With "Opting Out of War", Mary B. Anderson and Marshall Wallace present the first systematic study of a phenomenon that has received little attention in peace and conflict research. Their study focuses on so-called "non-war communities". In doing so, they acknowledge and address the fact "that systems and skills to prevent conflict between groups already exist in every society" (p. 2). Moreover, they show in their comparative study that local communities in all regions of the world repeatedly succeed in consciously resisting appropriation by conflict parties and not becoming part of the war or violent conflict. They become places where war does not take place, so to speak, where the violent dynamics of war or conflict are slowed down or even completely prevented.
The book is divided into three main parts. In the first half of the book, the two authors trace the determinants and conditions that enabled the various communities studied to successfully withdraw from the respective conflict dynamics. Chapter 2 looks at three important steps that led the communities to come together in their intention to distance themselves from the conflict, the conflict dynamics and the parties to the conflict (1. the conscious assessment of the costs of war or involvement in war for the community; 2. the critical examination and consideration of alternative options for action; 3. the acceptance and adoption of a neutral overarching collective identity that lies beyond the lines of conflict). Chapter 3, on the other hand, describes the importance of participatory governance and the maintenance of a certain "normality" for the sense of community and cohesion of the nonwar communities. While Chapter 4 examines the role and function of leadership and communication structures, Chapter 5 describes how nonwar communities interact with the conflict parties and armed groups. The last two chapters of the first part form a very informative and interesting conclusion. Chapter 6 takes a critical look at the role of international actors and Chapter 7 summarizes the main characteristic similarities of the various nonwar communities and traces an initial pattern of the underlying "nonwar strategies". In the subsequent second part, five examples of nonwar communities are presented and analyzed in more detail (Jaghori district in Afghanistan; Tuzla in Bosnia; peace villages in Colombia; the Muslim community in Rwanda; the Mungoi homestead in Mozambique). These detailed case studies illustrate once again the characteristic features and peculiarities of the respective nonwar communities. Interested parties can thus understand very well how the communal refusal to participate in the conflict/war (the so-called "opting out") worked and which strategies and action measures were successfully used. The characteristics and main features of the chosen strategies, which are identified in the case studies examined, form the basis for a community-based conflict prevention approach, which is outlined in the concluding third part of the book.
In summary, two things in particular speak in favor of this short book by Mary B. Anderson and Marshall Wallace. Firstly, it draws attention to a phenomenon that is usually given too little attention, namely the fact that even in highly complex and highly violently escalated conflicts, various communities - so-called non-war communities - repeatedly manage not to participate in the war or the violent conflict. Secondly, the structured comparative study of various case studies analytically reveals striking peculiarities, but above all characteristic similarities. The analytical examination of these nonwar communities points to different and yet in some cases very similar strategies and patterns of action as to how local communities have succeeded in not becoming part of the war or the violent conflict. Knowledge about such cases and the corresponding strategies and elements are further important building blocks for anchoring the prerequisites for sustainable crisis prevention in local communities in many regions of the world.
About the authors
Dr. Sascha Werthes is . From May 2018 to August 2019, he was also Managing Director of the . From September 2014 to February 2018, he set up and managed the Peace Academy RLP as an academic institution of the University of Koblenz-Landau.
Prior to this, he was integrated into the "International Institutions and Peace Processes" department at Goethe University Frankfurt am Main as a lecturer for special tasks (full-time position) under the direction of Professor Dr. Tanja Br眉hl. Between 2003 and 2013, he worked at the at the University of Duisburg-Essen, at the at the University of Duisburg-Essen, at the and at the at the Philipps University of Marburg. As part of the , he was also a guest lecturer at the .
