Sir, – Sheila Deegan (Letters, June 1st) ponders that there must be a better way than war. There is. It goes under different names including non-violence and non-violent struggle.
It is surprisingly imaginative, adaptable and robust. It works in all kinds of societies and situations. Of course, there is no guarantee that it will work but it is more likely to do so than war and violence. It is worth reading the empirical research on this carried out by Erica Chenoweth and Maria Stephan.
Unfortunately, many people seem to be wedded to the idea that armies and militarism is the only way to go – and this currently seems to include the Irish Government and elite, contrary to the popular support for neutrality. - Yours, etc,
ROB FAIRMICHAEL,
RM Block
Coordinator, INNATE,
An Irish Network for Nonviolent Action Training and Education,
Belfast.
