Most Important Aspect of Peace is Also the Most Neglected

Recent years have seen a highly contradictory trend—at a time when the need for international cooperation for resolving the kind of environmental problems that can pose a survival threat has increased, there has instead been an increasing drift towards wars, including more prolonged and ‘forever’ wars, and a breakdown of diplomacy and civilized behavior in the pursuit of international relations. This surely is a recipe for disaster, and the reasons which have led us so badly astray should be examined.

One of the most important factors, perhaps the most important factor, in the ability of any society to reduce distress significantly relates to the extent to which it has advanced in terms of its practice and learning of peace and non-violence in internal and external affairs, ranging from personal or family and community matters to relations with the rest of the world. While this is true for all periods of history, its importance has increased significantly during the last century due to the ever-increasing destructive capacity of available weapons and the advance of technologies that enable prolonged wars even with distant countries.

While humanity has been very ‘successful’ in pursuing destructive technologies, it has faltered badly in adopting and advancing the precepts of peace and non-violence of peace and non-violence in the conduct of its life at all levels, despite all the evidence that this is the most important factor for reducing distress, whether by minimizing violence in daily life or avoiding the possibilities of major wars.

Recent evidence points not only to an increased drift towards more prolonged wars and war-mongering, but also to very high levels of violence in daily life., but also of very high levels of violence in daily life. According to the World Peace Index Report, 2025, 78 countries are engaged in conflicts beyond their borders while the successful resolution of conflicts is lower than at any other point in the last 50 years. At the same time, this review tells us, many leading factors that precede major conflicts are at a higher level than they have been since the end of World War 2.

Furthermore, nearly 1.2 million people die by homicide and suicide annually, which is merely the tip of the iceberg of the millions who suffer physical and emotional injury from everyday violence. According to WHO data, in the age-group of 2-17 years, nearly a billion children suffer physical, sexual, emotional injury, or neglect annually (nearly half the number of children in this age-group).