by Marta Botta and Aliasghar Abbasi
Abstract
This paper offers a futures analysis of armed conflicts and its detrimental impact on the three
pillars of sustainable development – economic, social and environmental. It draws on macrohistory to
contextualize war along its socio-political and psychological drivers and explores alternative options
for conflict resolution. The macrohistory perspective offers an alternative view of armed conflict, as a
vehicle of social change, due to its disruptive action on stagnating social conditions. War, as a feature
of the dominator society, is a barrier to sustainable development. Hence, to enable global sustainable
futures, the Causal Layered Analysis suggests plausible routes towards a partnership society.