“Doing something, however pathetic, is psychologically better than doing nothing. In the current political environment - that is, with no more Cold War tensions - the tendency is to counteract the feelings of fear and vulnerability with a variety of military, paramilitary and police measures, despite the reality that this kind of excessive reliance on force in many ways intensifies the very problem it is purporting to solve.” WayKindWarFeelingsProblemRealityPoliticalForceEnvironmentMilitaryColdPoliceCurrentsSolveTendenciesDespiteVarietyVulnerabilityTensionCold WarReliancePatheticDoing NothingPolitical Environment Author:Richard A. Falk
“Looked at objectively, it is clear that the overwhelming majority of civilian deaths resulting from political violence are produced by what should be understood as "state terror." Terrorism also serves as an excuse to avoid diplomacy and the peaceful resolution of conflict.” ShouldStatesPoliticalClearViolenceConflictUnderstoodMajorityTerrorExcuseTerrorismPeacefulResolutionOverwhelmingDiplomacyCiviliansPolitical ViolencePeaceful ResolutionCivilian Deaths Author:Richard A. Falk
“The British leadership has acknowledged that it only became possible to end the violence in North Ireland when it stopped thinking of the [Irish Republican Army] as "a terrorist organization" and began treating it as a political actor with genuine grievances that deserved to be addressed.” ThinkingEndsPoliticalActorsViolenceRepublicanOrganizationArmyBritishTerroristGenuineIrelandGrievance Author:Richard A. Falk
“At present, the United States, with over 700 foreign military bases, navies in every ocean, a programme to militarise space, and drone bases planned for all regions of the world, is increasingly perceived in relation to its hard power diplomacy, a threat to political independence and stability for many countries.” WorldCountryHardStatesPoliticalSpaceUnitedUnited StatesMilitaryOceanBasesRelationIndependenceThreatRegionsStabilityDiplomacyNavyProgrammesDronesMilitary BasesPolitical Independence Author:Richard A. Falk
“There was a deliberate decision after the failure of the League of Nations to make the next attempt to establish a global political actor sensitive to geopolitical realities. The underlying idea was to provide major states, defined in 1945 by reference to the winners in the Second World War (now an anachronism), with assurance that they could take part in the UN without jeopardising their national interests. In this regard, the UN has succeeded, as none of the big countries has withdrawn, and the Organisation has managed to achieve virtually universal membership of all sovereign states.” WorldIdeasWarCountryStatesBigsRealityPoliticalNextActorsNationsInterestDecisionAchieveMajorsUniversalRegardDefinedWinnerLeagueSensitiveWar Of The WorldsSovereignAssuranceDeliberateOrganisationSecond World WarMembershipNational InterestsGeopoliticalAnachronismLeague Of Nations Author:Richard A. Falk
“I think if there is to be a crime of 'political genocide' it needs to be formulated with great care and precision to avoid unpopular views from being criminalised.” IfsThinkingNeedsCarePoliticalViewsCrimeGenocidePrecision Author:Richard A. Falk
“As matters now stand, the combination of genocide, as conventionally understood, and crimes against humanity, seems sufficient to cover the criminality of political leaders, and the lethal consequences of totalising ideologies.” MatterSeemsPoliticalHumanityLeaderCrimeUnderstoodConsequenceIdeologyCombinationSufficientGenocidePolitical LeadersCriminalityCrimes Against Humanity Author:Richard A. Falk
“With Islamophobic tendencies in Europe and North America it is quite possible that Islamic leaders could be charged with 'political genocide'. An extremist American pastor in a small Florida church held a trial that convicted the Koran of encouraging the murder of non-Muslims and of being responsible for the 9/11 attacks. It is this sort of outlook that would be encouraged to claim that Islam embodied 'political genocide', a development that would have many negative effects on inter-civilisational relations within and among countries.” CountryWould BeAmericaPoliticalChurchLeaderEffectsDevelopmentEuropeNegativeClaimsRelationMurderResponsibleIslamTrialsTendenciesIslamicGenocideFloridaPastorOutlookExtremistBeing ResponsibleNorth AmericaBe Encouraged Author:Richard A. Falk
“It was a step forward to charge Pinochet with terrorism, and to acknowledge that the essence of the crime is the use of political violence to induce great fear in society and against those who are innocent, and not just such violence that is directed against the state by opposition groups.” StatesUsePoliticalStepsViolenceGroupsCrimeEssenceTerrorismInnocentAcknowledgeOppositionSteps ForwardPolitical ViolencePinochet Author:Richard A. Falk
