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The history of mankind is dominated by war, but journalist John Gittings argues that the progress and prosperity of humanity depend on a peaceful environment. He looks back as far as Confucius and Homer, to early Christian writers and to Shakespeare; traces the growth of the peace movement; and looks at the role played by Tolstoy and Gandhi. He says opportunities to end the Cold War earlier were missed and that, once again, we are missing opportunities for peace in the 21st century.

Gittings was chief foreign leader-writer and East Asian editor at The Guardian and is now a research associate of the Centre of Chinese Studies at the School of Oriental and African Studies.