Drafts by Klaus Schlichtmann
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Die Zeit ist ein Phänomen! Heute ist Frank-Walter Steinmeier Bundespräsident. Was hat er erreicht... more Die Zeit ist ein Phänomen! Heute ist Frank-Walter Steinmeier Bundespräsident. Was hat er erreicht? Wenn Gelegenheiten verpasst werden, zeigt sich die Zeit von einer Seite, die unvergesslich bleibt. Wie können die Gedanken, die zu einer Zeit in die richtige Richtung wiesen, heute noch Bedeutung besitzen? Im Juni 2006 fanden die FIFA Fußball-Weltmeisterschaft in Deutschland statt. Das Turnier begann am 9. Juni und endete am 9. Juli 2006. Es war die 18. Ausgabe der Weltmeisterschaft und zog Fußballfans aus der ganzen Welt an.
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Vor gut einer Generation stand die Welt vor der Entscheidung, die Vereinten Nationen zu bevollmäc... more Vor gut einer Generation stand die Welt vor der Entscheidung, die Vereinten Nationen zu bevollmächtigen und abzurüsten oder so weiterzumachen wie bisher. Die Gründe und Hintergründe, weshalb die Chancen damals nicht wahrgenommen wurden, sind heute schwer nachvollziehbar. Eine Generation reicht aus, um zu vergessen. Erst heute werden das Ausmaß und die politischen Implikationen offenbar.
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The year 1942 appears to be a turning point.
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An international organization established between nations can only be effective to the extent tha... more An international organization established between nations can only be effective to the extent that its members confer upon it the responsibilities it requires for carrying out its assigned tasks. In case of doubt, if and when correlated rules (entsprechende Vorgaben) exist, members have to agree to strictly defined limitations of national sovereignty and transfer regular legal competencies to the organization. The United Nations with its as yet inoperative System of Collective Security represents such an international organization that is subject to the Law of Nations and which requires for the effective execution of its tasks the delegation of proper, required “security sovereignty” competencies.
With the Russian attack on Ukraine German politicians have proclaimed a sea change, a historical turning point (“Zeitenwende") announcing an end to the country’s pacifism which had prevailed after the war. Bad how pacifist had Germany actually been.
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he UN Charter provides for Member states to “confer primary responsibility for the maintenance of... more he UN Charter provides for Member states to “confer primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security” on the Security Council (Art. 24). The Council acts on the assumption that it has the authority to take “prompt and effective action” on behalf of its Members, if and when the necessity arises, provided that nine of the 15 Members of the Council are in agreement. However, a controversy exists as to whether Article 24 is really binding, means what it says, and even whether it has actually been implemented. In fact, Article 106 suggests that the UNSC’s powers are arbitrary, and the institution has strictly speaking not been empowered "by law" to exercise its responsibilities. John Foster Dulles stated: “The Security Council is not a body that merely enforces agreed law. It is a law unto itself." Dulles further: "No principles of law are laid down to guide it; it can decide in accordance with what it thinks is expedient.”
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"The Charter … will be expanded and improved as time goes on. No one claims that it is now a fina... more "The Charter … will be expanded and improved as time goes on. No one claims that it is now a final or a perfect instrument. It has not been poured into a fixed mold. Changing world conditions will require readjustments-but they will be readjustments of peace and not of war." (President Harry S. Truman) Is there a connection between the German right-wing tradition (Nazi ideology) and politics of prevarication regarding the purposes and principles of the UN Charter?
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NATO originated after World War II as a regional alliance to keep peace in Europe. Initially conc... more NATO originated after World War II as a regional alliance to keep peace in Europe. Initially concerned with averting possible future or imminent aggression from Germany and/or Soviet Russia, and keeping the two apart, the alliance gradually developed into a Western military alliance in which West-Germany soon appeared as a vocal and material supporter, in order to ensure its political role, prosperity and security, eager to pose as a bulwark against feared Communist expansion.
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It seems that the abolition of war is an impossible task. How is it possible to disarm without na... more It seems that the abolition of war is an impossible task. How is it possible to disarm without national security being jeopardised? Nations cannot disarm into a vacuum, and most people, including this author, will agree that this is an irrefutable fact. The problem was recognised already more than 100 years ago at the Hague Peace Conferences in 1899 and 1907, where disarmament and the creation of an international court of justice with binding powers were the main issues debated. 1 Instead of resorting to war, disputes between nations were to be resolved in a court of law. The project failed mainly due to German opposition; the Court was created but without binding powers. As a result, nations could not disarm. The consequence was the First World War. But why is there no mention in our school books of this simple fact concerning the Hague conferences? The government representatives at The Hague voted twice, in 1899 and in 1907, on the issue of the peaceful court settlement of international disputes or obligatory arbitration, but the vote had to be unanimous. The idea was simple enough, and even the common man could easily understand it. The American delegation unsuccessfully sought a majority vote in 1907. At the Third Hague Peace Conference, scheduled for 1914, there would no doubt have been a majority vote. But that conference never took place. Still, the powers which had voted in favour of "obligatory arbitration" continued to pursue the world order project begun at The Hague, creating the League of Nations soon after, and also, for the first time, a rudimentary system of collective security.
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Terror and violence dominate the media; terrorist threats, fundamentalism, as well as social squa... more Terror and violence dominate the media; terrorist threats, fundamentalism, as well as social squalor and natural and environmental degradation alarm the international community. A look back into history should help determine and find the causes. The crisis can be an opportunity to effectively deal with these challenges. This could and should be a motivation and opportunity for reforming and restructuring the United Nations, to achieve greater justice and peace, based on Gandhian ideas and principles, which can be the means to correct and avoid the errors and defects of the past. While the two world wars, in which India had taken part, shook the world, political developments on the Indian continent in the first half of the twentieth century appear as precursors and beacons of hope. What exactly did Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, the father of India, and with him the Indian nation have in view, to achieve a safe, non-violent path to world peace?
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"Warum ist der Friede minimal organisiert, während der Krieg bestens ausgestattet ist?" (Friedens... more "Warum ist der Friede minimal organisiert, während der Krieg bestens ausgestattet ist?" (Friedensbericht 1993, hg. v. Österreichischen Studienzentrum für Frieden und Konfliktlösung und der Schweizerischen Friedensstiftung) Gelegentlich des 50-jährigen Bestehens der Vereinten Nationen bemerkte der Friedensforscher und Physiker Carl Friedrich von Weizsäcker, in 30 Jahren könne es zum dritten Weltkrieg kommen. Weizsäckers Vorhersage aus dem Jahre 1995 könnte somit 2025 Wirklichkeit werden.1 Nach zwei Weltkriegen und (selbst nach der deutschen Wiedervereinigung und dem Ende der Ost-Westkonfrontation) Kriegen in Europa und anderen Teilen der Welt sollte eine pessimistische Sicht der Dinge kaum noch überraschen-besonders wenn man auch in Betracht zieht, dass der ursprüngliche Plan, die Vereinten Nationen zu einem wirksamen System der Friedenssicherung zu entwickeln, nicht realisiert wurde. Nationalistischer Eigennutz und mangelnder politischer Wille sind die Ursache. Nicht nur Carl-Friedrich von Weizsäcker sah es als "ein Unglück" an, dass "mit dem Zusammenbruch des sozialistischen Systems wieder nationale Leidenschaften aufgebrochen" sind und meinte: "Ich empfinde die gegenwärtige Rückkehr zu nationalistischer oder ethnischer Identität als einen echten Rückschritt in der politischen Entwicklung der Welt."2 Dass dies passieren konnte, trotz des von Dieter Senghaas 1991 antizipierten "Übergangs," bei dem es darum gehen sollte, "zum einen die Altlasten der alten Struktur abzutragen, zum anderen neue friedenspolitisch durchdachte politische Aktivitäten zu entfalten," ist nach zwei Weltkriegen einigermaßen überraschend. Europa befand sich, so Senghaas, "an einer Wegscheide: Entweder wird dieses Europa von der Fülle der aufgestauten Probleme überwältigt werden und damit in eine Perspektivlosigkeit versinken, oder aber es wird seine Chance wahrnehmen, innerhalb nur eines Jahrzehnts die Grundlagen für eine Struktur dauerhaften Friedens und Zusammenlebens … zu begründen."3 Wie stellen sich die Probleme heute dar, und welche Aussichten gibt es, sie politisch zu bewältigen? Der schweizerische Friedensbericht 1993-Titel "Das neue Chaos der nationalen Egoismen"-stellt zwei Jahre später einen ernüchternden Bericht zur Lage und fasst zusammen: "Nach dem Schwinden der alles beherrschenden 'alten' Vernichtungsangst vor einem großen Nuklearkrieg zwischen Ost und West ist nach dem Ende des Kalten Krieges ein verworrenes Bündel unterschiedlichster 'neuer' Ängste entstanden: Angst vor dem Westen im Islam, Angst vor dem Islam und einer Einwanderungswelle aus dem Süden im Westen, Angst vor neuen hegemonialen Ansprüchen Russlands bei den neuen Nachbarstaaten, Angst vor ethnisch begründeten Zerfallserscheinungen in Russland,
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The origin and purpose of Article 9 of the Japanese Constitution has been controversial ever sinc... more The origin and purpose of Article 9 of the Japanese Constitution has been controversial ever since its inception. While critics claim the provision was imposed to curtail Japan’s war-making powers, it is in fact the Japanese people aiming at “an international peace based on justice and order”—an adage inserted into the text later during Diet debates. For decades politicians have been discussing ways to reconcile/align the ideal with the reality: can the reality be raised to the level of the ideal, or is it perhaps necessary to adapt the ideal to the reality and change the Article. The involvement of the then Prime Minister Kijuro Shidehara in drafting the Article, however, was never questioned. This paper aims to reconfirm the facts concerning the authorship and meaning of Article 9 in the hope that this may finally put the matter to rest.
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The UN Charter provides for Members to “confer primary responsibility for the maintenance of inte... more The UN Charter provides for Members to “confer primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security” on the Security Council (Art. 24). The Council acts on the assumption that it has the authority to take “prompt and effective action” on behalf of its Members, if and when the necessity arises, provided that nine of the 15 Members of the Council are in agreement. However, a controversy exists as to whether Article 24 is really binding, means what it says, and even whether it has actually been implemented. If Article 24 had been implemented, nations by now would have been mostly disarmed, and the UN System of Collective Security would be in operation.
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In einem vereinten Europa dem Frieden der Welt dienen - eine k.leine Weltgeschichte der Kriege und der Friedensbewegung (Arbeitstitel), 2018
Es ist verschiedentlich diskutiert worden und wird diskutiert, ob und wie die EU in den Vereinten... more Es ist verschiedentlich diskutiert worden und wird diskutiert, ob und wie die EU in den Vereinten Nationen als friedensförderndes Mitglied, etwa mit einem ständigen Sitz im Sicherheitsrat, integriert werden kann. Klar ist, dass die EU sich dann zu einem einheitlichen Bundesstaat weiterentwickeln müsste. Andererseits könnten die Staaten der EU auch gesetzgeberisch tätig werden, um das Projekt "Vereinte Nationen" zu dem von den Gründungsmitgliedern vorgesehenen Status als effektive Weltfriedensorganisation zu verhelfen. Das bisherige Nichttätigwerden der Europäer ist in dieser Perspektive als Scheitern der europäischen Projekts selbst anzusehen, das ursprünglich als ein erster Schritt hin zu einer solchen, den Frieden sichernden globalen politischen Vereinigung konzipiert woirden war.
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Some Japan scholars still doubt the indigineous origin of the war-abolishing provision in the 194... more Some Japan scholars still doubt the indigineous origin of the war-abolishing provision in the 1947 Japanese Constitution. The article is important when it comes to ensuring the future peace of the world. It is for this purpose that the Japanese deserve recognition. Seen as a motion the article needs to be seconded. The best place for this would be the UN General Assembly.
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Die japanische Friedensverfassung ist seit Jahrzehnten Gegenstand von Studien und Kontroversen. A... more Die japanische Friedensverfassung ist seit Jahrzehnten Gegenstand von Studien und Kontroversen. Allerdings gibt es schlüssige Beweise dafür, dass große Teile des Textes auf indigenen, japanischen Entwürfen und Vorschlägen beruhen und die amerikanischen Schreiber als Regierungsangestellte lediglich ausführende Organe waren und japanische und andere Quellen einfach kopierten. Die idealistische Kriegsabschaffungsbestimmung, der Artikel 9, eine Idee des Nachkriegs-Ministerpräsidenten Kijuro Shidehara, wurde von japanischen Politikern, Politik- und Sozialwissenschaftlern über die Jahrzehnte auf zweierlei Art und Weise unter die Lupe genommen, entweder als Ideal oder als Einschränkung.
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When we think about peace and the future of peace, we also need to think about organization. Peac... more When we think about peace and the future of peace, we also need to think about organization. Peace has to be organized. Most people, even in my own country Germany, don't realize this. We tend to think of the nation state as the highest form of organization. This seems to be the Hegelian viewpoint. However, there have been important international alliances such as the Hague Confederation of States, constituted by the Hague Peace Conferences in 1899 and 1907, the League of Nations and the United Nations. An international peace based on justice and order, as envisaged by the Japanese Constitution’s Article 9, is a worthy objective.
There have been occasions when conditions were favourable to embark on the transition stipulated in the UN Charter from an armed to an unarmed peace under the supervision of the ‘P5’, for example in 1961, when the Agreed Principles for General and Complete Disarmament, commonly known as the McCloy-Zorin Accords, aimed at abolishing war and the military as an institution, were unanimously adopted by the UN General Assembly on 20 December.
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Great Britain’s recent decision to part company with the EU has disrupted the European order. Thi... more Great Britain’s recent decision to part company with the EU has disrupted the European order. This essay wants to show that the new situation also opens up new opportunities. The EU runs the risk, if these opportunities are not recognised and taken, that the European project may fail. The historical failures after 1945 and the fact that the European Union has done nothing to strengthen the United Nations and dismantle military peacekeeping facilities for the benefit of the world organisation, are cause for concern. In particular, the prompt rearmament of the Federal Republic after the war and, most recently, its commitment to and vocal support for an EU army, are warning signs that cast doubt on its intentions. The military, the “reified irrationality of the state” (Ekkehart Krippendorff), is ultimately not able to guarantee the peace and security of citizens in the long term. The inclusion of the Global South is a necessary prerequisite for a new global security structure. To understand the problems we are facing today, we have to rethink Europe and the world from a historical perspective.
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Detlev Bald und Wolfram Wette (Hrsg.), Friedensinitiativen in der Frühzeit des Kalten Krieges, 2010
Bislang nur wenig historische Beachtung hat die Weltbürgerbewegung gefunden, die nach dem Zweiten... more Bislang nur wenig historische Beachtung hat die Weltbürgerbewegung gefunden, die nach dem Zweiten Weltkrieg in vielerlei Hinsicht erstaunliche und grenzüberschreitende Aktivitäten entfaltete. Die von den Weltbürgern und Weltföderalisten angesprochenen friedenspolitischen, alternativen Politiken eröffnen historisch bedeutsame Perspektiven und sind auch heute noch relevant. Der vorliegende Aufsatz versucht am Beispiel des Pazifisten Helmut Hertling eine Lücke zu füllen.
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Papers by Klaus Schlichtmann
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Drafts by Klaus Schlichtmann
With the Russian attack on Ukraine German politicians have proclaimed a sea change, a historical turning point (“Zeitenwende") announcing an end to the country’s pacifism which had prevailed after the war. Bad how pacifist had Germany actually been.
There have been occasions when conditions were favourable to embark on the transition stipulated in the UN Charter from an armed to an unarmed peace under the supervision of the ‘P5’, for example in 1961, when the Agreed Principles for General and Complete Disarmament, commonly known as the McCloy-Zorin Accords, aimed at abolishing war and the military as an institution, were unanimously adopted by the UN General Assembly on 20 December.
Papers by Klaus Schlichtmann
With the Russian attack on Ukraine German politicians have proclaimed a sea change, a historical turning point (“Zeitenwende") announcing an end to the country’s pacifism which had prevailed after the war. Bad how pacifist had Germany actually been.
There have been occasions when conditions were favourable to embark on the transition stipulated in the UN Charter from an armed to an unarmed peace under the supervision of the ‘P5’, for example in 1961, when the Agreed Principles for General and Complete Disarmament, commonly known as the McCloy-Zorin Accords, aimed at abolishing war and the military as an institution, were unanimously adopted by the UN General Assembly on 20 December.
War nicht der 1. Weltkrieg der „Krieg zur Beendigung aller Kriege?” Und hatten wir 1945 nicht eine
Ordnung der Supermächte, welche den dysfunktionalen Völkerbund in eine funktionierende, souve-
räne UNO verwandeln wollte? Nichts hat funktioniert. Verzagen brauchen wir aber dennoch nicht.
Die Geschichte der Menschheit ist eine Geschichte von Misserfolgen, aber auch eine Geschichte der
neuen Versuche. Wenn der nächste Versuch besser gelingen soll, so brauchen wir ein Verständnis
der historischen Hintergründe, der vergangenen Fehler sowie der gesetzlichen Grundlagen, die nicht
umgesetzt wurden. Die folgende Studie zielt darauf, dies zu erhellen.
While in this narrative questions about the players, their basic interests, reception of the plan, the response by France, Germany and Great Britain, and the active diplomacy pursued by the Soviet Union and the USA, as well as the role of peace activists need to be investigated, other questions also need to be addressed. The UN Charter (as well as a number of national constitutions) provide the groundwork for the above measures to be implemented successfully. A fundamental error and oversight by peace researchers and politicians has been, however, to expect that the Permanent Members of the UNSC would initiate the system of Collective Security or that there was an obligation on their part to do so. On the contrary! The role of the five PM is largely transitory. The System of Collective Security which the UN Charter anticipates is based on the rule of law and justice, and the five Permanent Members have merely pledged to back up the process of its creation. Instead, centering on certain provisions in constitutional law, national legislators should become the actual creators of world law, triggering a process of ‘pooling security sovereignty’ with the United Nations. A precondition for parliamentarians from non-PM countries being able to take such a legislative initiative aimed at ‘making the UN work’ was a basic agreement among the superpowers, as was the case in 1961, and again after the fall of the Berlin Wall.
The question has to be asked: what is so special about Germany? Chauvinism, racism and militarism are not restricted to any one country. However, what aggravates the situation and represents fertile ground for the spread of neo- fascist ideology in Germany is that after the Second World War the denazification process in Germany was—acknowledgeably—not very successful. This includes academics, historians, political scientists and the legal professions, not to mention persons who had been working in the administration.
This paper aims to evaluate the recent rise in sleeper-cell awakenings in Germany in the global context. To what extent is Germany the center of world fascist and xenophobic movements? In addition, the paper also wants to show alternatives for creating a world free from want and war, hate and discrimination.
Nach dem 2. Weltkrieg konnten daher die Schuldigen am Ausbruch des Weltkrieges in Nürnberg und Tokio vor Gericht gestellt werden. – Die bittere Erfahrung des 2. Weltkrieges hatte aber zugleich die Erkenntnis mit sich gebracht, dass offenbar eine völkerrechtliche Ächtung des Krieges nicht ausreichte, um Kriege zu verhindern. Es war daher ganz natürlich, dass nach dem 2. Weltkrieg der nationale Verzicht auf das Recht des Staates auf Kriegführung auch Eingang fand in das Verfassungsrecht. Indem also die Staaten, welche in ihren Verfassungen auf den Krieg als ein souveränes Recht – und zwar prinzipiell auch auf den Verteidigungskrieg – verzichtet haben, sich praktisch der Wehrlosigkeit preisgaben, haben Sie nicht nur den völkerrechtlichen Verzicht (Kellogg-Briand und Gewaltverzicht in der UNO-Charta) bekräftigt, sondern auch einen Rechtsanspruch – auf verbindliches durchsetzbares WELTRECHT – innerhalb der Völkerrechtsgemeinschaft geltend gemacht. In der Folge dieses Rechtsanspruchs hat sich die Bundesrepublik Deutschland im Bonner Grundgesetz verpflichtet, ohne Vorbehalt, bestimmte vorbeugende Maßnahmen zur Verhütung eines zukünftigen Krieges zu ergreifen.
Um den Gefahren erfolgreich entgegentreten zu können, müssen die enormen Summen, die derzeit für Rüstung und Krieg ausgegeben werden, umgelenkt werden, und für den globalen Wiederaufbau, Umwelt- und Naturschutz und die Organisation des Friedens verwendet werden. Die Voraussetzungen und Mittel, um dies zu bewerkstelligen und die Probleme zu lösen, existieren. Sollte es allerdings nicht gelingen, gesetzgeberische Maßnahmen zu ergreifen, um die finanziellen Mittel umzulenken und die Organisation des Friedens und den globalen Wiederaufbau zu finanzieren, ist mit an Sicherheit grenzender Wahrscheinlichkeit damit zu rechnen, dass erstens die sozialen, politischen und Umwelt-Probleme usw. nicht gelöst werden — d.h. diese Probleme werden zunehmen — und wir zweitens in einen globalen Krieg hineinschlittern, der das Ende der Menschheit bedeuten könnte.
On September 2, 1962, just 18 years old, I left my country, Germany. After a one-year stay in Rome, I reached India in the spring of 1964. What I talk about begins 12 years later in Hamburg and Kiel. The subject of this book is my work and commitment to environmental issues and peace. Between 1980 and 1992, as chairman of the German branch of the Association of World Federalists—and after that—I corresponded with politicians, international lawyers, scholars and others, and published various pamphlets, leaflets, research papers etc. India has a special place in all these matters inasmuch as it was there, in the early 1970s, that I recognized the numerous crises confronting humanity and made suggestions for dealing with them. The documents presented in this text are evidence of the fact that environment and peace are two sides of one coin.
In order to successfully deal with the dangers confronting humanity, the enormous sums currently spent on armaments and war must be redirected and used for global reconstruction, environmental and nature protection, and the organisation of peace. The conditions and means to solve the problem exist. However, if appropriate legislation is not passed to redirect the financial resources to invest in the organisation of peace and global reconstruction, there is likely to be two results: firstly, the social, environmental and political problems will not be solved (and get worse), and, secondly, we will slide more and more into a global war that could mean the end of humanity.