By Pushpa Iyer, Director of Centre for Conflict Studies
We live in an era of turmoil. Time is not at a standstill. Fast paced and full of events that alternate between the exciting and the shocking, time does not stop for us to catch up. On one hand, the killing of Osama bin Laden by U.S. forces in Pakistan certainly makes us question with renewed energy how one nation can abuse another nation’s sovereignty in the guise of “national security”. On the other hand, how exciting it is for the people of South Sudan to gain independence after ending five decades of war, albeit facing great challenges in building a country. And who ever thought the Arab Spring would happen and that the histories of so many countries would simultaneously change because of the power of ordinary people? Do we understand that women in Saudi Arabia who are defying the ban on driving are vanguards for change? Did we realize that the impact of the popular uprisings in the Arab countries would make the government of China cautious enough to release its imprisoned human rights activists? The nuclear disaster following the tsunami in Japan stopped us all in our tracks, making us think carefully about the impact of our energy policies. Yes, these are defining moments in our history. And history has never been more unpredictable with such memorable twists and turns.
I am reminded of the words of the renowned Lebanese-American poet, Khalil Gibran: “Time has been transformed, and we have changed; it has advanced and set us in motion; it has unveiled its face, inspiring us with bewilderment and exhilaration.”
Indeed, we are changing our ideas and our strategies with time, which means it is imperative for us to take time to ponder how we are transforming history. Hopefully, the change in us is for the positive, making our behavior and actions more enlightened, humane, just, and egalitarian. There has never been such a need for the field of conflict studies, a field that is often questioned for not providing obvious solutions to conflicts that plague our world. But when will we realize that the solutions to the conflicts around us lie in our hands, and that no field can provide magic solutions? Our hope at the Centre for Conflict Studies is that by creating a platform for scholars and practitioners in the field to exchange information, ideas, and opinions, we can expect more informed action by all concerned. Our quarterly magazine, Reflections, presents commentaries on current social, political, and economic issues. I hope that you will enjoy, reflect, and act on the questions raised by our authors in this first issue of Reflections.