"Without peace and without the overwhelming majority of people that believe in peace defending it, working for it, believing in it, security can never really be a reality"
About this Quote
Peace is not a hush enforced by arms; it is a shared commitment sustained by people who defend it, work for it, and believe in it. King Hussein I, who steered Jordan through wars, internal upheaval, and waves of refugees, learned that security built on fear or force alone is brittle. The lesson was personal and political: after 1967, after the violent rupture of Black September in 1970, and through the anxious decades that followed, the state could not be secure without a public that chose coexistence over revenge.
Calling for an overwhelming majority is crucial. Peace has to be more than an elite bargain or a treaty text; it must be a social norm with deep roots. That is why the verbs matter: defending implies vigilance against spoilers and extremists; working points to the slow labor of institutions, education, and economic opportunity; believing demands a narrative that makes peace honorable, not naive. Without that cultural and civic infrastructure, security is merely a pause between crises.
Hussein pursued a pragmatic, often lonely peace, culminating in Jordan’s 1994 treaty with Israel. He knew that the ink would not secure borders unless citizens on both sides were prepared to uphold the spirit behind the signatures. When tragedies and provocations threatened to unravel trust, he leaned into empathy and accountability, as when he personally consoled grieving families after violence. Such gestures were not symbolic indulgences; they were acts of political maintenance, signaling that peace had defenders beyond officialdom.
The line also widens the meaning of security. It is not only the absence of war but the presence of legitimacy, predictability, and hope. A society where most people invest in peace generates a resilient order; a society where peace lacks defenders invites the return of coercion. Hussein’s insight, forged in a fraught neighborhood, still resonates: lasting security is the byproduct of a peace made ordinary by the many, not imposed by the few.
Calling for an overwhelming majority is crucial. Peace has to be more than an elite bargain or a treaty text; it must be a social norm with deep roots. That is why the verbs matter: defending implies vigilance against spoilers and extremists; working points to the slow labor of institutions, education, and economic opportunity; believing demands a narrative that makes peace honorable, not naive. Without that cultural and civic infrastructure, security is merely a pause between crises.
Hussein pursued a pragmatic, often lonely peace, culminating in Jordan’s 1994 treaty with Israel. He knew that the ink would not secure borders unless citizens on both sides were prepared to uphold the spirit behind the signatures. When tragedies and provocations threatened to unravel trust, he leaned into empathy and accountability, as when he personally consoled grieving families after violence. Such gestures were not symbolic indulgences; they were acts of political maintenance, signaling that peace had defenders beyond officialdom.
The line also widens the meaning of security. It is not only the absence of war but the presence of legitimacy, predictability, and hope. A society where most people invest in peace generates a resilient order; a society where peace lacks defenders invites the return of coercion. Hussein’s insight, forged in a fraught neighborhood, still resonates: lasting security is the byproduct of a peace made ordinary by the many, not imposed by the few.
Quote Details
| Topic | Peace |
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