Vijay Mehta - Peace Beyond Borders: How the EU brought peace to Europe and how exporting it would end conflicts around the world

Endorsements for Peace Beyond Borders

Vijay Mehtas book Peace Beyond Borders is an important contribution to the urgent and ongoing debate on Europes future. The book gives hope by acknowledging the Unions difficulties but suggesting new ways in which Europe can overcome these by adopting a new, demilitarized, strategic approach to expansion, internal migration and the refugee crisis. This book is a must-read for all those citizens wishing to find ways to end wars, demilitarize both Europe and our world, and build peace a necessary base for prosperity for all the human family.

Mairead Corrigan Maguire, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, 1976, Founder, Peace People, Belfast, Northern Ireland

As stated in your own remarks, there is a risk that Europes great peace-promoting project will start to unravel. Robert Schumann, one of the founders of the European Union, said that we must invent Europe. In the last decades, because of a lack of leadership and an extreme neoliberal influence, the progress of a truly European Union has been strongly reduced. There is no political and economic union only monetary and no common foreign policy, including the role of NATO in security. This book can contribute to substantially decrease this risk and pave the way for a more equitable and peaceful world.

Federico Mayor Zaragoza, Former Director General UNESCO; President, Foundation, Culture of Peace, Madrid, Spain

Mehta offers strong arguments that regional coherence and unification based on a minimum degree of solidarity are substantial factors to secure stability and, ultimately, peace. His appraisal of achievements through European integration cannot be dismissed lightly and should be a warning to those cultivating anti-European sentiments of national isolationism. The book deserves recognition for a fascinating study of Europe.

Henning Melber, Director emeritus of The Dag Hammarskjld Foundation, Sweden. Extraordinary Professor at the University of Pretoria and the University of the Free State

Too often the case in Britain for our membership of the EU is made in the narrow economic terms of whats good for business and good for jobs. This excellent book is refreshingly different. It is about how the EU should be a force for peace and good in our troubled world.

Lord Roger Liddle, Special Advisor and Consultant on European Matters and Author of The Europe Dilemma, UK

I think the argument of your book is similar to a position I have argued for some years: namely, that the EUs greatest achievement is not economic co-operation and the regional machinery, but the establishment of a culture of peace within Europe, although not beyond Europe.

Richard Anderson Falk, Former UN Special Rapporteur on Palestinian Human Rights, Professor Emeritus of International Law at Princeton University, US

I do wish that your book will be highly successful as I fully agree with the direction of your thoughts as laid out.

Prof Dr Jrgen Elvert, Jean-Monnet Chair of European History and AIAS-COFUND Fellow of Aarhus University, Denmark

Vijay Mehtas wise, historically informed, presently encompassing, future-oriented, practical Peace Beyond Borders should be read by educators, leaders, the public and media commentators everywhere who favour human evolution toward a killing-free world. This pioneering book speaks for itself and will need no words from me or anyone when readers find it.

Glenn D Paige, Chair, Governing Council, Center for Global Nonkilling, Honolulu, Hawaii

Vijay Mehtas book is a timely, important and stimulating volume. That the regional approach to international peace and prosperity has much to commend it has also, for a long time, been my view. Europe has indeed made great strides, and has been seen as an example for other continents and regions to follow, as skilfully depicted in the book. At the same time, there are great strains, as Vijay has mentioned.

Peter Van Den Dungen, Author and Emeritus Professor, School of Social and International Studies, University of Bradford, UK

This book is an important contribution to how we should think and talk about the European Union today. The accurate claim that the Union brings peace to Europe has in recent years too often become a clich, trivialized by repetition. Vijay Mehta powerfully reminds us that peace can never be taken for granted and demonstrates to us, logically and eloquently, the Unions continuing role in assuring peace for Europe. Anyone unsure how to vote in the forthcoming European referendum should read this book.

Brendan Donnelly, Director, Federal Trust and former MEP

At this time, when the European Union faces unprecedented economic and political challenges from the Eurozone, refugee crises and populist nationalism, Vijay Mehtas reminder and re-affirmation of the EUs foundation ideals and unequalled record as peace-builder between historic enemies is hugely relevant for current geopolitics. Rejecting conventional notions of an uneasy post-1945 peace based on Cold War nuclear balance, he instead identifies 10 positive Peace Promoting Factors which stabilized the continent after the catastrophic 1914-45 era with EU ideals and institutions as focus and builder of the new peaceful order. Mehta cogently argues that the EU can be an inspiration and model for regional peace-building structures around the world, very positively contributing to world peace. Rich in original angles on European affairs, Peace Beyond Borders is a ground-breaking analysis of the EU and its global role, deserving the widest readership among policymakers and the general public. With Britains EU referendum looming and continent-wide debate on Europes future raging, Mehtas refreshingly innovative and positive appraisal is very welcome and timely.

Rev Brian Cooper, Co-ordinator and Uniting for Peace Churches and Interfaith Secretary, Edinburgh, UK

Peace Beyond Borders: How the EU brought peace to Europe and how exporting it would end conflicts around the world

First published in 2016 by

Catapult

an imprint of New Internationalist Publications Ltd

The Old Music Hall

106-108 Cowley Road

Oxford OX4 1JE, UK

newint.org

Vijay Mehta

The right of Vijay Mehta to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1998.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, electrostatic, magnetic tape, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior permission in writing of the Publisher.

Design and cover design: Ian Nixon, New Internationalist

British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data.

A catalog record for this book is available from the Library of Congress.

(ISBN ebook 978-1-78026-377-9)

To peace visionaries whose tireless efforts

made war unthinkable in Europe.

To Shanti, Sanjay, Renu, Ajay, Vimal, Ritika, Sheetal, Mahir, Dhairya,

Shivika and Vandika. Life would be burdensome without your love.

Table of Contents

Contents

10 steps which made war unthinkable in Europe

A supranational body working together for peaceful co-existence