In his new book “Flinte, Faust und Friedensmacht”, peace researcher and social and economic scientist Thomas Roithner focuses on the foreign, security and peace policy of Austria and the EU.
“In contrast to my book Verglühtes Europa, this is a compilation of journalistic works. The fact that there are many shorter articles in the book makes it very easy to read. But there are also some contributions that are a little longer.” Thematically, Roithner’s compilation covers a broad spectrum. The focus is on topics relating to Austrian and European politics, but the areas of peace policy and arms policy also have their fixed place.
The renowned scientist and speaker describes his new book as a collection of suggestions on how peace can be achieved by peaceful means. One focus is on a pioneering project: the Civil Peace Service in Austria. However, the book also asks how nuclear disarmament can be promoted. What contributions should neutral Austria make to civilian crisis prevention? And what does a modern army actually no longer need? In addition, “Flinte, Faust und Friedensrecht” deals with the question of how the European Union is learning a “language of power”. “While the EU often disagrees on foreign policy, billions are silently channeled into the EU Armaments Fund, military missions or the military core Europe. The EU states’ share of global arms exports is also rising and rising. Corona makes it clear how quickly soldiers are given responsibility for all possible and impossible tasks. But the army is not a police force,” says the author.
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