Page 64 - Age of Peace Goodword.indd

An Institutionalized Buffer

This was an example of the ‘buffer strategy’. The trench,
serving as a buffer between the two sides, had effectively
stalled any military action.

Today, we are living in an age when the buffer strategy
is once again available to us on a much larger scale. Now,
in the United Nations, we have, in effect, just such a ‘buffer’
in the sense of its being geared to intervention between
two antagonistic nations. Formed in 1945, it extended its
membership to almost all of the countries of the world. And
under Chapter VII of UN Charter, it was decided by consensus
that if any nation attacked another, the UN would actively
intervene. One example of its successful intervention was the
occasion of Iraq’s attack on Kuwait in 1990, thanks to which
Kuwait was saved from destruction. The United Nations is
thus a great blessing for all the nations of the world in that it
serves as an institutionalized buffer.

The buffer strategy is a very effective way to prevent war.
Where in the seventh century AD the buffer strategy was
applicable only on a limited scale, in the twenty-first century
it has become a highly organized way of preventing war. Now
a universal norm, it covers all the nations of the world.
Now, modern civilization has developed a very new modus
operandi to avert clashes, namely, that of peaceful dialogue.
Through peaceful dialogue, with the help of modern technology,
it is possible to divert a violent clash towards an intellectual
discussion. This is another form of institutionalized buffer that
has come into existence.
If one utilizes the buffer strategy when faced with impending
clashes, it will cover almost all the attendant problems. The
buffer strategy is one of the keys to establishing peace. But
what is needed to properly avail of this formula is patience
and wise planning.

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