Three academic insights on how to achieve peace

Mathijs van Leeuwen: “All doors open for international student exchange”

The current preparation for a possible war is an understandable development, says Professor Mathijs van Leeuwen. “Naturally, the threat to the freedom and self-determination of European countries evokes a military response, but it is equally important to prepare for lasting peace, and in this respect Europe is falling short. And that while we did get a wake-up call with Russia's annexation of Crimea in 2014. Europe remained woefully inactive on all fronts, leaning on the broad shoulders of the US.”

Van Leeuwen identifies three important steps towards a lasting peace: economic cooperation, diplomacy, and – a key point in his opinion – international contact between ordinary people, for example between students and researchers. “Education is crucial. Learning from each other about what is going on elsewhere, speaking each other's languages, and feeding the dialogue between parties.” His guiding principle: “Peace isn’t the end of violence, but the establishment of a lasting relationship, based on the pillars of equality and justice.”

For Van Leeuwen, education is particularly important because it sensitises people to ambiguous perspectives. “Waging war is fuelled by a certain created image of an opponent, which justifies picking up arms. Education weighs these images, juxtaposes them, and nuances one's own position. That is why the current dismantling of academic higher education is so problematic. It is also why precisely now, we should be opening all doors to international student exchange. But the opposite is happening. These times in particular call for an investment in exchange and diplomacy.”

Mathijs van Leeuwen is Professor of Peace & Conflict Studies at the Centre for International Conflict Analysis and Management (CICAM).

Reinout van der Veer: “A glaring lack of political leadership”

Political scientist Reinout van der Veer, who specialises in international organisations, emphasises how remarkable Europe's now 80-year peace is, despite smaller-scale, often domestic conflicts, such as in Northern Ireland or in former Yugoslavia. He believes that anyone who wants this long-term peace (“Which is now unfortunately under threat”) to continue for a very long time would do well to carefully consider the pillars underpinning it.

Van der Veer counts six such pillars, two of which are related to NATO: US security guarantees and nuclear deterrence. The remaining four are ‘softer’, and include economic integration, the spread of liberal democracy, the growing number of arenas for international conflict management, and the decades-long sentiment of ‘Never again war’. “All six are in decline,” according to Van der Veer's analysis. “The ‘never again war’ sentiment has lost power, and we increasingly hear the familiar slogan that those who want peace should ‘prepare for war’”.

The political scientist also points to the erosion of international institutions and the undermining of the rule of law worldwide. Van der Veer also sees rays of hope, and calls specifically for a halt to the undermining of these international organisations. Research shows that the beneficial effect of these institutions goes hand-in-hand with maintaining their capacity. “Investment in this pays off. But we also need leadership, in The Hague and internationally.” He refers to UN Secretary General António Guterres and EU President Ursula von der Leyen as rays of hope in this regard. The new head of NATO, Mark Rutte, could learn from them, he says, pointing to Rutte's sheepish reaction to Trump's threat of annexing Greenland. “Rutte was sitting right next to Trump, and skirted around the issue, while this was the ideal moment to step up to the plate and send the message that international law matters.”

Reinout van der Veer is Assistant Professor of International Relations at the Department of Political Science.

Ronald Tinnevelt: “Who will stand up to lead by example?!”

In the current era of power and realism, Professor Ronald Tinnevelt finds it natural that states give full attention to their role as military actors. “But this becomes problematic if it is not combined with the question of what this role should culminate in. What do we want from all this military action? How can we use it to achieve lasting peace, within and between states? That reflection still needs to happen.”

History shows that this kind of a peace impulse follows war; Tinnevelt points to the creation of the League of Nations in 1919 (as a reaction to the First World War) and the advent of the UN in 1945, as an extension of WWII. “The international edifice is now solid,” says Tinnevelt, “with numerous clear principles on peace, freedom and justice. But what is missing is compliance.”

The professor finds this particularly worrying because on the one hand, the importance of international agreements is growing (”Think sustainability and trade relations”), while on the other hand, ‘tyrannical forces' are attacking these oh-so-necessary institutions. 
Tinnevelt sees that long-standing safeguards are now eroding at a staggering pace, especially within many democratic states. He points to the distorted power play referred to by Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt as ‘the banality of autocracy’.

He believes crucial elements in the balance of powers include civil society, the civil service, citizen voices, mainstream politics, the press, and universities. “Where is the authority? Where is the civic protest? Who will insist on rules being enforced? Failing this, the dominoes will topple one by one, and the only power left to safeguard the balance will be the judiciary.” That is far too vulnerable, according to his analysis. “What we need right now, above all, is for people to stand up and lead by example. That could also be a top official, or someone from our universities. But we’ve also been much too passive so far.”

Ronald Tinnevelt is Professor of Philosophy of Law and conducts research on the resilience of the democratic rule of law, the normative status of political parties, and the idea of global justice.

Panel discussion on peace and security

NATO by the Netherlands. In preparation for the NATO conference in late June in The Hague, Radboud University is joining forces with HCSS (The Hague Centre for Strategic Studies) to organise a panel discussion on peace and security, which will also feature Reinout van der Veer. The keynote speaker is Caspar Veldkamp, Dutch Minister of Foreign Affairs. Monday 7 April, 4.45 p.m. -7.30 p.m. Please register via this link.