In an epoch of technological development, the relative dearth
of political development as concerns international relations has been evident.
In June 2015, Pope Francis advocated the establishment of a global institution
having governmental sovereignty with which to combat the human contribution to
climate change. Such a political development would be significant, given the
long-standing default of sovereign nation-states and unions thereof. In July
2015, U.S. President Barak Obama announced an agreement with Iran that would
keep that nation-state from develop nuclear weapons in exchange for the removal
of economic sanctions. Just three years earlier, war had seemed unavoidable. I
submit that Obama’s accomplishment can be thought of as a step toward rendering
war itself as obsolete, or at least perceiving it as a primitive means of resolving disputes internationally. More subtly, the feat makes the sheer distance between the premises of war and those of diplomacy transparent. Paradoxically, this insight implies just how difficult a shift from a war-default to one that takes war as obsolete must be.
The full essay is at “The
American-Iranian Agreement Obviating War.”
