abstract The article raises some fundamental questions concerning the Ukraine-Russia war: why is the UN not intervening to bring peace? What does the West want? These are all questions that we should be asking urgently, but don’t. How is the war going to end in Ukraine, and what exactly does the West want in Ukraine? The question, while the fiercest war since the end of WWII... Read more
Janani Ramanathan
Get Full Text in PDF Abstract As the Russia-Ukraine war continues spreading human misery in its wake, more and more countries are being impacted directly or indirectly by it, bringing the world perilously close to a 1960s like Cold War scenario. As the world becomes divided once again, it is time for the Non-Aligned Movement to take its place in the world again. The Movement was founded to... Read more
Fadwa El Guindi
Get Full Text in PDF Abstract The current Russia-Ukraine military conflict reveals how the laws established by the United Nations to guide “war behavior” need to be realistically reconsidered in light of the changes since WWII that now characterize military conflicts. Today dominant nations circumvent rules of engagement by resorting to new tactics. It also unmasks a prevalent “global dominance... Read more
John Scales Avery
Get Full Text in PDF Abstract The extreme dangers of nuclear war are discussed against the background of Russia’s brutal and illegal invasion of Ukraine, during which Vladimir Putin put Russia’s nuclear weapons on high alert. It is recommended that the United States and its allies should stop sending arms to Ukraine, that they should halt the eastward expansion of NATO, and that they should... Read more
Robert Van Harten
Get Full Text in PDF Abstract When we view the world from above, can the Ukraine crisis be seen as the beginning of a grand opening and synthesis towards a world unified through collaboration? We are in the aftermath of the pandemic, faced with an increasing worldwide poverty through exploding energy and food prices and the accelerating climate disasters and have to wonder whether a viable future... Read more
Petra Kuenkel
Get Full Text in PDF Abstract The war on Ukraine is a wake-up call. Not because not all wars are atrocities that steal lives and future. It is a wake-up call, because it so bluntly reveals the violent perpetuation of a dominance model that has held human evolution captive for 6000 years. The article looks at the underlying pattern that creates, keeps and recreates structures that give rise to mad... Read more
Maria G. Carvalho
Get Full Text in PDF Abstract Globalization was challenged by the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, which forced the European Union to acknowledge its limitations on many fronts, from access to raw materials to manufacturing, and from control of data to innovation in general. The ongoing geopolitical situation, which promises to be a game-changer for years to come, only reinforced the... Read more
Walton Stinson
Get Full Text in PDF Abstract Economic Sanctions are being deployed by the West in the Russia-Ukraine conflict at a level never before attempted with the intention of wrecking the Russian economy. Very little attention is given to the dismal record of sanctions or the consequences of sanctions on civilians, mercantile enterprises, global and regional economies, and the economies of countries... Read more
Patrick Liedtke
Get Full Text in PDF Abstract This paper makes the case for why we believe that the Russia-Ukraine crisis signals the end of a global era defined by globalisation. Even though Russia’s economy is only a fraction of the US, EU or China, its role in the world is much more relevant and the events in Ukraine are triggering a cascade of effects that will redefine the political, social and economic... Read more
Carlos Alvarez Pereira
Get Full Text in PDF Abstract War is the ultimate expression of polarization. It instantly invokes in all of us the binary divide of life and death. Being supportive of the victims of aggression is a humane mandate. At the same time, the active engagement in the binary logic of war prevents us from recognizing the systemic and violent nature of modern international relations. If we intend to end... Read more
Harlan Cleveland
Get Full Text in PDF Note This article is a reproduction of the keynote address by Harlan Cleveland at the William G. McGowan Theatre on October 21, 2006 in the National Archives and Record Administration at https://www.archives.gov/research/foreign-policy/cold-war/symposium/cleveland.html I am not a historian, so don’t look for dispassionate recording of the Cold War in what follows. I was of... Read more
Federico Mayor
Get Full Text in PDF “There is no challenge beyond the reach of the creative capacity of human beings”. – John F. Kennedy, 1963 Abstract The transition to the future we long for requires moving from imposition to discussion, from power to word, from the use of weapons to mediation. And to reduce or, at least, cease to increase the arsenals of bombs, allocating all necessary... Read more
Ketan Patel, Christian Hansmeyer
Get Full Text in PDF Abstract Russia’s aggression in Ukraine has shaken the post-war liberal order, originally designed to prevent war in Europe and between advanced industrialised countries. While the mechanisms to avoid drawing neighbouring countries (and their allies) into the conflict appear to be holding, the risk of further escalation between Russia and NATO remains considerable. With... Read more
Philippe Destatte
Get Full Text in PDF Abstract It was a newspaper cartoon that inspired this text, in particular the reflection it carried on the relations between Russia and NATO: what seems unthinkable today was thought yesterday and could be made possible tomorrow. Hence this question: Russia in NATO, thinking the unthinkable. With the dual perspective of a historian, trained in the history of Russia, and a... Read more
Garry Jacobs
Get Full Text in PDF Abstract This paper seeks to look beyond the sense of justifiable outrage and horror over the events still unfolding as a result of the war in Ukraine to examine the root causes of the current conflict and the essential issues that need to be addressed in order to end and prevent its recurrence. It challenges simplistic assumptions underlying the sense of pessimism,... Read more
Jonathan Granoff
Get Full Text in PDF Abstract Human Security is the conceptual framework through which multilateral cooperation and common security amongst nations, which is now necessary, can be achieved. The article argues that the concept of human security has not reached its potential to catalyse progress yet. Human Security focuses on people-centered and context-specific responses to challenges. Several... Read more
Donato Kiniger-Passigli
Get Full Text in PDF This article addresses a great many points of importance related to the war in Ukraine, especially the need for negotiations and the role of the UN in peacekeeping, which no one seems to be thinking about. It offers a balanced view that shifts the focus from moral outrage shouted from every rooftop (on both sides) to a reference to root causes, missed opportunities and... Read more
Alexander Likhotal
Get Full Text in PDF Abstract Russian invasion of Ukraine goes much further than phantom pains of Russia’s imperial dreams. This unfolding confrontation must be understood as a major clash in the rising strategic competition to determine the future architecture of the world order and the European security system. To analyse the essence of this aggression, one should not succumb to the temptations... Read more
The World Academy of Art and Science condemns the Russian military invasion of Ukraine. It is an illegal act of aggression. It is causing the death of innocent civilians and placing the security of the entire world at risk. The threat or use of force to resolve disputes is prohibited under Article 2 of the UN Charter. Russia was not under any threat that offered no recourse other than force. In... Read more
Shoshana Bekerman
Get Full Text in PDF Abstract The COVID-19 pandemic has not only affected people’s health and livelihood around the world, it has caused social upheaval in many nations and is creating a lasting impact on relations between individuals, communities and nations. The need for a culture of peace has never been greater. The Inter-Parliamentary Coalition for Global Ethics (IPCGE) calls for mandatory... Read more
Rama Mani
Get Full Text in PDF Abstract This article situates itself in the context of the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks which launched the ‘Global War on Terror’—coming shortly after the debacle of the Taliban’s triumphant return to power in Afghanistan. The article contends that both terrorism and the war on terrorism have upset the delicate balance between democracy and security, and placed... Read more
Mamphela Ramphele
Get Full Text in PDF Abstract The current global institutional architecture is a product of a bygone era of the power of dominant players to impose themselves on others. This paper argues that the multiple planetary emergencies upon us demand radical transformation of all institutions to reflect on the lessons learnt. It proposes an urgent examination of global governance institutions, with the... Read more
Ashok Natarajan
Get Full Text in PDF Abstract The challenges we face today can be transformed into opportunities if the motivation of short-term, myopic social values is replaced by commitment to psychological values such as unity, harmony, freedom and equality. Values are commonly dismissed as utopian ideals of little practical relevance, whereas in fact they possess an enormous power for self-realisation. A... Read more
Michael Marien
Get Full Text in PDF Abstract The first survey of 25 recent online reports on the global environmental emergency was published in CADMUS (4:1, 2019), with emphasis in the title on “Scientists Reporting.” This second survey also covers 25 recent reports on sustainability issues, but it is juxtaposed with a relatively long review of the March 2021 global trends report of America’s... Read more
Thomas Reuter
Get Full Text in PDF Abstract The COVID-19 pandemic has shown that in a global systemic crisis, differences in impact are not confined to immediate threat, in this case virus infection and mortality rates. Indirect impacts such as reduced affordability of food due to income loss can be and often are more severe. Economic inequality thus acts as a massive amplifier of disaster impact. Inequality... Read more
Martin Ramirez
Get Full Text in PDF After the 65th anniversary of the Russell-Einstein Manifesto, origin of the Pugwash Movement, and the 60th anniversary of the foundation of the World Academy of Art and Science, Cadmus is celebrating its 10th anniversary with a special issue with Seed Ideas on inspirational topics related to the commitment of WAAS to the application of Knowledge to address humanity’s... Read more
Mariana Bozesan
Get Full Text in PDF While emerging from the emergency of the largest pandemic in a century, many of us are at the end of our emotional ropes and are longing for normality in an uncertain world. We are troubled by the lack of leadership, poor behavior, and the inability of governments to address a pandemic that could have been prevented, had we heeded the warnings of experts and scientists. We... Read more
John McClintock
Get Full Text in PDF My idea for creating a better world is to update the Paris climate agreement, combining it with a plan to put poor countries back on a growth path by modernizing their farming sectors. Climate change is a case of global atmospheric pollution; but it is not the first. Twenty years ago, we were emitting CFCs which thinned the ozone layer, increasing the risk of skin cancer.... Read more
Andreas Bummel
Get Full Text in PDF Democracy is under pressure worldwide from the outside and from within. Democracy’s decline is destabilizing societies and the global order. It is high time we stepped up our efforts to make it stronger and to defend it against its enemies. According to Freedom House, the global balance in 2020 has been shifting further “in favour of tyranny”. For the 15th consecutive year,... Read more
Thomas Reuter
Get Full Text in PDF The COVID-19 pandemic constitutes an acute global challenge at present, touching nearly all aspects of our lives. At its 60th anniversary conference, WAAS thus held a 2½ hours session on this issue, featuring an interdisciplinary line up of nine speakers and five respondents, and entitled: The COVID Pandemic as a Systemic Crisis: What can we learn from a diversity of... Read more
Federico Mayor
Get Full Text in PDF The time has come to take steps allowing us, before it is too late, to correct current trends on a global scale. Otherwise, we would not fulfill our inter-generational duties and the Earth’s habitability would be seriously deteriorated. In the past, social evolution used to be very slow. For centuries, power was in the hands of just a few men. Citizens had no voice and were... Read more
David Chikvaidze
Get Full Text in PDF We are today living not in a mere shifting environment but a pivotal moment. The essentials of eras change only every century or so, when the existing social and economic paradigm has exhausted itself and a new one emerges.  The era we have entered upon began with the end of the Cold War. Yet, neither the end of an ideological standoff nor even the disappearance of... Read more
Garry Jacobs, Donato Kiniger-Passigli
Get Full Text in PDF Knowledge is power and power lends itself for good or for evil. The World Academy was founded by eminent scientists deeply concerned by the realization that the invention of nuclear weapons posed an existential threat to the future of humanity. Despite their efforts, more than 125,000 nuclear weapons were built during the Cold War and the nuclear genie remains at loose.... Read more
Augusto Forti
Get Full Text in PDF Abstract In this short article, the author traces the sociological origins of WAAS and traces briefly the history of the scientists‘ nuclear abolition movement, which was a main reason for the founding of the Academy. A lot remains to be done by the world community to address the multifaceted problems we face today. WAAS has been playing a crucial role in this process. In the... Read more
Garry Jacobs, Donato Kiniger-Passigli, Winston P. Nagan, Ivo Šlaus, Alberto Zucconi
Get Full Text in PDF Abstract Solution to the complex nexus of problems confronting humanity exceeds the capacity of any individual or small group of individuals or organizations. But it does not lie beyond the capacity of the collective aspiration, intelligence and determination of humanity. The world needs aspirational leadership that transcends the partisanship and limitations of self-... Read more
Michael Marien
Get Full Text in PDF The COVID-19 pandemic has already changed our world. And it is still underway, expected to continue over several years—or longer. Despite some 165 vaccines currently in accelerated development or in early trials, a quick tech fix is unlikely, especially for all nations. Some countries have been cautiously re-opening after lockdown, but still finding hotspots. Other countries... Read more
Mila Popovich, Julene Siddique
Get Full Text in PDF Abstract In response to the new socio-economic conditions and the planetary momentum for change induced by our multifaceted crises, humanity needs to synthesize its knowledge and synergize its action into a coherent and coordinated global movement and new leadership. Toward a new paradigm of human development aligning global societies with planetary systems, sustainability... Read more
Dina Dragija
Get Full Text in PDF Abstract We are living in a world of intense change in which young generations play a major role in changing the world according to the markers of their generation. Peace and justice cannot be achieved by governments or institutions alone. It is no longer appropriate to use the tactics and strategies for peace that were developed for “old wars,” which were between nation-... Read more
Marco Vitiello
Get Full Text in PDF Abstract Change is an intrinsic characteristic of the universal reality in which the human being is immersed. Not only nature, but also the products of human life in its multiple dimensions remind us that nothing is permanent: everything is doomed to change. Yet, the thought and actions of mankind play a fundamental role in determining the quality of this change: if the... Read more
Federica Donati
Get Full Text in PDF Abstract This article presents a snapshot of the state of affairs in multilateral relations with a historical perspective. At a time when international institutions are under attack for not meeting their objective, enlightened individuals, non-governmental organizations and other non-state actors should actively work with governments and local leaders in revitalizing an... Read more
Michael Marien
Get Full Text in PDF Abstract The need for coordination and integration of human benefit knowledge, as well as application in policy, continues to grow. Numerous warnings of a serious global pandemic have gone unheeded, and COVID-19 has spread across the world, mishandled by many political leaders. But the coronavirus may provide a possible pathway to effectively addressing the broader problems... Read more
Garry Jacobs, Donato Kiniger-Passigli, Alexander Likhotal
Get Full Text in PDF Abstract There is a compelling need to redefine our conceptions and institutions of multilateralism. Multilateralism needs to be reshaped to take into account the proliferation in the number, variety and diversity of stakeholders acting globally, the volume of international interactions and transactions taking place, and the interdependence and complexity of the engagements... Read more
Jonathan Granoff
Get Full Text in PDF Abstract Approaching Human Security advocates the necessity of embracing an integral approach to security in order to ensure that humanity survives and flourishes. Human Security requires utilization of the tools of science and the values inherent in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. It incorporates multiple dimensions of human activity, such as culture, economics,... Read more
Ashok Natarajan
Get Full Text in PDF Abstract The world has yet to evolve a coherent theory of peace. As health is commonly understood as the absence of disease, peace is broadly conceived as the absence of war. This is a negative ideal that merely eschews physical violence rather than replacing the urge for aggression with a positive and self-existent sense of security. It addresses the visible symptoms but... Read more
Emil Constantinescu
Get Full Text in PDF With a special emphasis on the responsibility of the academic milieu* Abstract In order to understand “What the world will look like after the pandemic”, we must first understand the present we inhabit and learn from the lessons of the recent past. The COVID-19 pandemic is merely the latest—if, unfortunately, greatest—of the various crises that have continuously eroded the... Read more
Giuli Alasania
 Get Full Text in PDF Abstract The present paper will briefly review several turning points in the evolution of the Post-Cold War global order. During the Cold War, the bipolar international order was defined by an opposition between two superpowers whose positions were carefully balanced across the world. By contrast, due to the fact that the global security architecture was,... Read more
Garry Jacobs
 Get Full Text in PDF Abstract Over the past 200 years, the evolution of human society has moved inexorably toward greater interaction and interdependence between peoples and nations around the world. More recently the movements advancing free trade, globalization, liberal democracy, multilateral institutions and international cooperation have lost momentum and are in retreat. This... Read more
Ivo Šlaus
Catalyzing Transformation: A Process Framework for Transformative System Change Sandra Waddock* Get Full Text in PDF Abstract This article offers a synthesized perspective on a future-oriented process for transformational change makers, here called transformation catalysts, to catalyze systemic change through processes of connecting, cohering, and amplifying the transformational change work of... Read more
Dora Damjanović
 Get Full Text in PDF Abstract Almost thirty years since the fall of the Berlin Wall, it has become all too easy to say that the Wall “fell,” but what does that actually mean? The Wall did not vanish on its own. Rather it was the people, in a figurative sense, who unhinged it before the hammers and chisels could tear it down. It was the people who insisted on resisting the German... Read more
Winston P. Nagan, Samantha R. Manausa
 Get Full Text in PDF Abstract This paper has a specific focus on the core foundation of New Economic Theory. That is, the focus on human capital and its implications for the theory and method of the new form of political economy. The central issue that is underlined is the importance of scientific and technological innovation and its necessary interdependence on global values and value... Read more
Garry Jacobs, João Caraça, Rodolfo Fiorini, Erich Hoedl, Winston P. Nagan, Thomas Reuter, Alberto Zucconi
 Get Full Text in PDF Abstract Unprecedented speed, interconnectivity, complexity and uncertainty are impacting all spheres of global society today, presenting challenges that were not foreseen even a few years ago. The end of the Cold War was interpreted by many as the final victory for democracy and capitalism over authoritarian socialism. A quarter century after the sudden collapse of... Read more
Michael Marien
 Get Full Text in PDF Reviewed by Michael Marien A Farewell to Ice: A Report from the Arctic. Peter Wadhams (Prof. of Ocean Physics, Cambridge University). New York: Oxford University Press, Sept 2017, 240p, $21.95pb. (First published in UK by Allen Lane, Feb 2017.) Global Green Shift: When Ceres Meets Gaia. John A. Mathews (Prof. of Management, Macquarie University). London and... Read more
Garry Jacobs
 Get Full Text in PDF This is a time of unprecedented speed, interconnectedness, complexity and uncertainty which pose serious challenges to global peace, security, and sustainable social progress. Prevailing political, economic and social theory, institutions and policies are outdated and unable to cope with the need for change. But this is also a time of unprecedented opportunity for... Read more
Ashok Natarajan
 Get Full Text in PDF Abstract This article argues for a positive, comprehensive conception of peace that goes beyond the mere absence of war and a more integrated conception of human security that encompasses a wider range of issues than threats of physical violence. Education is one of humanity’s most effective social institutions for redirecting the violent physical energies of... Read more
Saulo Casali Bahia
 Get Full Text in PDF Abstract The article aims to discuss some aspects of the formal centers of social power. Thus, it seeks to answer how power becomes institutionalized in formal social organizations; what is the source of political power and how it is converted into institutions of governance; how legal power is generated by society and how it grows; what is the relationship... Read more
Emil Constantinescu
 Get Full Text in PDF Abstract The Internet manages to connect different parts of the world, defies geographical distances and gives the impression that our planet is flat, but the Internet is there only for the ones who have the possibility and the ability to use it. Our contemporary flat world has deep transversal fractures which, like in many geological structures, make a direct... Read more
Garry Jacobs
 Get Full Text in PDF Abstract Humanity has made remarkable progress during the past two centuries in advancing peace, democracy, human rights, economic development and social equality. The evolution of human relations has progressed far from the time when physical violence, war and conquest were the predominant form of international relations. Diplomacy has evolved from political... Read more
Desmond Browne, Garry Jacobs, Ivo Šlaus
“We need a new paradigm for the 21st century which is not dependent on what worked in the 20th century.”  Get Full Text in PDF Politicians are distracted with the on-going economic crisis and instability. While understandable this is far from the only challenge facing the world. If we are to seize the opportunities of the future then we have to address the legacy of the past and... Read more
Marc Finaud
 Get Full Text in PDF Editorial Note: This paper was presented at the international conference “Opportunities and Challenges for the 21st Century – Need for a New Paradigm”, which was organised by the United Nations Office and the World Academy of Art and Science and held at the United Nations Office in Geneva on June 3, 2013. Abstract If there is a loose consensus on aiming at a world free... Read more
John Scales Avery
Get Full Text in PDF Abstract   On 2 April, 2013, the Arms Trade Treaty, which had been blocked for ten years in the consensus-bound Conference on Disarmament in Geneva, was put directly before the United Nations General Assembly, and was passed by a massive majority. This historic victory opens new possibilities for progress on other seemingly intractable issues. In particular, it gives... Read more
Garry Jacobs, Winston P. Nagan
Get Full Text in PDF Abstract This article presents highlights and insights from the International Conference on “Nuclear Threats and Security” organized by the World Academy of Art and Science in association with the European Leadership Network and the Dag Hammarskjöld University College of International Relations and Diplomacy and sponsored by NATO at the Inter-University Centre, Dubrovnik on... Read more
Manpreet Sethi
Get Full Text in PDF Abstract The run up to the NPT Review Conference in 2010 brought nuclear disarmament into focus. Transitory though this trend turned out to be, it nevertheless became a trigger for India to re-examine its own position on disarmament. In order to take a considered view on the subject, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh instituted an Informal Group in October 2010 with the... Read more
Jasjit Singh
Get Full Text in PDF Abstract The primary objections raised against total elimination of nuclear weapons are built around a few arguments mostly of non-technical nature. Nuclear weapons and the strategies for their use have resulted in the establishment of a vicious circle within which the international community is trapped. The argument that the world will be unsafe without nuclear weapons is... Read more
John Burroughs
Get Full Text in PDF Abstract Deployment of nuclear forces as an international security mechanism for prevention of major war is far removed from the world envisaged by the United Nations Charter in which threat or use of force is the exception, not the rule. Reliance on nuclear weapons has also distorted the development of major instruments of international humanitarian law and international... Read more
Ward Wilson
Get Full Text in PDF Abstract Recent evidence from World War II and the Cold War shows that nuclear weapons are far less useful as military and political tools than has been believed. Far from giving a madman the power to conquer the world, nuclear weapons are clumsy, dangerous technology with very few real uses — even if you have a monopoly. No one does his best thinking when gripped by fear.... Read more
Winston P. Nagan, Garry Jacobs
Get Full Text in PDF Abstract The current international security framework is based on an incomplete, anachronistic conception of sovereignty shaped largely by historical circumstance rather than principles of universal justice. Evolution of the global community over the past half century necessitates a reformulation of the concept to justly represent the rights of individual citizens and the... Read more
John Scales Avery
Get the Full Text in PDF Abstract The concept of nuclear deterrence is seriously flawed, and it violates the fundamental ethical principles of all major religions. Besides being morally unacceptable, nuclear weapons are also illegal according to a historic 1996 decision of the International Court of Justice, a ruling that reflects the opinion of the vast majority of the worldʼs peoples. Even a... Read more
Winston P. Nagan
Get Full Text in PDF Abstract The author prepared this simulated judgment at the request of Cadmus editors to demonstrate that there is ample ground for revisiting and revising the landmark 1996 advisory opinion of the ICJ on the legality of nuclear weapons. The ICJ failed to anticipate the proliferation of nuclear weapons, which expands the evolution of the concept of sovereignty, the potential... Read more
Ashok Natarajan
Get Full Text in PDF Abstract: The relationship between peace and development holds the key to effective strategies for addressing the roots of social unrest. Rising expectations are the principal driving force for social development. However, the faster and higher aspirations rise, the greater the gap between expectations and reality. That gap promotes a sense of frustration, depravation and... Read more
Melanie Greenberg, Robert J. Berg, Cora Lacatus
Get Full Text in PDF The number and severity of conflicts (violent clashes where there are more than 1000 casualties) have declined markedly since the end of the Cold War. This is shown graphically below despite this being a time of high population growth:1 Figure1: Number of reported, codable deaths from state-based armed conflict, 1946-2005 Even including a rise in the number of terrorist... Read more
Jasjit Singh
Get Full Text in PDF At the time of writing, there is an obvious and tragic upheaval in the Arab world and a large number of other developing nations. North Africa from Mauritania to the Suez Canal and Yemen, the Persian Gulf from Iraq to Bahrain and Oman, and Afghanistan are on fire, much of it fuelled by religious ideologies, but also supported by Great Power politics. This upheaval comes on... Read more
Manpreet Sethi
Get Full Text in PDF 1. Introduction Universal nuclear disarmament** is not a new concept. From the time that the weapon was first used in 1945, and once the horrendous destruction that it could cause was understood, countries have struggled with the challenge of how to put the genie back into the bottle. To little avail. Nuclear abolition has proved to be an elusive objective owing to the lack... Read more
Winston P. Nagan
Get Full Text in PDF 1. Introduction In the Introduction to the first issue of CADMUS, Ivo Šlaus and Garry Jacobs essentially provide us with a reminder that the founders of modern economics were also important moral philosophers. In particular, Adam Smith would appear to be influenced by the idea that economics has a great deal to do with human well-being. His theory was meant to be a tool to... Read more
Peace and Security
Neantro Saavedra-Rivano
Gilberto C. Gallopín
Danielle Sandi Pinheiro
Joanilio Rodolpho Teixeira
Donato Kiniger-Passigli
Ivo Šlaus, Aleksander Zidanšek
Ranjani Ravi
Aleksander Zidanšek
Aleksander Zidanšek, Ivo Šlaus, Uroš Cvelbar
John Scales Avery
Garry Jacobs, Janani Ramanathan
Ash Pachauri, Drishya Pathak, Komal Mittal, Norma Patricia Muñoz Sevilla, Philo Magdalene A, Saroj Pachauri
Nebojša Nešković
Walton Stinson, Douglas Weinstein
Phoebe Koundouri, Konstantinos Dellis
Jon-Hans Coetzer, Lucía Morales, Patrick Flynn, Lia Pop, Nadia Barkoczi, Sonia Munteanu, Cristina Campian, Daniel Rajmil
Peter Nijkamp, Karima Kourtit, Gabriela Pascariu
Janani Ramanathan
Harlan Cleveland
Ashok Natarajan
Federico Mayor
David Chikvaidze
Garry Jacobs, Donato Kiniger-Passigli
Garry Jacobs, Donato Kiniger-Passigli, Winston P. Nagan, Ivo Šlaus, Alberto Zucconi
Garry Jacobs, Donato Kiniger-Passigli, Alexander Likhotal
Jonathan Granoff
Garry Jacobs, João Caraça, Rodolfo Fiorini, Erich Hoedl, Winston P. Nagan, Thomas Reuter, Alberto Zucconi
Saulo Casali Bahia
Emil Constantinescu
Desmond Browne, Garry Jacobs, Ivo Šlaus
Garry Jacobs, Winston P. Nagan
Melanie Greenberg, Robert J. Berg, Cora Lacatus