Conclusion

When one takes account of the many causes and types of war, and the many different means of fighting, it becomes less surprising that peace has proved so elusive. A common theme one hears among peace activists is the need for better relationships among people, by which method alone they expect to eliminate all war. However, not all people are like the other like-minded enthusiasts they meet, and such a reductio ad absurdum is unlikely to prove efficacious, and may have just the opposite effect. International organizations fall short for reasons discussed above, with the best hopes probably a combination of democratization, economic growth, and sophisticated strategic thinking.