Can we move beyond conflict?

Conflict has been a part of history since the start of civilization. I learned in my history class that some governments of civilizations even gone to the extent of being broken or destroyed because of conflict. One example of this historical generalization is that of the Chinese dynasties wherein every dynasty, regardless of how long they have been the most powerful in the civilization, fell because of conflict in the government officials itself or because of barbarian invasions. These conflicts made up the history of every group of people. These may have been learning experiences or traumatic moments of their history, but nevertheless, it is part of history that we cannot control nor erase. In our modern times, conflict is already part of who we are. It may have helped or traumatized us. It is not easy to restore peace and stability after such experiences. Each conflict is situated uniquely when it comes to political, economic, social and cultural aspects. So there is no single theory that can straddle on all conflicts. I read about the example of North and South Korea. Their different ideologists helped widen their gap. The communist North and the capitalist South had long been nourishing a deeply entrenched hatred and tension and this is seen as something inevitable considering the situation they are in.

But what can we do to move on from this conflict? First approach is the confrontational approach. This is like a harder, fimer way of looking into how to solve conflict. It will use military power as an instrument of deterrence and pressure and economic sanctions. This had been not effective in the situation of North Korea because it does not take into account the interactive nature of conflicts. So instead of healing from within, it just tends to heighten the conflict. The second approach is the engagement approach. It opens the country to political, economic and cultural interactions that may help it to be more open to the ideas that will be beneficial for its people and will promote peace and order globally. With the prevention of military escalation, stability will be restored.

I think that the engagement approach will be more effective in the situation of North Korea because violence and the manifestation of power through the military is not always the way to restore peace and order. Maybe if the UN tried this approach, North Korea will soften its stand on its accumulation of nuclear power and may prevent any future wars.