In their "Peace Report 2009," Germany’s five leading peace research institutes call for stronger efforts from the international community to create administrative foundations of statehood in crisis-ridden countries such as Afghanistan, Pakistan, Somalia and Congo.

The report, entitled "Winning People instead of Waging Wars," which was compiled by the INEF in Duisburg, the Heidelberg-based FEST Institute, the IFSH at Hamburg University, as well as the HSFK in Frankfurt and the BICC in Bonn, focuses primarily on strategies to end "asymetric wars and conflicts".

Other chapters in the report are devoted to the Middle East conflict, as well as to the possibility of nuclear disarmament, following the recent announcement by US President Barack Obama that he plans to take steps to try to rid the world of atomic weapons.

Political vacuum breeds insurgency

The Western troops in, for example, Afghanistan and Pakistan are defending governments that are non-existent in large parts of these countries, says Jochen Hippler from the Institute for Development and Peace (INEF).

"Governments there are also seen as a plague because they are corrupt and repressive," he said.

The "Peace Report 2009" cites Afghanistan and Pakistan as examples of states where the absence of governments that have the support of the people has created a political vaccum which has been easily filled by the Taliban insurgents.

"Military power and development assistance," the report says "are strategically unimportant in a civil war. They can only contribute to peace if they support an administrative set-up and legal order respected by the people."

The peace researchers are, therefore, calling for the international community to opt for a political rather than a military strategy to end the wars in failed states.

Combat piracy with UN coast guard

With regard to Somalia and the mounting threat posed by pirates off the Horn of Africa, the institutes argue that the problem has also been caused by illegal overfishing and the dumping of toxic waste in the past, which reduced the opportunities for Somalis to earn a living.

The problem of pirates continues, in spite of the presence of international maritime forces, the institutes note.

"The international forces must also act as a coast guard as long as Somalia is unable to protect its waters," said Andreas Heinemann-Grüder from the Bonn Centre for Conversion (BICC).

"We also think it's necessary for the international comunity to speak with all groups in Somalia in efforts to establish law and order in regions where the central government doesn’t exist."

The researchers also call for more pressure to be exerted by the European Union on Israel and the Palestinians to resolve the Middle East conflict.

They say the 27-nation bloc should promote the formation of a Palestinian government of national unity and make aid dependent upon the renunciation of violence by the militant group Hamas as well as on its recognition of Israel’s right to exist.

"Israel‘s ties to the EU," the report also says "should only be deepened if the country stops its settlement program in the West Bank."

Post-Bush era – hope for disarmament

US President Barack Obama has opened up "new opportunities for disarmament", the report says.

It calls on the European Union to forge a common policy on nuclear disarmament and overcome resistance on the part of France and Britain.

"The German government should actively push for the withdrawal of American nuclear warheads from Germany and work towards a revision of NATO’s first-strike nuclear option," the report says.

As for EU relations with Russia, they are "at their worst in 20 years", the researchers find.

However, in their assessment, "the political renewal in Washington gives Europe a second chance to incorporate Russia into a European security architecture."

Author: Uwe Hessler

Editor: Susan Houlton