Gandhi's Peace Army: The Shanti Sena and Unarmed Peacekeeping

With an increase in United Nations peacekeeping operations around the world and with the problems faced by the UN forces in Somalia and Bosnia, there is growing debate about their future and the possible alternatives to resolving international and intercommunal conflicts. Thomas Weber examines the viability of unarmed peacekeeping through a detailed investigation of Gandhi's peace army, which has inspired many of the attempted campaigns of unarmed peacekeeping. The Shanti Sena, which is based largely on Mahatma Gandhi's ideas, was established in 1958, ten years after his death. Sena members, found only in India, are involved in conflict resolution on a grass-roots level, using peace-building techniques that have inspired international groups such as the World Peace Brigade, the Cyprus Resettlement Project, and Peace Brigades International. Relying on interviews with key participants and analysts of the peace army and archival documents, the book contributes greatly to the study of unarmed peacekeeping. It marks the first time anyone has chronicled in such detail the activities and history of the Shanti Sena during its most active years of 1957 to 1975.