Peacemaking In The 20th Century

A lot of effort has been devoted to analyzing the protracted bloody wars of the 20th Century when mass killings were “perpetrated by and against a wide range of nations, cultures, forms of government, ethnic and religious groups” (Mingst and Snyder 2008, 368) with brazen zeal to wipe out entire races for power and control. For most disposed people of the world – the ‘bottom billion’ as Collier refers to them, unchecked power takes away the freedom of the other and replaces it with terror and the primitive fear of being controlled. It is estimated that during the 20th Century alone, between 60 million to 150 million people have died in episodes of mass killings while international and civil wars accounts for about 34 million deaths (Mingst and Snyder 2008, 368).
Whatever the motive or nature of conflict: territorial, ethnic, religious, communist, imperialist, terrorist, counter guerrilla, genocide, or politically instigated violence leading to mass killings, human
As the case study covered in this study demonstrates, “peacemaking and post-conflict reconstruction are best achieved by addressing structural injustices. Peacemaking has everything to do with the ongoing management of social and political conflicts through good governance. It encompasses the entrenching of respect for human rights and political pluralism, and the elimination of economic injustice” (Cheru 2002, 196).
Cambodia was at war in one form or another with itself for more than thirty years since the Khmer Rouge commenced their armed struggle in 1968 until 1999, when the last of the movement yielded to the Royal Government of Cambodia (RGC). During that time, Cambodia experienced several abrupt regime changes. Major instability within the larger region with neighboring Vietnam invasion of Cambodia in 1978 leading to what has been described as an