War vs life: A cost/benefit approach

A wise culture learns to deliberate decisions by creating cost/benefit analyses that are as complex as they need to be so that the biggest decisions are the most completely informed.

Why don't we do that with war?

What costs are considered when we are considering whether to wage war?

Historically and rhetorically, only two costs are examined in the run up to war and indeed in the historical analysis of past wars. The common reference is "blood and treasure." 

Those costs are, of course, vital and glaringly important. 

But if we run our decision-making based on incomplete cost/benefit information we fail to make wise decisions and, with war, we fail in multiple ways. Not considered: 

• environmental impacts
• infrastructure destruction
• lasting trauma
• opportunity costs
• potential alternatives

Each of these factors in any more complete cost/benefit analysis would almost always, if not permanently and categorically, point to a wise decision to avoid war, even with an almost certain chance of purely military victory. Why?

Environmental impacts

Using the US as a prime example, the environmental costs of war and war preparedness should be front and center, since the US military is the most developed in human history. Just one eco-cost is the carbon footprint, the largest in the world, bigger than many entire developed nations. 

Infrastructure destruction

The most militarized country in the world in 1939 was Germany, with a great deal of ambition and aggression on the minds of the Nazi leadership alongside supreme confidence in its power. Indeed, they destroyed some 1700 towns in the duration of World War II, but in the end Germany itself was the most damaged, rivaled only by Japan, which had similar war preparedness, ambitions, and great confidence in its future victories. 

Lasting trauma

Whether its referred to as shell shock, battle fatigue, post traumatic stress disorder, or by any other name, the emotional toll on both warriors and civilians as a result of war is not only for the lifetime of those individuals but can become intergenerational, even epigenetic. 

Opportunity costs

When a $billion is spent on a new war plane, that is a $billion that isn't available for daycare. When a $trillion is spent on the annual Pentagon budget, that is a direct theft from healthcare, education, national infrastructure, and everything else. Economists refer to this as opportunity costs.

Potential alternatives

This is the most studiously ignored factor--that there is a rich history of maximal goal success using nonviolent people power instead of arms and violence. Indeed, as a game-changing empirical study showed, nonviolence wins in those struggles slightly more than half the time and violence wins slightly more than one-quarter of the time.

Prepping for nonviolent conflict is far less costly in literally every respect. 

Inoculating your movement against violent flanks: A checklist

From tossing a brick through the plate glass window to throwing bottles at cops or “punching a Nazi,” violent flanks have been harming movements for a long time. The results are predictable; they are disastrous for campaigns. As with all movement decisions, your first filter inquiry toward a decision is How will this affect recruitment? After all, numbers of participants remain the greatest predictor of success or failure of any social movement. 

Your movement can inoculate itself against these damages. Here is a punchlist for your consideration: 

1.    Decide firmly on a nonviolent code of conduct and publicize it relentlessly. That code is optimal if it says: Each event should be nonviolent and nonviolent conduct is expected of all participants, including no physical violence even in self-defense, no weapons, no screaming, no throwing, no disrespectful gestures, no masks,[1] no expressions of hate, no property damage (unless sanctioned by the organizers).

2.    Develop a nonviolent security force to help your own people maintain nonviolent discipline.

3.    Hold frequent trainings for the nonviolent security team, for anyone contemplating civil resistance, and for general participants in street actions.

4.    Establish relationships with the security apparatus of the state—police, soldiers, or any armed agents who may be present at your events. Make it clear to them that you are not their agents in any way and that you are trained to handle most situations so they should stay back.

5.    Outreach to violent flanks with respect and an expectation of their reciprocal respect for you. Explain to them that you are putting in a great deal of work and organizing effort to pull off the event you want, and they are welcome if they can comport themselves in line with your coalitional code of conduct. Let them know you will never denounce them unless they violate your code of conduct while involved in your event, and that if they do, they will be publicly denounced, but you will also respect their organizing and never interfere with their independent events. Acknowledge that if the oppressor visits your town, that time and place belong to everyone and your people will maintain nonviolent discipline under all circumstances. Be aware that the violent flank will be where most or all of the agents provocateursare, whether they are actual police or a part of the “rat system” (convicted or charged with crimes and can earn reduced consequences for their infiltration work to push a group toward violence).[2]

6.    Outreach and continually engage with media to create and defend the image of your movement as nonviolent, even in the face of repressive brutality. Follow up with any reportage that smears violent flank activity onto your nonviolent movement. Remind them to factcheck and refer to the media packets you send them that clearly states the nonviolent nature of your coalition, your campaign, your movement.

Stress openness and transparency. At every turn, avoid the creation of a security culture that casts suspicion on your fellow movement members. Having clandestine actions should only be reserved for the most extreme circumstances (hiding Jews in the attic in Nazi Germany, helping slaves escape on the Underground Railroad, dismantling your own country’s WMD up to the point of getting it done). Seeming stealthy is corrosive and invites repression; it also can besmirch the reputation of your movement. 

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[1] Clearly covid changed this calculation. As a footnote only, rare exceptions are certainly in order for those who are undocumented and fearful of ICE (although they might be wiser to make a clear choice between publicly accountable or completely discreet), or for some women whose religion might require face covering.

[2] Do not be concerned about potential infiltrators who are there to spy on you. Who cares? As A. J. Muste told them 100 years ago in a speech to a hall of union members the night before a strike and demonstration, “I know agents of the owners are amongst us tonight. I expect you to do your duty and report to the police and the owners that we are strictly nonviolent.” Only be worried about those who advocate violence, even in “self-defense.” 

Careers in Conflict Transformation and professional peaceworking: Human Resources

 Focusing on Human Resources is an excellent career path for the Conflict Transformation degree-holder who is drawn to devising methods of people-helping, encouraging innovation, and bringing conflict management services into the workplace.

In one study of more than 650 full-time employees in Vietnam the development of enduring Human Resources policies and practices showed a marked uptick in innovation and job performance (Hoang, Nhat & Duy, 2025).

The generally recognized set of competencies[1] advised to HR professionals start with excellent communication skills, including active listening, cross-cultural competence, coaching, team-building, and of course all the administrative, business, and technological skills that an HR staffer or director would require. Planning for a career in HR might be best done with a Conflict Transformation degree but with electives focused on courses from other departments in business schools--or a degree directly in HR but a minor in Conflict Transformation, which would be a serious advantage to the aspiring HR professional. 

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[1] https://www.aihr.com/blog/hr-skills/

Careers in Conflict Transformation and professional peaceworking: Negotiator

Who hires negotiators? While the job title may not be Negotiator, the skills learned in any competent CTPS program prepare the student to enter that world. Each union has negotiators, most of whom have other responsibilities as well. Each employer has negotiators, most of whom have other responsibilities, so the CTPS student simply gains one valuable competency that is applicable to many careers. 

This is not to say that there aren't full-time negotiators; there are. A Contract Negotiator,[1] for example, is quite specialized and is quite suited for the CTPS student who is attracted to that work. They may be consultants or work for a consulting firm that is known as a third-party neutral because: 

"It is their job to ensure that any contract is legally binding and mutually beneficial.

Contract Negotiators must possess a number of specialised skills; they must be diplomatic, have excellent negotiation skills and a good understanding of legal terminology, the principles of contract law and the techniques of contract formation. It is also important they be knowledgeable in the particular business the contract concerns, in order that they can properly advise the parties. Negotiators must come to a mutual agreement; one that meets the objectives of both parties."

Any CTPS student aspiring to this sort of career should work with the program advisor to negotiate courses such as Contract Law to count as electives, or earn a minor in pre-law. 

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[1] https://careers.aacei.org/career/contract-negotiator-2

Careers in Conflict Transformation and professional peaceworking: Non-profiteers

Some feel drawn toward the nonprofit world, which is a wide-ranging set of legitimate careers, as there is a number of positions in even the smallest nonprofit and many in the larger ones. 

Starting a nonprofit was once almost byzantine in its complexity; now you can find online companies[1] who will take over that process for you. 

One of the most difficult skills to master in the nonprofit realm is to keep the books and stay current with state and federal requirements. Some days you will feel like a paralegal--which is exactly who we hired for years to be the administrator of the Oregon Peace Institute. Some people seem to have a natural affinity for learning these skills and some seem averse to even attempting them. When developing your competencies in order to develop your career, you will likely be far happier with a greater job satisfaction when you cultivate the competencies that you enjoy doing, while learning just enough about the skills you do not enjoy to enable you to be employed doing mostly what you love.

Indeed, doing what they loved as a volunteer is quite often the origin story of a nonprofit. In addition to holding a sign as an individual at a demonstration for human rights, eventually a person or group of people may decide to try to make the leap from all volunteering to being paid to work for the goal of more human rights.

There is a great deal of helpful (and at times confusing) information on starting a nonprofit at the federal level,[2] and each state[3] has its own rules for state recognition. The 501 c3 nonprofit is often focused on the educational work necessary to develop public understanding of the issues that are the focus of the organization. Care to generally avoid direct political involvement should be taken: "it may not be an action organization, i.e., it may not attempt to influence legislation as a substantial part of its activities and it may not participate in any campaign activity for or against political candidates."[4]

The IRS offers online instructionals[5] in dealing with the nuances of federal nonprofit law but now disclaims that parts may have changed and are not updated since the passage of the so-called 2025 "One Big Beautiful Bill Act." They give no word on when it's likely to be updated.

There are dozens[6] of other tax-exempt organizational categories, ranging from "Civic Leagues and Social Welfare Organizations and Local Associations of Employees" (the 501 c4 groups) to "Black Lung Benefits Trust." A 2025 76-page guideline manual[7] is available, but it also appears to have been written before the legislation passed that included massive changes to many aspects of the law.

Overall, it makes most sense to keep political activities separate, possibly simply undertaken by individuals who may identify as being associated with the nonprofit but should probably note that mentioning that is for identification purposes only, not to express organizational views.

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[1] https://instantnonprofit.com

[2] https://www.irs.gov/charities-non-profits/charitable-organizations

[3] https://www.irs.gov/charities-non-profits/state-links

[4] https://www.irs.gov/charities-non-profits/charitable-organizations/exemption-requirements-501c3-organizations

[5] https://www.irs.gov/charities-non-profits/stay-exempt/virtual-small-to-mid-size-tax-exempt-organization-workshop

[6] https://www.irs.gov/charities-non-profits/other-tax-exempt-organizations

[7] https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p557.pdf

Careers in Conflict Transformation and professional peaceworking: Junior diplomats

Junior diplomat

Many career paths are open to the graduate of a well-designed Conflict Transformation degree within the fields of negotiation and diplomacy. 

Aspiring diplomats can take a solid core set of Conflict Transformation courses and branch to international relations for electives, as recommended by a combination of organizations, including the Institute for Global Affairs, which also offers an internship program[1]--and if a CTPS student hoping to be a diplomat is advised well, that internship can count for elective credits. 

In the past, career civil servants in the US State Department served without partisan orientation except for serving in the interests of the United States. In 2025, however, that began to fundamentally change, so that lower-level diplomatic staff who might have served without any significant adjustment when the party in power changed from Republican to Democrat or vice-versa, suddenly were largely fired or pressured to take early retirement. Radical shifts rightward in rhetoric, erasure of some histories, and new expectations at almost every level have changed the nature of working for the US in any capacity that deals with an international environment. 

That noted, there are still opportunities[2] listed in US State Department Foreign Service, Civil Service, and Limited Non-Career Appointments[3] (LNA, often 15-60 month contracts).

Foreign Service[4] is the flagship component of the State Department's overseas operations, which, for better or worse, makes it likely the most vulnerable to political pressures from the administration. Many of the competencies[5] required for this work dovetail precisely into many CTPS degree competencies, such as: 

"Negotiation:

To recognize divergent and overlapping interests; to recognize advantages and disadvantages of agreement and available options; to advocate, influence and/or persuade others using information, facts, and reasoning rather than emotion; to resolve disagreements; to maintain or develop mutually beneficial working relationships with counterparts in the process."

Under the LNA there is a special category, the Consular Fellows Program,[6] that might be of interest to the CTPS graduate who has language proficiency in Arabic, Mandarin, Spanish, or Portuguese and is hoping to work overseas. Benefits may include student loan forgiveness.

Can negotiation promote a reduction of structural violence even as it enhances both intercultural collaboration and peace? One study of the New Silk Road Initiative believes that is happening (Boukrou, 2024). The New Silk Road Initiative is one undertaken by China to negotiate mutually beneficial trade agreements with other Asian countries, boosting prosperity amongst those nations while reducing Western dominance. To match such thinking with a CTPS philosophy and basic start point, these trade agreements would not include or be linked to military agreements, such as permission to either base foreign (Chinese in this case) troops on other's sovereign lands, or establish militarily mutual defense treaties. That, in this case, would simply be substituting Chinese dominance for Western dominance. Indeed, delinking peace and trade negotiations as a representative for any nation or consortium of nations from military aspects would be in line with a CTPS education, primarily because we teach alternative methods of coercion, not a lack of it. A BATNA that only involves non-military enforcement mechanisms is entirely doable and is the only path to environmental justice, human rights, and peace.

References

Boukrou, N. (2024). The Impact of the New Silk Road Initiative on the International Balance of Power. Philosophica (1857-9272), 11(22/23), 139–147. https://doi-org.proxy.lib.pdx.edu/10.62792/ut.philosophica.v11.i22-23.p2730

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[1] https://instituteforglobalaffairs.org/announcements/2024/08/job-opening-research-and-communications-intern/

[2] https://careers.state.gov

[3] https://careers.state.gov

[4] https://careers.state.gov/career-paths/foreign-service/

[5] https://careers.state.gov/career-paths/foreign-service/competencies/

[6] https://careers.state.gov/career-paths/foreign-service/limited-non-career-appointments-lna/consular-fellows/

Careers in Conflict Transformation and professional peaceworking: Humanitarian aid worker, human rights worker + social work

In domestic US professional positions, employment with a strickly humanitarian aid focus is more limited than international work, though this may change depending on the state of previously less common factors, such as houselessness, hunger, and other formerly relatively uncommon phenomena.

Domestically, in the US, this work can be classified as social work, a natural career option for a CTPS major or minor. Indeed, there are areas of the country that are historically impoverished, with less public funding, where a graduate with a BA/BS in CTPS can be hired as an entry-level social worker without any other qualifications. The pay is often lower than average for social workers, the clientele may be more marginalized and impoverished, but it's a dream job for the right person with certain ideals and orientations. It can also give a working person time to earn a graduate certificate or even a masters degree while working full time, paving the path to a position as a social worker anywhere. 

Income is generally greater in some of the international humanitarian aid projects, especially those which are well funded by governments or consortia of governments, e.g., more dangerous conditions in hot conflict zones. The dangers can be prohibitive, such as those humanitarian organizations that were active in Gaza during the 2023-2025 war between Israel and Hamas, when both sides targeted noncombatants, which is frequently where humanitarian aid workers and their fixed or mobile facilities were.

Sadly, the wreckage committed by the Trump regime, such as destroying USAID, greatly negatively impacted that career field, with overseas opportunities largely veering toward the fewer opportunities in private foundation-funded nongovernmental organizations. It is to be hoped in this arena and many others that a future US administration and Congress will strongly restore this funding and rebuild the governmental agency infrastructure that had previously made humanitarian aid worker a staple career option for the CTPS graduate. 

Some humanitarian aid work remains available and will not close down, such as the American Red Cross,[1] which works domestically and internationally. The student who hopes to do this work will be well served to earn an undergrad degree in CTPS with a minor in public health or a CTPS degree with electives in public health, though even with the American Red Cross there are entry-level positions that focus more on marketing and communications. As with any desired career path, the idea is to fix on what you want to do and work with advisors to build the coursework and degree composition that is your on-ramp to employment in your envisioned future.

Human rights work is one career extraordinarily attractive to some CTPS students and entry-level work in that field is available. Enduring organizations, such as the International Rescue Committee, Front Line Defenders, Save the Children, Oxfam, Human Rights Watch, Human Rights First, Amnesty International, the Associations of Women's Rights in Development, Open Society Foundations, and Freedom House all hire at the entry-level. Some require post-degree experience and some do not. Some have affiliate organizations that hire separately. As with all CTPS career paths, volunteering for such organizations and serving as interns at such groups can be a strong advantage in post-graduation job search.[2]

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[1] https://www.redcross.org/about-us/careers.html?srsltid=AfmBOooJghHo_NbLMrOQMzm0H86epiQEkA2pC9xIS3ZrEg7tSDMP2VxG

[2] For example, some years ago I had lunch with the volunteer-coördinator for a large humanitarian assistance organization and she told me that she fielded, on average, approximately 200 inquiries per week just to volunteer for the group, only a tiny handful of whom she was able to place. Later I sat with a student who had her heart set on working for that organization and, armed with her transcript showing her strong affinity for that work, as well as a letter of recommendation from germane professors (including me), she not only secured a volunteer position, but within a year she was hired by them full-time and was, in her case, deployed to do work in the Middle East helping them bring aid and CT education to one country.