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D.1. General: National and Transnational Movements

Volume Two -> D. Peace Movements Since 1945 -> D.1. General: National and Transnational Movements
Bennett, Scott H., Radical Pacifism: The War Resisters League and Gandhian Nonviolence in America, 1915-1963, Syracuse NY, Syracuse University Press, 2003, pp. 312

Includes CO revolts in camps and prisons in World War Two against racial segregation, and role of League members in helping to found the Congress of Racial Equality and its nonviolent direct action strategy. Also covers relations of secular and radical WRL with other pacifist bodies, such as Christian Fellowship of Reconciliation.

Brock, Peter ; Young, Nigel J., Pacifism in the Twentieth Century, Syracuse NY, Syrakuse University Press, 1999, pp. 434

(Revised and updated version of Peter Brock, Twentieth Century Pacifism, 1970, Van Nostrand Reinhold.)
History of opposition to war drawing primarily on US and British experience, but including material on Gandhi and the later Gandhian movement, assessments of the position of conscientious objectors in many parts of the world, and references to transnational organizations, e.g. the War Resisters’ International. Although the focus is on pacifism, the book includes material on the role of pacifists in the nuclear disarmament and anti-Vietnam War movements.

Bussey, Gertrude ; Tims, Margaret, Pioneers for Peace: Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom 1915-1965, London, WILPF British Section, 1980, pp. 225

History of first 50 years of transnational body campaigning against war and for disarmament, which opposed NATO and nuclear weapons, was active (especially in the US) in resisting the Vietnam War and promotes social justice and reconciliation.

Carter, April, Peace Movements: International Protest and World Politics Since 1945, London, Longman, 1992, pp. 283

Particular focus on European and North American movements against nuclear weapons in the 1950s-60s and 1980s and East European responses in the 1980s. But other nuclear disarmament protests, peace campaigns on other issues and nonviolent initiatives in other parts of the world are indicated more briefly.

Cockburn, Cynthia, Anti-Militarism: Political and Gender Dynamics of Peace Movements, London, Pluto Press, 2012, pp. 320

Feminist peace activist provides her theoretical perspective on cross-national case studies including UK peace movement, War Resisters’ International, anti-militarist campaigns in Spain, Korea and Japan, and the anti-NATO demonstrations in Strasbourg 2009.

Cortright, David, Peace: A History of Movements and Ideas, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2005, pp. 378

Chapters 7 and 8 cover anti-nuclear weapon campaigns, opposition to Vietnam and Iraq wars, resistance in the military and also draft resistance and conscientious objection.

Flessati, Valerie, Pax: The History of a Catholic Peace Society in Britain 1936-1971, Bradford, University of Bradford, PhD Thesis, 1991, , 2 volumespp. 535

Detailed historical study of both Pax and the Catholic element in the British peace movement. Pax from the outset opposed war under modern conditions as contrary to traditional just war teaching, a stance underlined by the development of nuclear weapons. Influenced Catholic thinking about modern war and the decision of the Second Vatican Council to recognize the right to conscientious objection and to call upon states to make provision for it.

Gress, David, Peace and Survival: West Germany, the Peace Movement and European Security, Stanford CA, Hoover Institution Press, 1985, pp. 266

Howorth, Jolyon ; Chilton, Patricia, Defence and Dissent in Contemporary France, London, Croom Helm, 1984, pp. 264

Part 1 covers France’s defence policy since 1945 – including the wars in Indo-China and Algeria, and De Gaulle’s decision (supported by the major political parties) to develop a French nuclear bomb. Part 2 focuses on anti-nuclear critiques and movements in the 1980s, including a military critique of French defence policy by Admiral Sanguinetti and Claude Bourdet on the ‘The rebirth of the peace movement’.

Locke, Elise, Peace People – A History of Peace Activity in New Zealand, Christchurch and Melbourne, Hazard Press, 1992, pp. 335

Chronicles peace activities in New Zealand from Maori time and early colonial settlement to the anti-Vietnam war movement and anti-nuclear campaigns of the 1960s and 1970s. Includes accounts of the direct action protests against French nuclear tests in 1972.

Lok-Wai-Chung, Steve, Peace Movements in South Korea and their Impacts on the Politics of the Korean Peninsula, Journal of Comparative Asian Development, Vol. 10, issue 2, 2011, pp. 253-280

This article covers the continuing and long-term protests against militarism, and for reconciliation with North Korea. It examines in particular protests against deployment of Korean troops overseas and against US military bases in Korea, and initiatives for reconciliation between the two Koreas, and assesses the movement's impact. 

Lombardi, Chris, I Ain’t Marching Anymore: Dissenters, Deserters, and Objectors to America’s Wars, New York and London, The New Press, 2020, pp. 298

A history of resistance to US wars and military policy from the War of Independence to the 21st century, including wars against Native Americans. It also covers mutinies and protests over mistreatment of soldiers, including Jim Crow laws after the Civil War, and abuse of women and gays. The emphasis is on telling stories and assumes knwoledge of US history. 

Meaden, Bernadette, Protesting for Peace, Glasgow, Wild Goose Publications, 1999, pp. 151

Sympathetic coverage of a wide range of campaigns in Britain – Greenham Common, Trident Ploughshares, the arms trade, British troops in Northern Ireland, US bases, the ‘peace tax’, and opposition to the (first) Gulf War.

Molin, Marian, Radical Pacifism in Modern America: Egalitarianism and Protest, Philadelphia PA, University of Pennsylvania Press, 2006, pp. 255

Nomiya, Under a Global Mask: Family Narratives and Local Memory in a Global Social Movement in Japan, Societies Without Borders, Vol. 4, issue 2, 2010, pp. 117-140

This study of the Japanese branch of the global World Peace Now movement, which organizes synchronized 'waves of protest', examines the motives for taking part in such peace activism. The author focuses especially on personal experiences, family narratives and local collective memory.

Peace, Roger C., A Just and Lasting Peace: The US Peace Movement from the Cold War to Desert Storm, Chicago IL, The Noble Press, 1991, pp. 345

Peace, a writer/activist, documents the growth of the peace and justice movement in the US, with particular focus on the 1980s. Areas covered include anti-nuclear campaigning and campaigns for justice in Latin America. Discusses also debates and controversies within the movement.

Prasad, Devi, War is a Crime Against Humanity: The Story of War Resisters’ International, London, War Resisters' International, 2005, pp. 560

A history of the first 50 plus years of the radical pacifist organization (1921-1973).

Reimann, Kim, Security issues and new transnational peace-related movements in East Asia, the 1990s and 2000s, International Journal of Peace Studies, Vol. 13, issue 2, 2008, pp. 59-85

Citizen activism on issues of peace and security has historically been limited in East Asia, apart from the opposition to nuclear weapons in Japan. Since the 1990s, however, an increasing number of NGOs and social groups have focused on peace issues at local, national, regional and international levels .This article considers both domestic and international reasons for a rise in peace-related activism and discusses three relatively recent movements in Northeast Asia. 

Taylor, Richard ; Young, Nigel J., Campaigns for Peace: British Peace Movements in the Twentieth Century, Manchester, Manchester University Press, 1987, pp. 308

Collection of analytical and descriptive essays spanning period from late 19th century to 1980s, but the main focus is on post-World War Two movement against nuclear weapons. Michael Randle assesses ‘Nonviolent direct action in the 1950s and 1960s’, pp. 131-61.

Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom, Pacific Women Speak-Out for Independence and Denuclearisation, Christchurch, Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom, 1998, pp. 80

Indigenous women from Australia, Aotearoa (New Zealand), Belau, Bougainville, East Timor, Ka Pa’aina (Hawaii), the Marshall Islands, Te Ao Maohi (French Polynesia) and West Papua (Irian Jaya) condemn imperialism, war, ‘nuclear imperialism’ (in the form of nuclear tests) and military bases in the hope ‘that when people around the world learn what is happening in the Pacific they will be inspired to stand beside them and to act’. The book is a contribution to the Hague Appeal for Peace, 1999.

Much of the information about peace protest and nonviolent direct action is to be found in movement newsletters or journals, though some of these are transient. Long-running peace periodicals are:

Peace News, London, which has transnational interests but particularly covers Britain; Liberation (1956-1977), WIN Magazine (published until spring 2015) and Fellowship in the USA. The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, although primarily a socially concerned journal covering scientific and strategic issues has carried articles on peace campaigns. Peace and Change (published by Sage) is an academic journal which examines peace campaigns and activity.