{"id":73688,"date":"2026-07-13T23:20:16","date_gmt":"2026-07-13T21:20:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dasgoetheanum.com\/?p=73688"},"modified":"2026-07-14T11:00:35","modified_gmt":"2026-07-14T09:00:35","slug":"from-the-logic-of-war-to-the-logic-of-peace","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dasgoetheanum.com\/en\/from-the-logic-of-war-to-the-logic-of-peace\/","title":{"rendered":"From the Logic of War to the Logic of Peace"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

An interview with conflict researcher, mediator, and peace activist Friedrich Glasl about his new book, Die Paradoxie des Wettr\u00fcstens<\/em> [The paradox of the arms race].<\/strong><\/span>1<\/sup><\/a><\/span> Questions by Wolfgang Held.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

What led you to decide to write this book?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Friedrich Glasl<\/strong> I\u2019ve been studying conflicts ever since I was a student over 60 years ago when I majored in international relations, international law, and political science in Vienna. My doctoral dissertation dealt with the issue of sanctions imposed by neutral states within the League of Nations. Austria became a permanent neutral state and member of the United Nations as early as 1955. I took up this topic because my doctoral advisor was the head of the Austrian delegation to the UN and there was controversy over whether neutral states could participate in sanctions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For the past 20 years, the dominant tone of political discourse has become harsher. Why is that?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our expectations were too optimistic after the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. That event sparked euphoric expectations on all sides. The fundamental problem, even after the dissolution of the Soviet Union, is hegemony\u2014the rivalry among the major powers. That has not gone away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Was the thaw treading on thin ice?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was strongly supported by the civil society. That\u2019s what I find so beautiful about it. But at the political level, there was still at that time a spirit of competition\u2014perhaps even more so after the Wall fell. Around that time, the book The End of History<\/em> by the American political scientist Francis Fukuyama was published: \u201cThe class struggle is over; communism has suffered a defeat. Now capitalism and democracy prevail,\u201d even though they are not identical. Hegemony, the question of \u201cWho is stronger, more popular, the leader?\u201d, was actually stoked even further. We remember the humiliating statements made about the former communist countries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the first chapter, you write: \u201cDifferent ideas, insights, ways of working, and interests are actually valuable resources.\u201d Is that what you mean by constructive debate?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yes, plurality. I mean freedom in spiritual life. There is no single truth that is imposed on others, but rather different approaches to the search for truth, and each has its own perspective. Rudolf Steiner expands on this idea in Human and Cosmic Thought<\/em><\/span>2<\/sup><\/a><\/span> through a conversation among twelve perspectives. If culture does not begin to take diversity, plurality, and also inclusivity seriously\u2014not merely tolerating them but actively committing to them\u2014things will not go well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That seems to also be an inward psychological process. I\u2019m thinking of Friedemann Schulz von Thun\u2019s description of the \u201cinner team.\u201d<\/strong><\/span>3<\/sup><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

He brought out this inner diversity of the soul beautifully. Plurality and openness to other viewpoints, both internal and external\u2014that\u2019s what I liked. It\u2019s a question of attitude, of disposition. It\u2019s about living this not only on an individual level but also interactively and then within social structures and cultures. Where does one begin? \u201cOne has to think in circles,\u201d as I quoted Steiner in our 2022 interview.<\/span>4<\/sup><\/a><\/span> Today, systems theory calls this \u201ccircular causality.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
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Friedrich Glasl, courtesy photo<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

What does that mean?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

That my behavior affects the behavior of others, and that, in turn, affects me, and that goes on. Not one-way causality, but two-way causality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Is that why dealing with differences is so important?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yes, we should value them as resources and learn to use them constructively. However, this requires effective self-regulation\u2014what is often lost precisely in stressful and conflict-ridden situations. In conflict, so called \u201caffect logic\u201d takes over, such as the fear constantly fueled by scaremongering, etc., as does a competitive mindset.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The concept of the \u201clogic of war\u201d sounds contradictory, since you describe how people act based on their emotions in that context.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s why it\u2019s important to understand the difference between affect and feeling. With feeling, I am able to acknowledge the conflict between different emotions. With affect, I am blind to alternatives. It\u2019s all about fear or mistrust, which is the \u201cguiding emotion,\u201d as Luc Ciompi described.<\/span>5<\/sup><\/a><\/span> We are under stress, as described by neuroscientist Joachim Bauer, and so we lose the ability to anticipate consequences, whether desired or undesired. That is why, in war, there is often no perspective on how things will proceed after the fighting ends. It makes me think of what Steiner says about the karma exercises. If we take these exercises seriously and practice them, we develop the ability to see the possible consequences of our own actions in a flash before we act. Unfortunately, we often experience the opposite: No vision, no perspective on what the world order might look like after the end of the war in Ukraine, with Israel, Gaza, and Iran-U.S. relations! That is blocked out. That is the effect of stress.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is the key? That individual responsibility begins to grow again?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The key is that, after moments of distress or when emotions are high, I take a step back and look at myself. Reflection and taking a retrospective look don\u2019t undo what has happened, but they have an impact on the future. For daily retrospective reflection, it\u2019s recommended to recount your own experiences in the third person, such as, \u201cFriedrich did this and felt that, etc.,\u201d that is, from a mental distance. This allows you to notice things you wouldn\u2019t otherwise perceive when you\u2019re still in the situation directly. What can we do to foster individual mental distance and, with it, the ability to reflect? What questions can we ask people\u2014including politicians?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In war, courage is romanticized. In your book you write that fear is the foundation of the logic of war.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yes, what one interprets as courage is actually instinctive aggression; it is reckless and should therefore be understood as recklessness rather than courage.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989: The Berlin Wall between the Reichstag building (a small section of which can be seen in the background) and the Brandenburg Gate, CC BY-SA 3.0<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

You also describe the stages of conflict escalation that you identified earlier. Like a musical scale, there are nine distinct stages; in this sense, the descent is not a gradual continuum but we are passing thresholds. Is it important to understand this?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yes. First\u2014the direction of movement. With \u201cescalation,\u201d we often think of upward movement. But conflict leads downward, into the abyss. I\u2019ve outlined this briefly in my book Selbsthilfe in Konflikten<\/em> [Self-help in conflicts].<\/span>6<\/sup><\/a><\/span> We descend through the nine spheres of subnature. And these spheres pervert the helpful workings of the spirits of supranature\u2014as Steiner called them: the angels, archangels, Archai, Exusiai, Dynamis, Kyriotetes, Thrones, Cherubim, and Seraphim. The spirits of the depths turn the positive into its opposite. Now, in the Age of Michael, it is important to be cosmopolitan\u2014not nationalistic, but rather transnational and supranational. Nationalism has no place anymore, but the perversion of the work of the spirits of the peoples and languages has become an obsession: \u201cWe are the best, and we must prevail!\u201d In other words, an egocentric posture on both the individual and collective levels.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is part of the ambivalence of our times that we are seeing autocratic systems that have been in place for about 20 years and a decline in democracy. At the same time, however, if I look at Brazil, Poland, and Hungary, their societies are breaking free from autocratic shackles again. How is this possible?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I feel vindicated in what I said recently in another interview: Change comes in waves in history. The \u201868 movement [as it is known in Germany] emerged as a reaction to the commercialization of all areas of life. Then, in response to the \u201868 movement, the \u201cBack to Business\u201d movement arose! That, in turn, sparked civil society movements that opposed it. Now the autocrats have apparently overstepped their bounds, and that is reawakening civil society once more. I recently spoke with my American friend Chris Sch\u00e4fer in an online discussion group. He hopes that civil society in the U.S. is now waking up again, because under Obama it had more or less fallen asleep. There were projections about all the good things Obama was doing, and that lulled civil society into complacency. After all, Obama also waged war. Now we\u2019re seeing that, for instance where ICE is involved in the U.S., prosecutors and judges aren\u2019t letting themselves be intimidated by the autocrats and plutocrats. Something is being awakened, just as we\u2019ve experienced in Hungary. The autocrats are overextending their strategies of corruption, and that\u2014thank God!\u2014backfires on them. It just takes time for things to get back on track.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hungary isn\u2019t far from you in Austria. Do you have any firsthand impressions of the new prime minister P\u00e9ter Magyar\u2019s approach?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

He knew that the rural population wasn\u2019t quite awake yet. The previous PM, Viktor Orb\u00e1n, tapped into a certain underlying sentiment with his anti-EU rhetoric and his sympathy for Putin. Because attitudes, dispositions, and ideologies all take shape at local pubs or around the water cooler, so to speak, the opposition leader went to those places and brought about a shift in public opinion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In your book, the \u201cthreat triangle\u201d\u2014consisting of a demand plus the threat of punishment plus sanction-potential to carry out the punishment\u2014plays an important role. In what situations are threats, such as traffic tickets for speeding, helpful as a tool of power to maintain order, and in what situations are they not?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Well, there are threats, and there are warnings of unpleasant consequences that have criminal implications. A warning is not a threat; rather, it makes one conscious of the consequences of one\u2019s actions. For example, \u201cIf you do not agree to this contract, our business relationship will end.\u201d This is an indication of possible consequences. Of course, I can turn it into a threat: \u201cIf you don\u2019t sign, I will inflict such-and-such harm on you.\u201d A threat, for example, one made by one government against another, involves consequences that do not necessarily stem from international law. So we should distinguish between indicating specific consequences and making a threatening gesture. The American economist Robert Armstrong has used the acronym TACO-Trade (\u201cTrump Always Chickens Out\u201d) to describe president Trump\u2019s recurring behavior. On Fridays, Trump threatens military action, causing oil prices to rise and stock prices to fall due to anticipated difficulties, and on Monday he announces before the stock market opens that he is on the verge of a deal, whereupon oil prices fall and stock prices rise. He\u2019s been playing this game for weeks, reaping billions in profits for the Trump family. These are all instances of insider trading, which are criminal offenses but have gone unpunished.<\/p>\n\n\n

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The United Nations Security Council chamber in New York, also known as the \u201cNorwegian Room,\u201d CC BY-SA 3.0<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

The irresponsibility of autocrats: How does this egomania, this desire to destroy, fit with your positive view of human nature?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Egomania is the key word! Leading experts in psychiatry and psychology have made clear statements about the narcissism of the two autocrats in Moscow and Washington. The narcissist always needs external validation. Hence, the United States is now co-opting the World Cup, just as Moscow did with the 2014 Sochi Olympics. That is why the stalemate between the warring parties is not enough to prompt negotiations. Only when one or the other loses domestic political support will they proceed. Research indicates that public approval of Putin\u2019s actions has plummeted. The question now is whether these egomaniacs will actually feel the impact of this. There is a major tipping point: Putin dreams of going down in history, like Peter the Great or Catherine the Great, as the great tsar who restores Russia\u2019s global prestige. In other words, he wants to be honored by history. We see something similar with Trump: think of the insulting captions he wrote beneath the portraits of the former presidents. The tide could turn if we can get these autocrats to entertain the idea that future generations might say, \u201cHe was crazy! He destroyed us instead of leading us to greatness.\u201d I mentioned this in my book. It\u2019s based on my experiences as a mediator in the Northern Ireland conflict and the Balkan War. If a leader involved in a conflict can accept the concept that he won\u2019t go down in history as a figure of admiration but rather as a destroyer, like Nero in the Roman Empire, then reflection becomes possible, and those driven by their impulses can become mindful of red lines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sanctions are supposed to underscore red lines and prompt a change in thinking. What does the research say? Do sanctions work?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I contrast the logic of war with the logic of peace. Using the logic of war, I react impulsively to perceived circumstances; with the logic of peace, the foundation is self-control. Just as one seeks to exert pressure through negative sanctions, one can conversely create a pull through positive sanctions. \u201cPositive sanctions\u201d mean \u201cI promise you something good if you do this or that.\u201d Unfortunately, when it comes to sanctions, autocrats think only of the negative. In my book, I demonstrate that negative sanctions have never led to a change in thinking. A forced change in behavior may succeed in rare cases, but it does not lead to concessions or a change in thinking, and certainly not to sustainable improvements. I elaborated on this in the foreign policy journal Sicherheit und Frieden<\/em> [Security and peace] when the first sanctions against Russia were adopted in 2014\u201315. Once sanctions are already in place, then I say, \u201cIf you\u2019re willing to do this or that, we\u2019ll lift the sanctions!\u201d That\u2019s exactly how it played out through Turkish mediation in the agreement on the shipment of Ukrainian and Russian grain in the fall of 2022 that allowed Ukraine to export from Odessa and Russia from its Black Sea ports. Unfortunately, it was restricted to a certain time limit, but it serves as an example of a positive sanction. What matters here is not how I can inflict greater harm on the opponent, but rather where there is a benefit for one party that also benefits the other.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Given Russia\u2019s war of aggression against Ukraine, what could be considered a positive sanction at this point?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Russian economy has now become a war economy, and it is well known that the sanctions on oil exports are causing Russia enormous financial difficulties. At the same time, the world is thirsting for oil and gas because of the war in Iran. Once the sanctions are lifted in this area, we\u2019ll see if it\u2019s possible to build a certain level of trust. Trust starts with the small things! It\u2019s encouraging that, thanks to Turkish mediation, we\u2019ve managed on several occasions to exchange prisoners. There have also been corridors for humanitarian aid. I describe these as \u201cwindows of opportunity.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The book includes a list of ten such windows, like the Chinese mediation proposal of February 24, 2023.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yes, there have been opportunities time and again. One must make the effort to identify the overlapping interests. And I want to emphasize this: Once the conflict reaches a certain level of escalation, the parties involved are absolutely incapable of doing this on their own. To think they are able is an illusion, because every word one side says is immediately twisted. The great distorter, Ahriman, is at work! But I ask: Why are the neutral countries staying so quiet? Why don\u2019t Switzerland, Austria, Ireland, Malta, and the Vatican\u2014as neutral states\u2014join forces? Why don\u2019t these countries form an alliance\u2014not a military one, but an alliance for mediation? Surely there must be enough diplomatic creativity! Then we can look for overlapping interests and ask: What do we all want to prevent? What should not be allowed to get any worse? At some point, the soldiers\u2019 mothers in Russia will take to the streets again, just as they did in 1989 over Afghanistan or as Americans did over Vietnam. That made a difference back then!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Your book identifies the \u201cvicious cycle\u201d and the \u201cavalanche of points of contention\u201d as factors driving the escalation of these downward spirals, yes?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

These are the circular causal relationships, where we must learn to think in circles, i.e. mutual causality. We have learned this in the field of biology, but not yet when it comes to soul processes. Steiner mentions this new way of thinking in connection with threefolding. In politics, we\u2019re still stuck one-sidedly in linear causality\u2014because it\u2019s so convenient: \u201cYou started it, you\u2019re guilty, you\u2019re to blame!\u201d This is an example of linear causality. The fatal flaw in this causality is that it isn\u2019t true.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The highly respected military thinker Carl von Clausewitz once said that planning becomes obsolete on the first day of war because what lies ahead is so unpredictable. Does this also apply to positive sanctions, that their effects are unpredictable?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yes, the predictability of all social processes is grossly limited. It\u2019s an illusion to think, \u201cI have a strategy, and it will be carried out.\u201d The same goes for positive sanctions. It\u2019s not up to me whether a positive action has also raised consciousness and fostered consideration in my opponent. If we, as citizens, become awake and join forces so that the spark catches on, then something positive is possible; that is what the mobilization of civil society is all about.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Guernica<\/em>, Pablo Picasso, 1937, Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sof\u00eda in Madrid, 2024, CC0 1.0. A tapestry of this painting hangs in front of the entrance to the UN Security Council in New York. Commissioned by Nelson Rockefeller in 1955, the work serves as a constant reminder to diplomats of the horrors of war.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

In a guest commentary in the Neue Z\u00fcrcher Zeitung<\/em>, philosopher Sigbert Gebert writes that violence is attractive because of its simplicity in achieving one\u2019s own will. The most effective means against violence is counter-violence. Invoking the law and international law remain ineffective without sanctions and, ultimately, without counterviolence.<\/strong><\/span>7<\/sup><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s exactly what the logic of war says! In my book I cite the overthrow of Ferdinand Marcos\u2019s dictatorship in the Philippines as an example. In February 1986, the People Power Revolution, through consistent nonviolent campaigns, brought about the fall of Marcos\u2014something no one had thought possible. There are many examples\u2014for instance, the fact that the Soviet Union was dissolved nonviolently. The GDR [German Democratic Republic (East Germany)] came to an end without violence. It\u2019s just that the campaigns here weren\u2019t as well-organized as those in the Philippines, Madagascar, Argentina, and Colombia. Unfortunately, most people who want to bring about change through nonviolence don\u2019t realize just how effective nonviolence really is. I\u2019d like to quote the verse attributed to Franz Janowitz: \u201cThose in power are not as strong as they seem. Those committed to nonviolence are not as weak as they think.\u201d They are weaker if they approach things the wrong way and confront the police and military first. As I have shown in detail using the example of the Philippines, success was based on an authentic attitude of Christian-based nonviolence. It\u2019s all about attitude and method! I was invited to Vienna by the Austrian peace activist Hildegard Goss-Mayr for her 90th birthday. Together with her husband, Jean Goss, she has practiced, researched, and taught nonviolence her entire life, and they have trained the people in the Philippines. Both emphasize that it\u2019s about an authentic attitude and posture. A mere gesture has no effect. The \u201chow\u201d is decisive. The process of transforming a system determines whether the situation will become peaceful after the end of inhumane rule.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Is that also the explanation for why the efforts toward peace or liberation in Iran ten years ago were unsuccessful? Gestures instead of an attitude and posture?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s how I see it. People have to care about the whole! From the outside, some may appear to be doing the same thing, but they don\u2019t have the right attitude. Before flying back to Manila from the U.S., the persecuted Filipino opposition leader Ninoy Aquino said: \u201cIf they kill me, a million people will stand at my grave and take up the fight for justice and democracy.\u201d That is exactly what happened\u2014two million people followed the funeral procession after his assassination and the People Power Movement started.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All my work on conflict resolution comes from what I find in Steiner\u2019s Truth-Wrought Words<\/em>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

Victorious Spirit,
Flame through the powerlessness
of timid souls.

Burn away selfishness,
Ignite compassion,

That selflessness,
Humanity\u2019s stream of life,
May surge as a source
of spiritual rebirth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sieghafter Geist
Durchflamme die Ohnmacht
Zaghafter Seelen.
<\/em>
Verbrenne die Ichsucht,
Entz\u00fcnde das Mitleid,
<\/em>
Dass Selbstlosigkeit,
Der Lebensstrom der Menschheit,
Wallt als Quelle
Der geistigen Wiedergeburt.<\/em><\/span>8<\/sup><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

That says it all! It addresses people\u2019s sense of powerlessness, their hesitation: \u201cWe should, but can<\/em> we, really?\u201d So flame through the powerlessness of timid souls! The powerful egomaniacs suggest to everyone else that they are powerless. It\u2019s also about overcoming a lack of empathy: \u201cIgnite compassion!\u201d But compassion is more than mere empathy\u2014it is feeling with<\/em> others. Then: \u201cBurn away selfishness.\u201d We\u2019ve spoken of the egomaniacs. They are everywhere, and a select few hold the levers of political, economic, and military power. Selfishness exists on a small scale, within our souls, as well as on the meso- and macro-social levels. This is the selfishness in the economy as a competitive struggle and, on the macro level, in nationalism, which is indeed spreading again. Selflessness at the supranational level would be necessary. It does cost a lot, but still, if we support the UN specialized agencies, everyone benefits. We save ourselves these absurd costs of armaments. In my book I quote the Swiss peace activist Jean Ziegler, who was the head of the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He passed away recently.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yes. I wanted to meet him years ago when he was invited to Salzburg as a speaker for the opening of the Salzburg Festival. Unfortunately, some people thought he was too revolutionary, so he was uninvited, and our meeting never took place. In 2000, Ziegler had installed a list in the lobby of the UN Security Council as a memorial. At the very top was the amount spent annually on armaments and warfare. Below that were the costs for alternative energy, remediation of environmental damage, desertification, and so on, all the way down to landmine clearance. He arranged this in the shape of a triangle since the amounts for remediation measures on the list became smaller and smaller toward the bottom\u2014a triangle standing on its tip and threatening to tip over. The costs of warfare have continued to rise, and those for remediation measures have now become even higher. According to Jean Ziegler, they stood at $780 billion in 2000 and $2,500 billion in 2024. Remediation measures\u2014including climate protection, denaturation, and social expenditures\u2014would amount to $10,000 billion annually. This makes it all the more urgent to redirect these senseless military expenditures toward global rescue and restoration efforts. Instead, we have the law of the jungle rather than international law, Schadenfreude<\/em> [malicious glee] rather than compassion. Yes, and all the while, those in political power suggest to us that we are powerless so that people do not take action. And that brings me back to the verse. It\u2019s worth rephrasing it for yourself in a personal way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You have experienced hundreds of conflicts. You have worked with communities that, after a period of fruitful cooperation, suddenly began to fall apart. Are conflicts dreadful, or is there a capacity for transformation? How melancholic does the abundance of conflicts today make you feel\u2014or how optimistic?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I formulated the answer in the chapter on Northern Ireland in my book. Conflicts, whether small or large, are failed attempts at change. We live in a time when radical changes are needed. Even on a large scale, conflicts are failed attempts at change, often with good intentions, but using the wrong means. Of course, the intention wasn\u2019t always good. I believe that attacking Ukraine or seeking to annex Greenland is, of course, not legitimate. If I say that, nevertheless, conflicts are failed attempts at change, then it\u2019s worth advocating for working together to identify where we have similar\u2014not necessarily identical\u2014but similar or mutually compatible, interests. That is key.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is in line with the chapter called \u201cIt’s Not About Winning a War, but About Winning Peace.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yes. This is a matter of mobilizing and engaging not only neutral parties but also what are known as \u201cstakeholders\u201d. In business, we talk about stakeholders. If a factory is located in a city, then the local community is a stakeholder, as are the environment, the labor unions, and interest groups\u2014all of whom have claims and legitimate interests in ensuring that the enterprise does no harm, but instead does something positive. And so all countries are stakeholders; or, to put it dramatically, humanity itself is a stakeholder. What people do to one another in wars affects everyone. It would be a complete illusion to think that wars can be confined to a local area. Not at all!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The same question again: Where does peace work begin within us, within me?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Earlier, I quoted Steiner\u2019s verse \u201cVictorious Spirit.\u201d I meditate on this verse in such a way that I personally address the victorious spirit directly. In doing so, I think of the Archangel Michael:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

Victorious Spirit,
Flame through the powerlessness
of timid souls.

Burn away selfishness,
Ignite compassion,

That selflessness,
Humanity\u2019s stream of life,
May surge as a source
of spiritual rebirth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sieghafter Geist
Durchflamme die Ohnmacht
Zaghafter Seelen.
<\/em>
Verbrenne die Ichsucht,
Entz\u00fcnde das Mitleid,
<\/em>
Dass Selbstlosigkeit,
Der Lebensstrom der Menschheit,
Wallt als Quelle
Der geistigen Wiedergeburt.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

At the same time, I am conscious that the victorious spirit can only work within me and through me if I train myself to do so through practice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The logic of peace is a way of thinking entirely different from the logic of war. This requires a spiritual rebirth. Just as a transformation in the natural sciences, medicine, economics, and so on requires an inward shift, so too does the field of peace work. If it is about \u201cmy\u201d powerlessness, about \u201cmy\u201d timidity, and about the presence of the victorious spirit in \u201cmy\u201d soul\u2014then we will find peace between us.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

An interview with conflict researcher, mediator, and peace activist Friedrich Glasl about his new book, Die Paradoxie des Wettr\u00fcstens [The paradox of the arms race]. Questions by Wolfgang Held. What led you to decide to write this book? Friedrich Glasl I\u2019ve been studying conflicts ever since I was a student over 60 years ago when I majored in international relations, international law, and political science in Vienna. My doctoral dissertation dealt with the issue of sanctions imposed by neutral states […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":17027,"featured_media":73513,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[8797,8815],"tags":[11824,8798,11825],"class_list":["post-73688","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-conversation-en","category-world-situation","tag-ausgabe-31-32-2026-en","tag-deepening","tag-english-issue-33-34-2026"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dasgoetheanum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/73688","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dasgoetheanum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dasgoetheanum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dasgoetheanum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/17027"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dasgoetheanum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=73688"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/dasgoetheanum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/73688\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":73720,"href":"https:\/\/dasgoetheanum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/73688\/revisions\/73720"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dasgoetheanum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/73513"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dasgoetheanum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=73688"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dasgoetheanum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=73688"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dasgoetheanum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=73688"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}