Uri Savir has an ambitious but indispensable goal: to modernize peacemaking. In the follow-up to his award-winning book, THE PROCESS, he exposes and deconstructs the many ironies and anachronisms in our current, deeply flawed approach to peacemaking. "Little in today's world," he writes "is more progressive than modern warfare. Yet little is more archaic than today's peacemaking strategies." While the social, political, and economic elements of societies have evolved to encompass issues of globalization, hi-tech and communications, peacemaking as a strategy has remained stagnant.
Savir makes many radical observations, including the long-denied fact that war-makers cannot also be the peace-makers, and that we mistakenly believe that security guarantees peace when the inverse is true: peace guarantees security. Our outmoded approaches to diplomacy, he argues, actually ensure failure; while our preparations future wars reflect current, ever-changing circumstances, our preparations for the next peace process are habitually and fatefully based on the previous peace process. Witness: of the approximately 70 partial and full peace agreements signed over the last two decades, a vast majority face severe sustainability issues or have simply drowned.
As an alternative to a world in which peace is just the pause between wars, Savir urges readers to acknowledge that, just as we accept the fact that there are sometimes "necessary wars," we must accept the imperative that there is always a "necessary peace." When we make this mental shift, peace becomes not merely a strategic objective, but instead a core, internalized value—a value that stems from our internalized commitment to equality between human beings, and from the realization that we all have similar needs, fears, hopes and weaknesses.
To illustrate his four-point plan for sustainable peace-making, Savir draws on his own deep, first-hand experiences, most notably during the Oslo Peace Process, but also working to build peace between enemies and former enemies in the African nations of Ethiopia, Eritrea, Rwanda, and Sierra Leone, the European regions of Northern Ireland and the Former Yugoslavia, and in Asia - Afghanistan, India and Pakistan.
Industry Reviews
"Through Peace First Uri Savir proves that he is one of the chief stewards of the temple of peace. He continues to fulfill his duties with great perseverance, and he dedicates his intellectual life to finding solutions to conflict and unearthing the origins of the idea that tyrannizes him-peace."
-Abu Ala (Ahmed Qurei), former Prime Minister of the Palestinian Authority
"When Uri Savir says it is time to modernize our approach to peace, he is surely correct. One thing is for sure: leaders trying to resolve historic conflicts need help from within and from without to marshal the wherewithal to confront both history and mythology. Uri Savir is certainly doing his part to help."
-Ambassador Dennis Ross, Ziegler Distinguished Fellow, The Washington Institute for Near East Policy and author of Statecraft, and How to Restore America's Standing in the World
"In this book, Savir outlines a radical and innovative approach to the peace process in an effort to change the paradigm and move peace forward. In an era where new ideas seem in short supply, Savir soldiers on, with creativity, integrity, and a never-ending commitment to bring much-needed peace to the region."
-Dr. Marwan Muasher, Senior Vice President, External Affairs, World Bank and author of The Arab Center: The Promise of Moderation
"This is a wise and compelling reassessment of approaches to negotiating the resolution of conflicts in an ever-more-complex international environment. Uri Savir's emphasis on combining the global with the local makes a unique contribution to the challenge of peacemaking in the Middle East and beyond."
-Martin Indyk, Director, Saban Center for Middle East Policy, The Brookings Institution, and former U. S. Ambassador to Israel
"A thoughtful examination of the challenge of peacemaking in a world where shifting parameters -the rise of non-state actors, the increase in international terrorism, the advance of military technology, the growing rift between the Western and Islamic societies, the rise of extremism -have created a new strategic paradigm. A serious and insightful case for a new approach to conflict resolution,"
-Javier Solana, High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy, European Union
"Israel's pre-eminent diplomat, Ambassador Uri Savir, has authored a highly innovative perspective on how international state-to-state diplomacy has to be supplemented by a people-to-people approach. The grand master of Middle Eastpeace negotiations has again proved his groundbreaking diplomatic stature through a city-to-city angle in our age of urbanization."
-Terje Rod-Larsen, President, International Peace Institute
"Drawing from his rich personal experience, Savir has the courage and the vision to explain why narrow, conventional approaches to security are bound to prove insufficient in the 21st century. I particularly welcome Savir's proposal for a Pax Mediterraneo that embraces everybody in the region, without exception-a task that seems to me more urgent than ever."
-Miguel Moratinos, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, Spain
"In Essaouira-Mogador, my tiny hometown, I was educated by my rabbis and teachers to first take care of my neighbors. Today my neighbor is Palestinian... By fighting for a just and decent peace between Palestine and Israel I am fighting for my own heritage... On this frustrating but illuminating road to peace Uri was one of the very few colleagues and dear friends who paved the way."
-Andre Azoulay, Counselor to the King of Morocco
"A timely and valuable book... Uri gives us a rich menu of new and creative models for peacemaking. A must read for scholars and negotiators involved in vital issues of peacemaking."
-Toni G. Verstandig, Senior Policy Advisor, Center for Middle East Peace and Economic Cooperation, and Executive Director, Aspen Institute's Middle East Strategy Group
"Uri Savir's book Peace First is a creative and courageous new model for peace- making in our world. The book has depth and compelling analysis -a must-read for anyone concerned with bringing peace to the countless war-torn regions across the globe."
-Quincy Jones, music impresario and founder of the Quincy Jones Listen Up Foundation
"Uri Savir's commitment and expert knowledge can never be questioned. In Peace First he has discovered the clearest and most possible path toward peace. It should be required reading for every diplomat."
-Kathleen Turner, actress
"Peace is the process that begins in the individual heart. It is a need to live with- out grief, despair, or expectation. A desire to give with release. It is the ecstasy of tranquility."
-Sharon Stone, actress
