Peacekeeping Stories

Kaylee Addison is the youngest of the safekeepers. Charged with the responsibility of spying on St. Emilian College, the boarding school of choice for the sons and daughters of the international elite, she finds herself thrust into a world of cliques, dark connections, scandals and secret societies. In this world, it's not long before new relationships test Kaylee's loyalties and her credibility as a safekeeper. This first boarding school mission involves Russian Oligarchs, private jets and North Korean missiles, amongst other things.

Three years after the Rumbling, the world is scarred - and so are its survivors. Mikasa Ackerman lives in quiet seclusion, tending to the grave of the boy she once loved, far from the rebuilding capital of Paradis. Her days are quiet, her grief quieter - until a letter arrives from Queen Historia, summoning her back to the city for a global peace summit. Jean Kirstein, now a lead peacekeeper and one of Historia's closest advisors, hasn't seen Mikasa since the day Eren died. He's grown into the role of a statesman, but old feelings stir the moment she returns - as does the fear of reopening wounds neither of them dared to face. As Paradis begins delicate negotiations with former enemies, the two are pulled into a web of political tension, public unrest, and shadowy Yeagerist resistance. Amid the chaos, their relationship grows slowly - tentatively - through shared memories, bitter truths, and quiet moments no one else sees. But loving each other means confronting who they used to be - and who they've become without Eren. Between grief, guilt, and the weight of survival, can two people who were always soldiers learn how to live - and love - in peace?

The Blue Helmets are United Nations Peacekeepers, the boots on the ground in the world's trouble spots. This is a story about these soldiers; a story of fighting men, political intrigue, war and peace. Brigadier General Geoffrey Colburn is a veteran of the wars in the Balkans and Afghanistan; now he commands a detachment of UN troops in the restive nation of South Sudan. But after operations spiral beyond anything the UN Command could have imagined, General Colburn finds himself in hot water. Saved by the United Nations Secretary General, he finds himself on a path he couldn't have imagined; one that could change the dynamics of global affairs, if he and his men aren't arrested for treason first.

I will attempt to raise questions on how the activities of music and musical influence can be understood as a form of non-violent political participation. I will firstly introduce the basis of political dissent in the first part of the essay. The theory behind this is based on the writings of Robert Martin (2014) is to give a broader understanding of what political opposition is through nonviolent means. I will also use the readings by Étienne de La Boetié for a clearer understanding of the ideology behind nonviolent practices. I will further develop my argument to the question of how music is used as an instrument for practice of non-violence. I will try to establish how musical performances and influence can be legitimately incorporated into the political sphere. As explained earlier, music has a huge influence onto people, therefore the studies around this essay will be of to how impactful can musical influence be to create action and its relevancy towards non-violent practices. In the second part of the research essay I will introduce the background of the Bed-In Movement in 1969 as an example of a popularized music-based non-violent protest. The reason behind this is to limit the perimeter of the research towards a popular movement. The essay will furthermore develop into two major subtitles to explain the power of musical influence and the extent of music as an instrument of non-violence. I will derive this study with a few more examples of music as a social mover to support my argument. The methodology used in this essay is qualitative because I will compare the influence of music of that in the Bed-in Movement and the development of music as an instrument of non-violence in modern time. This study is significant because it gives a new perception of how music as a form of art can unite people and create change through non-violent conducts.