Good Friday Agreement reminds us war can end when peacemaking begins

Eventually, the war in Ukraine will end through dialogue and negotiation. So, why wait for more death and more destruction, asks Joe Murray.

A woman walks past an apartment building hit by shelling in Kharkiv, Ukraine. Over sixteen million people have been displaced or forced to flee as refugees.

There are many extreme dangers associated with the war in Ukraine, some too obvious to refer to, but the danger of groupthink around the war is one that is perhaps not sufficiently in some people’s awareness. Groupthink is a phenomenon that occurs when a group of people make irrational or non-optimal decisions spurred by the urge to conform or the belief that dissent is impossible. The dominant narrative around the war in Ukraine is that it must be fought to the bitter end and no other option must even be contemplated. But, as with the war in Northern Ireland, new thinking is often necessary and like John Hume, someone needs to propose alternatives in order to avoid an even greater disaster.

The brutal and unjustified Russian invasion of Ukraine has now entered its second year and is growing more vicious and destructive with each passing day. It is increasingly clear that it is a war in which there are no winners (except the weapons industry) and in which hundreds of thousands of lives are being lost and destroyed. In addition, over sixteen million people have been displaced or forced to flee as refugees — and there seems to be no end in sight.