This book is a useful introduction to some of the philosophical issues and theories relating to war and peace. It begins with an account of three basic approaches to the morality of war; political realism, internationalism and cosmopolitanism.
Political realism argues that moral values have no leverage in international politics, while internationalism looks to give those values some international status, primarily through the medium of international law. Cosmopolitanism, on the other…
Back in December, The Mole surfaced at London's City Hall - the glass monstrosity near Tower Bridge, home of ex-red Ken Livingstone. It was a “peace reception”, and guest of honour was US “peace mom” Cindy Sheehan - who's become a peace campaigner since her son was killed whilst taking part in the US military occupation of Iraq.
Her sincerity is not in doubt. But The Mole couldn't forget the strictures of Jeff Cloves in his column in the final issue of Nonviolent Action a…
Spirited Living is an essay written from the 2004 Swarthmore Lecture in which Simon Fisher, an experienced peace worker, lends a personal viewpoint to a call for Quakers to become more actively involved in peace activism or conflict transformation.
From the first chapter, the current status of the overall Quaker movement is challenged. It is represented as a somewhat confused and benign force in the global peace movement. The brief history of the Quakers given, including…
White Rose was the name of a student group in Munich that was engaged in the production of clandestine publications - leaflets that stated that the Nazi dictatorship were losing the war, and showed that it was totally futile to continue the conflict, especially after the horrific loss of German lives at Stalingrad.
The film concentrates on Sophie Scholl and, to a much lesser extent, her brother Hans, who were both leading figures within White Rose. It covers what happened to the pair…
One Voice is a compilation of two pieces by the renowned pacifist Vera Brittain, written during World War II. The first, Humiliation with Honour, is a reproduction of a series of letters from mother to son. The second, Seeds of Chaos, provides detailed and gruelling evidence of the human and cultural destruction stemming from the “obliteration bombing” policy adopted by the RAF in the 1940s. A foreword by her daughter, Shirley Williams, and introduction by Y Aleksandra…
Devi Prasad's history of War Resisters' International covers the first fifty-plus years of its existence from 1921 to 1973-4.
Based on the records of statements from its Council and Executive and the proceedings and resolutions of its International Triennial Conferences and Study conferences, the book traces its development from an essentially anti-militarist and anti-conscription organisation to one with the broader agenda of promoting nonviolent direct action on a range of issues,…
Sandwiched between International Conscientious Objectors' Day (15 May), and International Day for Children as Victims of War (4 June), is another opportunity for action: 24 May, International Women's Day for Peace and Disarmament (IWDPD).
This day began in Europe in the early 1980s, when hundreds of thousands of women organised against nuclear weapons and the arms race. Activists in the then-numerous women's peace groups declared the day in order to stimulate even more women's…
Chechnya is a war that was never especially popular in the West. Such is the paucity of news coming out of that destroyed place that those who may once have been aware of the violence there could be forgiven for thinking that it is over.
Since 2001, when Putin was welcomed by America as a valuable ally in the “war on terror”, it seems we are told that anything that happens in Chechnya is just a part of this struggle against those set on destroying our way of life. The only time that…
On 8 March International Women's Day was marked around the world.
In London between 50 and 80 women gathered at the Edith Cavell statue opposite St Martin in the Fields. A silent vigil was paralleled with singing, drumming and readings.
Leaflets, flowers and rosemary were offered to women passing by - many of whom were visibly touched to receive gifts as they hurried home from work!
A Sombre Journey
On 25 February, a group of around 200 community members, accompanied by members of Peace Brigades International and the Fellowship for Reconciliation, set out to collect and bring home the bodies of those murdered, hoping to bring a sense of closure to the pain caused by this tragedy. The group was to function as a sort of truth commission, documenting the facts surrounding the deaths in hopes that those responsible will eventually be brought to justice.
”The one…
“The two stacks of hay there had been burnt; the apricot and cherry trees he had planted and reared were broken and scorched; and, worse still, all the beehives and bees were burnt. The wailing of the women, and of the little children who cried with their mothers, mingled with the lowing of the hungry cattle, for whom there was no food. The bigger children did not play, but followed their elders with frightened eyes. The fountain was polluted, evidently on purpose, so that the water…
On 19 March tens of thousands of people are expected to take to the streets around the world to protest at the continuing military occupation of Iraq, and to call for coalition troops to be withdrawn.
National and local events are due to take place in Greece, Sweden, Iceland, Brazil, Australia, Senegal, Japan and South Africa. Here in Britain the largest event will be the march in central London, taking place under the banner “bring the troops home”, with similar demonstrations and…
This multifunction CD from the Peace Pledge Union uses a browser based system for navigating through the material.
Contents are divided into nine sections, including: quotations; racialism; war and peace; civil disobedience; the movement & black power; violence & nonviolence.
The disc also includes sources and a comment on the famous “I have a dream” speech and lists books by and about King. It also offers speeches - in print and with some video and audio extracts -…
This volume sets out to demonstrate that we are now living in what the editors refer to as a “new age of Empire”, which the book argues began with wars of occupation in Afghanistan and Iraq. Instead of being the start of a world in which global co-operation ensures advancement and prosperity for all people, globalisation is actually responsible for the increased instability that threatens ever-greater numbers of people.
A collection of original and rigorous pieces by nine prominent…
This issue of Peace News has been produced against the backdrop of war on Iraq and, in particular, the attacks on Fallujah.
While the editorial team spent their evenings deciding on the right font for a heading, warplanes and mortars struck fear into the hearts of ordinary people thousands of miles away.
It's distressing to see the blatant hypocrisy, lies, inconsistencies and ironies surrounding this war and to realise that many of the public - and, it seems, much of…
