by Julia Sweig
First published 1991
During the height of Cold War tensions in 1982, thirty-six scholars and activists gather to tackle an unprecedented challenge: designing a system to replace war itself. They form EXPRO, the Exploratory Project on the Conditions of Peace, and spend nine years developing blueprints for a world without armed conflict. The group wrestles with fundamental questions about human nature, power, and survival as they map out five pillars of lasting peace: military security, participatory democracy, ecological balance, economic justice, and community. Through heated debates and careful research, they confront the reality that ending war requires more than treaties or diplomacy. Grace Boggs, Dietrich Fischer, Shea Howell, Arjun Makhijani, David Orr, and Michael Shuman each contribute their expertise to this ambitious experiment. As the Cold War winds down and Americans question old assumptions about national security, their work becomes a blueprint for reimagining civilization itself.
Genres: 20th-century, non-fiction, 21st-century, activism, american-history
Vibes: intimate, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: ambitious-experiment, blueprint-for-change, reimagining-civilization
Period: 1982
254 pages · Paperback · Expro Pr