red. It will be universal
in the twentieth century. All nations will be forced into it.

...

Economic pressure will tell?

Yes: the nations will be forced to come to peace and to agree to the
abolition of war. The awful burdens of taxation for war purposes will get
beyond human endurance...

No, said 'Abdu'l-Baha in conclusion, I repeat, no nation can disarm under
these circumstances. Disarmament is surely coming, but it must come, and
it will come, by the universal consent of the civilized nations of the
earth. By international agreement they will lay down their arms and the
great era of peace will be ushered in.

In this and no other way can peace be established upon the earth.

(Extracts from interview with newspaper reporter, quoted in "'Abdu'l-Baha
in Canada" (Thornhill: Baha'i Canada Publications, 1987), pp. 34-35) [42]

43: Once the Parliament of Man is established and its constituent parts...

Once the Parliament of Man is established and its constituent parts
organized, the governments of the world having entered into a covenant of
eternal friendship will have no need of keeping large standing armies and
navies. A few battalions to preserve internal order, and an International
Police to keep the highways of the seas clear, are all that will be
necessary. Then these huge sums will be diverted to other more useful
channels, pauperism will disappear, knowledge will increase, the victories
of Peace will be sung by poets and bards, knowledge will improve the
conditions and mankind will be rocked in the cradle of felicity and bliss.
Then, whether a government is constitutional or republican, hereditary
monarchy or democratic, the rulers will devote their time to the
prosperity of their nations, the legislation of just and sane laws and the
fostering of closer and more amicable relations with their neighbours--thus
will the world of humanity become a mirror reflecting the virtues and
attributes of the Kingdom of God.

By a general agreement all the governments of the world must disarm
simultaneously... It will not do if one lays down the arms and the other
refuses to do so. The nations of the world must concur with each other
concerning this supremely important subject, thus they may abandon
together the deadly weapons of human slaughter. As long as one nation
increases her military and naval budget, another nation will be forced
into this crazed competition through her natural and supposed
interest