If You Want Peace, Prepare for Peace: From Arms Race to Peace Race
If You Want Peace, Prepare for Peace: From Arms Race to Peace Race

Author(s): Christopher J. Coyne
Subject(s): Politics, International relations/trade, Security and defense, Peace and Conflict Studies
Published by: Addleton Academic Publishers
Keywords: Peace-through-strength; Strength-through-peace; Arms race; Nonviolent conflict resolution;
Summary/Abstract: Si vis pacem, para bellum (“If you want peace, prepare for war”). This is one of the most common adages in international affairs. At first blush, the idea of peace through military strength makes perfect sense - being stronger than others allows the dominant government to bring others to heel. This “peace-through-strength” view elevates state-provided military force as the foundational source of order and peace in the world. This normalizes the use of military force as the central means of human interactions, incentivizing others to respond in kind. One manifestation of this logic is the well-known “security dilemma” whereby one government’s increase in military strength makes other governments feel less secure. This incentivizes other governments to increase their military strength to counter the threat posed by the first-moving government. The result is an arms race where governments acquire increasing amounts of military strength capable of killing increasing numbers of people. This can generate some semblance of peace between nations, but this peace is fragile; it can easily unravel, resulting in violence on a significant scale.

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