No Peace

The World Economic Forum (WEF) is self-described as an annual gathering of “world leaders from government, business, civil society and academia … convened in Davos to engage in forward-looking discussions to address global issues and set priorities. The call for bold collective action makes the meeting particularly relevant.” This year the WEF meeting in Davos-Klosters, Switzerland drew over 60 heads of state. They gave speeches and sat on panels under the theme “A Spirit of Dialogue.”

News in the United States was filled with the speech by Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, who called for a different way forward. He noted there is a rupture in the world order, pointing to “the beginning of a harsh reality, where geopolitics, where the large, main power, geopolitics, is submitted to no limits, no constraints.” (Transcript here.) The speech was a sign of hope for some, and for others a warning in a world where power continues to be amassed by a few at the expense of the majority. A world in which superpowers want more of the world’s natural resources, influence, and control of other’s political sovereignty.

Even as reports poured out of Davos on Carney’s speech, they also included comments about the speech of the President of the United States which boasted about the U.S. economy with superlatives that were exaggerations of the truth. His speech also included overtures to secure Greenland, informing the gathered body, in reference to the United States, that: “We’re a great power, much greater than people even understand. I think they found that out two weeks ago, in Venezuela.”

Venezuela was an act of aggression which was a violation of international law. Twenty-two days later, the world is quiet, with no disputes or challenges to this action taken by the United States. And then, there is Greenland. And Cuba, Columbia and Mexico. And Nigeria. All have been eyed with veiled threats in comments by the 47th President. In a world where peace continues to be elusive, the threats from the United States are hegemonic at a time when the president is also defying rule of law in the United States with use of force, a militarized federal presence in the form of ICE and use of the national guard. This show of force resulted in the murders of Alex Pretti and Renee Nicole Good in Minneapolis in 2026 and the killing of 32 people by ICE in 2025.

We want peace. Not an aspirational peace, a peace where people can live without fear and anxiety in their homes and communities. Peace that is provided and upheld by elected officials. Peace and security that is absent of war and violence. Peace and safety from oppression and tyranny.

Peace seems more elusive with the weakening of multilateralism and the work of the United Nations by the U.S. President, whose September 2025 speech to the United Nations decried the capability and capacity of the 80-year-old organization. Per the President: “What is the purpose of the United Nations? … all they seem to do is write a really strongly worded letter and then never follow that letter up. It’s empty words and empty words don’t solve war.”

Less publicized at Davos was the unveiling of the U.S. President’s Board of Peace. The White House issued Statement on President Trump’s Comprehensive Plan to End the Gaza Conflict identifies a seven-member, all male Executive Board which includes the President’s son-in-law. The proposal for the board was first mentioned in the 20-point peace plan for Gaza and was a part of the process ratified by the United Nations Security Council Resolution 2803. The President named himself as the Chairman of that Board.

While the Board of Peace appeared as a part of the Gaza Peace Plan, now there are concerns that the President of the United States is attempting to establish an organization alternative to existing international institutions – above all the United Nations, which he regards as ineffective and, at times, acting against America’s national interests. 50-60 countries were invited to join. 21 accepted. If countries want a permanent seat on the board it will cost them $1 billion. The chairman can dismiss board members. The US president’s Board of Peace has less to do with peace, in Gaza or elsewhere, and more to do with enforcing a new, transactional global order. Welcome to the America-First Trumpian world.

This Board of Peace will bring no peace to the world and no peace to the United States. Instead, this Board of Peace is one more step in the quest for power and control. Those who desire peace must be willing to resist the authoritarian and transactional bent of the President of the United States. Peace is not transactional. As external power grows, so does the pressure in the United States against people and communities. As external power grows, so does the vulnerability of countries in the region and across the world.