The Introduction chapter frames the causes of war the combined influence of US imperialism, militarism and corporate power, and cites historical and contemporary examples. In: Preventing War and Promoting Peace: A Guide for Health Professionals is an interdisciplinary study of how pervasive militarism creates a propensity for war through the influence of academia, economic policy, the defense industry, and the news media. Comprising contributions by academics and practitioners from the fields of public health, medicine, nursing, law, sociology, psychology, political science, and peace and conflict studies, as well as representatives from organizations active in war prevention, the book emphasizes the underlying preventable causes of war, particularly militarism, and focuses on the methods health professionals can use to prevent war. Preventing War and Promoting Peace provides hard-hitting facts about the devastating health effects of war and a broad perspective on war and health, presenting a new paradigm for the proactive engagement of health professions in the prevention of war and the promotion of peace.

War has profound adverse effects on public health. War leads to death for military personnel and especially for civilians, long-term physical and psycho- logical consequences to survivors, destruction of sociocultural and ambient environments, and diversion of needed resources. In addition, war legalizes and promotes violence as a mode of solving problems. These and related issues relating to war in the twenty-first century are analyzed in this paper. The authors discuss several approaches to preventing war and minimizing its consequences on health — including addressing the underlying problems that often lead to war, promoting a culture of peace, and controlling weapons.

Using moral and empirical analysis, we analyzed and discussed the role of public health in prevention of war as well as its function during and after the war. The idea is to develop a theory and new strategy in the spirit of public health to improve practices in preserving and strengthening peace, to be prepared for the future. The experiences from the last four wars in South Eastern Europe were ethical challenges to public health. We identified and described four models of public health practice in the past wars and conflicts. Based on the recent wars, the two new models, Professional Model and Peace Model, were developed and suggested as a new public health strategy in prevention and alleviation of the health burden of war.

Public health plays a crucial role in restoring, protecting and promoting health of affected populations in times of war and armed conflict. Even though health effects of war are well explored, the development of competencies to address the public health impact had received little attention in public health curricula. We suggest building upon the WHO-ASPHER Competency Framework originally designed to strengthen Public Health Services in the European Region. It provides an already established framework for Schools of Public Health and additional public health organizations and, at the same time, can be extended to understand and prevent the political, economic, social, and cultural determinants of war.

The impact of present and past wars on the environment is significant and multifaceted. Direct effects of warfare include contamination of air, water and soil as well as damages to infrastructure. On the other hand, indirect effects on ecosystems include long-lasting detrimental impacts on natural resources, agriculture, forests, wildlife and, eventually, human life quality. The psychological effects of war on populations can also have indirect negative effects on the environment. It is therefore important to recognize the impact of military operations on the environment and to take steps to prevent or, at least, mitigate these effects, investing in environmental protection and conservation efforts, identifying deliberate crimes against the environment as well as promoting peace and conflict resolution. In times where being responsible and being accountable of our actions is an unavoidable duty, international rules are required to safeguard the environment during and after armed conflicts and to consider environmental crimes as relevant as crimes against humankind.