Peace treaties almost always fail or are short-lived, despite the hype surrounding them. There have been numerous efforts to redirect humanity towards peace. One of the earliest and most influential was German philosopher Immanuel Kant’s 1795 essay ‘Perpetual Peace’, which later influenced the League of Nations (founded in 1920) and the United Nations (founded in 1945). It included in its recommendations a coalition of independent nations and the gradual dismantling of standing armies.

Instead, we see a 41 percent rise in global military expenditure over the past decade, reaching a record $2.9 trillion according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. Ukraine tops the list in percentage terms, spending 40 percent of its GDP on military expenditure. Increasingly destructive weapons continue to be invented, along with the less visible funding of propaganda and espionage. The United States remains the world’s largest arms exporter by a wide margin, accounting for roughly 42 percent of all global arms exports.

The intention is clear. There is no evidence of planning for world peace. Instead, there is preparedness for war. Perhaps the failure lies in the focus on peace — an abstract aspiration, rather than an actionable strategy. Peace is not simply........

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