The Mighty Heart - How to transform conflict

“This is the current evolutionary process that most people don’t yet see: namely that the desired outer changes cannot come about without the inner change, as Einstein said. The quality of your awareness will directly affect the quality of the results you produce. This book demonstrates – steadily and sensibly – how anyone can develop this inner power to build their own personal contribution to the future, and to a world that works for all. It will wake you up to the challenges now facing the planet, and inspire you with sparkling accounts of what people are already doing to meet those challenges. It will show you how to build your own vision of the kind of future you want for your children, and the energy to make that vision real. I suggest you use this book as a guide, so that you too can become a 21st century pioneer of the possible.”

Archbishop Desmond Tutu

Nobel Peace Laureate, Civil Rights Activist

“We need individuals like Dr. Elworthy to start the work of preventing war. This has been my personal dream for many years.”

His Holiness the Dalai Lama

“Dr. Scilla Elworthy has always inspired such hope in my world. Her insights spring from a deep faith in people. A faith founded on years of research and deep thinking about how we resolve conflict without war. This is a profound book. I hope our leaders read it.”

Sir Mark Rylance

Actor, former artistic director, Globe Theatre

“The Business Plan for Peace clearly articulates the economic benefits of a more peaceful world – and they are profound.”

Steve Killelea

Founder and Executive Chairman, Institute for Economics and Peace

“Peace is everybody’s business. The Business Plan for Peace tells us what this means, with ambition and realism, inspiration and pragmatism.”

Dr Kalypso Nicolaïdis

Professor of International Relations, University of Oxford

“Finally, what we have known intuitively is now demonstrated in plain English utilizing business principles. A business plan for peace resonates with me as it will with thousands of Rotarians worldwide. Dr Elworthy’s work is groundbreaking and hopeful. Imagine giving up war which costs US$1,600,000,000,000 dollars per year with unimaginable side effects for a mere two hundred million dollars per year. This is a must read.”

Al Jubitz

Founding President of the Rotarian Action Group for Peace; Founder of the War Prevention Initiative

“I find it impossible to comprehend how so many of the human race seem more intent on waging wanton destruction, rather than creating sustainable solutions towards establishing lasting peace. This is why Scilla Elworthy’s exceptional book is so compelling. It has been written for people who want to step out of helplessness and find out how they can apply their own personal skills to do something about the challenges now facing us. Read on and learn how you can engage.”

Annie Lennox

OBE, singer, songwriter, political activist and philanthropist

“In this extraordinary and surprising book Scilla Elworthy dissects the Big Picture: Why do wars happen? What is the real damage? Who gains from them? What would peace entail and how do we achieve it? What’s the good news? These are some of the most difficult and essential questions of our time. Scilla tackles them with grace, generosity and a wealth of experience, offering examples and proposals for new and peaceful ways of conceptualising the human future. This is a compact book with an enormous message. Please read it.”

Brian Eno

Lifelong pioneer in rock, ambient and electronic music

“For all of us working to build a more just and peaceful world, this book provides not only the inspiration, but also the evidence, we’ve been looking for. As Dr. Elworthy eloquently explains, military options are no longer viable in today’s world. We must find nonviolent solutions to the problems we face; peacebuilding is both practical and effective.”

Bridget Moix

Clerk of the Board, Friends Committee on National Legislation, USA

“It is no longer adequate to simply be non-discriminatory. To make the kind of change needed and to end war, people have to be “actively inclusive”. Scilla is showing that we have the tools and has given us a blueprint for maximizing our potential.”

Daniel Danso

Global Diversity Expert, Linklaters

“Scilla shows us what is already effective in building peace at both local and international levels, and how minimal is the cost compared to the costs of fighting wars. She confirms the massive impact that ordinary people can have in making a peaceful world possible, and how they can do it.”

David Hartsough

Co-founder of World Beyond War and the Nonviolent Peaceforce, nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize

“War is a complicated matter. At last Scilla Elworthy has simplified the horrific financial costs together with toolkits, advice and examples for effective prevention of conflict. War has passed its sell-by date, and in this easy to read book the author clearly demonstrates why.”

Lawrence Bloom

Former Chair of the World Economic Forum, Global Agenda Council

“This book is timely, well-informed, authoritative and readable. It challenges my assumptions about the inevitability of armed conflict, and calls on us to review beliefs that may have been unquestioned hitherto. It offers a clear and compelling case for the practicalities of building a more peaceful world, and calls for a culture change in how we manage conflict. It is highly practical on a personal as well as a global level, with clear suggestions for actions that we can take e.g. steps to disseminate these ideas to government and media. By assembling ‘known and viable initiatives’ Scilla Elworthy has given me a sense of hope that so many organisations world-wide are taking positive steps in peace-building.”

Lawrence Kershen

Chair, Search for Common Ground UK, former Chair, Restorative Justice Council

“This remarkable and deeply timely book is of the highest relevance for anyone, in any walk of life, who has the desire to contribute to creating a better world. Drawing on her decades of experience of dialogue and working with global decision-makers, Dr Elworthy brings together a wide-ranging framework of strategic actions with the inner disciplines needed to make them more effective as well as to build personal resilience. She has researched and created what must be the first, and therefore landmark, detailed financial model for the creation of peace initiatives worldwide. Highly readable, practical and peppered with pithy and often moving true stories, this is truly a unique and essential book for our time.”

Nicholas Janni

Founder, Core Presence; Co-Founder, Vessica

“This is a very powerful book that faces head-on the appalling cost of war but goes far beyond this. Scilla Elworthy does not just argue persuasively that war should be seen as obsolete but she shows how we can control and reverse our culture of militarism. She does this through a series of chapters that take us from the international and national through to the local and the personal. The Business Plan for Peace achieves the remarkable feat of combining realism with optimism – a singularly powerful antidote to the despair that can so readily come from facing up to the problem of violence.”

Paul Rogers

Emeritus Professor of Peace Studies, Bradford University