Uri Savir explains his motivation behind writing “Peace First.”

Savir: I’m, on my growing up life, a frustrated peacemaker. I was engaged deeply in negotiating the Oslo Accords and negotiated with [John, with Syria], with other Arab countries as the Israel’s Chief Negotiator in the days of the late Prime Minister Rabin and on Minister Shimon Peres, at the time. I felt already then and later with the [flaws] of implementation that there was a missing link, that in a way, that the peace we were making were peace of elites, peace of diplomats, peace on paper that, even if implemented, it will resolve only the problems of the past. I strongly believe that we are in need to create a new peace architecture, to create a peace for the people and by the people, and this is why I wrote the book “Peace First”. Peace must be foremost on the agenda of the people of societies in conflict, in post conflict societies, in societies in transition. We have to create a peace that is inclusive, in which society’s needs, in which economy matters, in which a culture of peace matters, in which local authorities matters, in which civil society matters, and this is why I wrote “Peace First”, emphasizing a modern model to make peace.