Paul Rogers / CBC Radio – 2019-01-01 19:01:01
https://www.cbc.ca/radio/thesundayedition/november-18-2018-the-sunday-edition-1.4907270/paul-rogers-on-what-it-takes-to-avoid-war-1.4908641
What It Takes to Avoid War
Paul Rogers / CBC Radio
(November 16, 2018) — One hundred years ago, the First World War finally came to an end. But not before almost 17 million civilians and soldiers died. It was known at the time as The War to End All Wars — one of the most misleading names for any conflict in history.
What followed it was a century of wars, both global and regional in scope drawing on vast coalitions and proxies; intractable civil wars that have ruined countries, displacing and killing millions of civilians.
And yet, it’s also been a century of peace — a century of treaties and multilateral bodies devoted to ensuring that the worst human tendencies to inflict death and destruction on a massive scale are held at least partially in check.
If Paul Rogers had his way, we would talk about that peacemaking side of geopolitics, and the absence of war, more often.
Rogers, who often speaks to The Sunday Edition to help make us sense of a chaotic, violent world, is an emeritus professor of Peace Studies at Bradford University in Britain. He’s also the Global Security Consultant with the Oxford Research Group, and an internationally renowned expert on terrorism and armed conflict.
He joined Michael Enright for a wide-ranging interview about peace, the new geopolitical order, Iran, Yemen and Syria.
Click ‘listen’ to hear the interview.
Paul Rogers is emeritus professor of Peace Studies at Bradford University in Britain.
As Terror Attacks Increase, the
“War on Terror” Is a Terrible Mistake
Link to Audio Interview on CBC Radio
(July 16, 2016) — Two dramatic and bloody events dominated the news at the end of the week — both unfolded live on social media and cable television, before the eyes of a shocked world.
On Thursday evening, Mohamed Bouhlel drove a 19-tonne truck through crowds of families watching fireworks from a sea-side promenade in Nice. Several hundred were wounded; more than 80, died. Bouhlel was a French resident, originally from Tunisia. ISIS has claimed responsibility for the attack, and France’s interior minister has now said that Bouhlel had been radicalized.
Then on Friday, factions of the Turkish army attempted to overturn the democratic government of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip ErdoÄŸan. Tanks were in the streets, shots were fired, TV stations were closed. But ErdoÄŸan, addressing the nation through Facetime, urged supporters to pour out into the streets to stop the army — which they did. By Saturday, the coup had been extinguished, at the cost of hundreds of lives. Thousands have been arrested.
When global events defy our attempts to make sense of the world, we at The Sunday Edition, often turn to Paul Rogers. He is Professor of Peace Studies at the University of Bradford in the United Kingdom, and his books include Why We’re Losing the War on Terror, and Losing Control: Global Security in the 21st Century.
His latest book was published just hours before the Nice attack. It’s called Irregular War: ISIS and the New Threats from the Margins, and is already receiving critical acclaim.
Guest host Laura Lynch spoke to Paul Rogers about the attack in Nice and the attempted coup in Turkey on Saturday morning. Click the ‘play’ button above to hear their conversation.
