"One of the best ways to describe wars is in terms of a collective ‘failure of imagination’. This failure of imagination limits futures possibilities to either one, or at best two. If one, the war must be waged as there is no other option. If two, either there is ‘perfect peace’ (read: all that I/we/our side wants) or, alternatively, violence, no matter how lousy, detrimental, damaging, and counterproductive.

"Wars are commonly supported by ‘used futures’ – the term refers to the strategies from the past that we keep on repeating even though they are no longer in line with our desired visions for the future (Inayatullah, 2008). So even when people consciously choose not to engage in violence, the existing system overrides it. The infrastructures of the yesteryears swallow first some, and then all of us. We want peace and security, yet commonly utilise strategies that destroy both. So in addition to replacing narratives, discourses and metaphors which support war and violence, we also need to change the social system and structure. In a nutshell, that means redirection of resources that support militaries into those that support peaceful conflict resolution. Without a simultaneous change of narratives and the systemic strategies to support them, our efforts in creating a peaceful present/future will always fall short." - Ivana Milojević

Article: Not Soon Enough: Meditations on Ending War and Visioning Peace