Book contents
- The Peace Formula
- The Peace Formula
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Acknowledgments
- Part I Apocalypse No!
- Part II The Logic of Evil
- Part III Give Peace a Chance!
- 6 Power to the People
- 7 State Capacity for Stability
- 8 Plenty Makes Peace
- 9 Forgiving Not Fighting
- 10 A Role for All of Us?
- 11 Global Coordination to Curb Conflict
- Part IV The Art of Peace
- Notes
- Bibliography
- Index
10 - A Role for All of Us?
Smart Idealism, Global Public Opinion and International Support for Peace
from Part III - Give Peace a Chance!
Published online by Cambridge University Press: aN Invalid Date NaN
- The Peace Formula
- The Peace Formula
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Acknowledgments
- Part I Apocalypse No!
- Part II The Logic of Evil
- Part III Give Peace a Chance!
- 6 Power to the People
- 7 State Capacity for Stability
- 8 Plenty Makes Peace
- 9 Forgiving Not Fighting
- 10 A Role for All of Us?
- 11 Global Coordination to Curb Conflict
- Part IV The Art of Peace
- Notes
- Bibliography
- Index
Summary
This chapter stresses the importance of smart idealism, and outlines how global public opinion – and all of us – can play a crucial role. We cannot simply rely on our politicians to “do the right thing,” as either of the two components of smart idealism may be missing. Ideological bias may result in policies falling short of being smart or failing to be idealist, namely when politicians’ incentives are distorted. Electoral terms typically of four years result in a bias towards short-run policies (at the detriment of the lengthy, but crucial task of building peace), and often there are personal benefits for politician when cutting shady deals with despots. To get the incentives right, public pressure must ensure that the reelection chances of our politicians crucially depend on fostering peace at home and abroad. If voters care about this, then politicians will as well – whether out of intrinsic motivation or just to get reelected. As shown in this chapter, recent evidence highlights that scrutiny and attention from the world press and the public at large is a powerful rampart against repression.
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- The Peace FormulaVoice, Work and Warranties, Not Violence, pp. 151 - 166Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2024