In 1987, a small team of Soviet and American scientists and scholars - citizen leaders - cooperated to create the first, historic book, in English and in Russian, released in both countries simultaneously to affirm the obsolescence of war and the oneness of life.

From the beginning, these historic "enemies" agreed there would be no blame in the book or on their tour. Travelling across the U.S. in pairs -- a Russian and an American author -- they spoke in homes, boardrooms, schools, and for TV and radio. They had dialogue with students, educators, businesspeople, and newspaper editors. In the U.S.S.R., there was widespread television, newspaper, and magazine coverage of their courageous breakthrough.

This small, creative team helped change the minds and hearts of their peoples.

Today in the 21st century, their findings and actions are a beacon to all peoples, all conflicts. They agreed:

• War is obsolete. Today's weapons can destroy civilization. Even small wars are too dangerous. They are the small sparks ready to ignite the nearby tinderbox.
• Enemy stereotypes, common to both sides, are outmoded. They are the engines that drive war.
• Unilateral security and unilateral advantage must be replaced by universal security.
• Confrontation must give way to cooperation.

(From traubman.igc.org)

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In 1987, as Beyond War was building a global citizens' movement to raise awareness of the threat posed by the mentality of war in the nuclear era, over 30 scholars came together to produce Russian and English editions of Breakthrough: Emerging New Thinking, Soviet and Western Scholars Issue a Challenge to Build a World Beyond War.

Now, almost 15 years later, new discussions are focusing on the ways in which 1989 was not only the end of an era but also the foundation for a profound change in the way we understand the planet as an interdependent system.

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