War by states, city-states, and individuals are common features found in human history going back to 2700 BCE. War has been used to resolve political or territorial disputes or ideological differences. At the same time the horrible consequences of war, have been drivers to create, expand, and strengthen human rights and their protection. While war recedes humanity and the social fabric and moves them backward, human rights offer hope and move humanity and societies forward. This one-step forward, two-steps-back cycle has been repeated throughout history. Russia’s unprovoked invasion and war against Ukraine is the latest chapter. It is marking an end of a cycle of relative peace and progress, and the start of another cycle that will shift the pendulum yet once again in favor of progress and against backwardness. The disturbing nature of aggression and the inability of old and weak institutions to adequately respond to unprovoked bellicosity will lead to a needed discussion about reclaiming fundamental values and the role of democratic governance and human rights in the new human history chapter. The Russian war against Ukraine will likely last longer than needed and cause irreparable damage. But history reminds us that the prerogative of a single individual with captured power and his evil willingness to use any means to get his way, including genocide and non-conventional weaponry, will not endure. What does history teach us? Where should the new thinking take us to promote democratic governance and human rights in a more complex and unpredictable world? And who will lead the necessary changes in the new cycle?
Read More “The Hope for Democratic Governance and Human Rights: The Struggle Continues”