Features in issue 2447

The flaw in the peoples' army

by Wolfram Beyer

In this article looking at calls for conscientious objection and against war made more than 100 years ago, Wolfram Beyer highlights an ongoing tension between the traditional leftist position on war and violence and that of libertarian anti-militarists.

The state and militarism after 11 September

by Ekkehart Krippendorff

Since 11 September the militarist rhetoric spewing out of the US and Europe has reached new heights. Ekkehart Krippendorff looks at the intrinsic relationship between state formations and the military in the post 11 September political environment.

Military service and manhood in Turkey

by Emma Sinclair-Webb

Militarism is deeply embedded in most human societies and Turkey provides us with a good example of how it not only infects and is maintained by a range of social rites and rituals, but works specifically in constructing masculinity. Emma Sinclair-Webb explains how...

Here I stand

by Howard Clark

A moral imperative or a political strategy? Howard Clark examines the role of conscientious objection in relation to the wider antimilitarist struggle.

The home front: a white woman against apartheid and conscription

by Kathryn Mathers

Conscientious objection and the support of COs is vital work in itself, but often one of the reasons people choose to become COs is not that they have a fundamental objection to militarism, but that they have a deep opposition to the type of activities the military engage in on behalf of the state. In this article Kathryn Mathers offers a good example by locating the struggle against conscription in 1980s South Africa in the wider struggle against apartheid.

Pacified into fighting: How Israeli Jewish men are manipulated

by Lothan Raz

From the cradle to the grave... Lothan Raz explains how ideals of heroism, strength and security, conspire to create an "inhumanly" militarised existence for Israeli men.

What does it mean to be an antimilitarist?

by Martin Rodriguez

Colombian conscientious objector Martin Rodriguez shares his experience of life in a heavily militarised society.

Peace, progress and private armies

by Naeem Sadiq

Armed groups who operate outside of the "national armed forces" model - be they guerrillas engaged in "liberation" struggles, mercenaries or private armies - present specific challenges to antimilitarist activists, as this article by Naeem Sadiq suggests.