This article was published in Scientific American’s former blog network and reflects the views of the author, not necessarily those of Scientific American
Below are posts I’ve written for this blog on war, peace and related topics, updated from a meta-post published in 2016. Please let me know about missing stories, broken links or other problems. See also my book The End of War. –John Horgan
GENERAL
War Is Our Most Urgent Problem. Let’s Solve It
On supporting science journalism
If you're enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing. By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today.
Dear Rep. Ocasio-Cortez, Please Work to End War
Dear "Skeptics," Bash Homeopathy and Bigfoot Less, Mammograms and War More
Shouldn't Americans Care That Their Country Is Killing as Well as Imprisoning Kids?
Where Is Outcry Over Children Killed by U.S.-led Forces?
Dear Trump, Make World Peace Your Mission
How the U.S. Can Help Humanity Achieve World Peace.
Lets Begin Talking About How to End Wars.
Would Global Violence Decline Faster if U.S. Was Less Militaristic?
Are Predictions of Endless War Self-fulfilling?
What War Propaganda Like American Sniper Reveals about Us
Steven Pinker, John Gray and the End of War
Prominent Economist Touts Benefits of War in The New York Times–Really
50 Years Later, JFK “Peace Speech” Still Inspires–and Has Been Scientifically Validated!
We Need Leaders Who Share John F. Kennedy’s Vision of World Peace
Pope Francis, Jimmy Carter and the Greatest Threat to Peace
JUST-WAR THEORY AND NONVIOLENCE
Dear Anti-Trump Protestors, Please Renounce Violence
How to Resist an Unjust Regime Nonviolently
We Need a New Just-War Theory, Which Aims to End War Forever.
Is the “Just War “ Concept an Oxymoron, or Can It Be Salvaged?
How Can We Condemn Boston Murders But Excuse U.S. Bombing of Civilians?
Did the U.S. Overreact to the 9/11 Attacks?
Barack Obama Should Call for End of All War, Not Just War on Terror
U.S. Lacks Moral Authority to Criticize Russia for Intervening in Ukraine
How George W. Bush Rejected my “Sharp” Idea for Countering Terrorism
Egypt's Revolution Vindicates Gene Sharp's Theory of Nonviolent Activism
How Should the U.S. Respond to Terror?
We Need Smarter Solutions to Damned-if-You-Do-or-Don’t Dilemmas Like Syria
Selma’s Timely--and Empirically Sound—Message on Nonviolence
U.S. Bombs, Which Helped Spawn ISIS, Can’t Crush It
Why Gaddafi’s Death Doesn’t Fill Me with Joy
Can Pretend Warfare Cathartically Curb Real War?
A Modest Proposal for Curbing Homicides: Socialism
GUN CONTROL
Orlando Massacre Exposes Need for More Gun Control, Not More Counterterrorism
California Shootings Expose Need for More Gun Control, Not Counterterrorism
How Many Massacres Will It Take for Gutless Politicians to Stand Up to Gun Nuts?
Lax Gun Controls Pose Greater Threat Than Terrorism
More Guns Have Not Produced More Killings, But We Still Need Gun Control
Question for Gun-Rights Fanatics: Have You No Sense of Decency?
CAUSES OF WAR
Japanese Study Deals Another Blow to Deep-Roots Theory of War
War Scholar Critiques New Study of Roots of Violence
Was Civilization the Cure for Primordial Human Violence?
Has a Bogus Theory of War Kept Obama from Being a Peace President?
New Study of Foragers Undermines Claim That War Has Deep Evolutionary Roots
New Study of Prehistoric Skeletons Undermines Claim that War Has Deep Evolutionary Roots
Survey of Earliest Human Settlements Undermines Claim That War Has Deep Evolutionary Roots
I am Innately Aggressive, Not Innately Warlike
10,000-Year-Old Massacre Does Not Bolster Claim That War Is Innate
The Warrior Gene Makes Me Mad (Whether or Not I Have It)
The Weird Irony at the Heart of the Napoleon Chagnon Affair
Is “Sociobiologist” Napoleon Chagnon Really a Disciple of Margaret Mead?
Margaret Mead’s War Theory Kicks Butt of Neo-Darwinian and Malthusian Models
RIP Military Historian John Keegan, Who Saw War As Product of Culture Rather than Biology
Are War Crimes Caused by Bad Apples or Bad Barrels?
Why Soldiers Get a Kick out of Killing
Thanksgiving and the Slanderous Myth of the Savage Savage
Jared Diamond, Please Stop Propagating the Myth of the Savage Savage!
Sebastian Junger’s Documentary Restrepo Deserves an Oscar, but his Theory of War Is Wrong
Sebastian Junger’s New Film The Last Patrol Glorifies War
To End War, Focus on Culture Rather Than “Root Causes”
Seeking Causes Proximate and Ultimate of the March 11 Afghan Massacre
Worst Column Ever by Times Pundit David Brooks: “When the Good Do Bad”
WAR AND THE ENVIRONMENT
Are We Doomed to Wage Wars Over Water?
Hawkish U.S. Policies Pose Greater Threat to Peace Than Climate Change
Military May Play Key Role in Responding to Climate Change
CHIMPANZEE VIOLENCE
New Report on Chimp Violence Fails to Support Deep-Roots Theory of War
Anthropologist Finds Flaw in Claim that Chimp Raids Are Adaptive
Chimp-Violence Researchers Respond to Criticism
What Thieving Seals Can Tell Us about War’s Roots
NUCLEAR WEAPONS
Nobel Prize for Efforts to Ban Nukes Should Inspire Efforts to End all War
Nuclear Expert Considers Risks of Conflict with North Korea
Is Nuclear War the Only Cure for Inequality?
Are We Too Afraid of Nuclear Weapons?
Historian Contemplates “Ugly” Reality of Hiroshima
Bethe, Teller, Trinity and the End of Earth
Risks of Nuclear Weapons: An Exchange
Obama’s Nuclear Policy Takes One Step Forward and Two Steps Back
We Must Start Thinking Again about the Unthinkable
MILITARIZATION OF SCIENCE
Are Cyborg Warriors a Good Idea?
Will Neuroweapons, Micro-Drones and Other Killer Apps Really Make Us Safer?
Antiwar Movement Spreads Among Tech Workers
Why You Should Care about Pentagon Funding of Obama's Brain Initiative.
Should Scientists and Engineers Resist Taking Military Money?
Programs for Troubled Vets Don't Work, So How About Ending War?
Silicon Valley and “Disruptive” War Research
Beware the Military-Psychological Complex
Neil deGrasse Tyson, Please Speak Out about Militarization of Science!
My Exchange with Neil deGrasse Tyson about Science and War
DRONES, CYBER WAR AND SURVEILLANCE
Are Drone Strikes Really Making Us Safer?
Why drones should make you afraid. Very afraid
Drone assassinations hurt the U.S. more than they help us
Don't Believe Scare Stories about Cyber War
What Ancient Greeks Can Teach Us about Drones and Cyber War
Grass Roots Spying Might Make World Peace Possible
New Book Cuts Through Fog of Hype Cloaking Cyber War
Are We Ready for a World in Which Everyone Spies on Everyone Else?
Will “Persistent Surveillance” Turn U.S. into a Panopticon?
U.S. Never Really Ended Creepy “Total Information Awareness” Program