Local authorities

Local authorities
(Coordinator Comment)

If one visits the cities of Europe that go back to medieval times, one can often find the old city wall and imagine how it was once defended by the local army of the town or city.

But for many centuries now, as the culture of war has been completely monopolized by the nation-state, the towns and cities are no longer in the war business. They usually have a police force, but it does not have heavy weapons such as artillery to repel an invading army, nor is it trained to do so. The main budget of the city is now more concerned with other matters such as education, streetlights, waste removal and fire prevention.

A few cities have have begun to take up the culture of peace as a priority. The city of Sao Paulo in Brazil not only has a city commission for the culture of peace, but also entire departments devoted to human rights and sustainable development.