Anti-militarism

Name: Women in Black

Aims and objectives: Women in Black (WiB) is a worldwide network of women committed to peace with justice, which actively opposes, and makes the links between, male violence, militarism and war.

What is WiB: WiB has a feminist understanding that male violence against women in domestic life and in war are related. WiB aims to bring a feminist perspective to the opposition to war and other forms of violence, focussing on the effects of war on women, and to…

It has been a month full of sharp reminders of how the military dominates our lives.

During the last week of April a group of activists peacefully blockaded the Defence Munitions Depot at Beith in Scotland (see PN2461). This huge depot has a workforce of 500, and its main work is to store, produce, test and issue a range of missiles (including Tomahawks) and torpedoes.

In an arcane twist, HMG contracts big arms companies like BAE Systems to do the manufacturing and these…

If the headline news is of Spain withdrawing troops from Iraq and Bush giving premier Zapatero the cold shoulder, practical Spanish cooperation with the US and NATO remains firm.

While anti-militarists announced a series of actions - “hot May” - at military installations throughout the country, the month began with defence minister Jose' Bono meeting his US counterpart Donald Rumsfeld, agreeing to send more Spanish troops to NATO's mission in Afghanistan, to offer training in Spain…

Women in Black, London group, during the run-up to the general election invited passers-by to question the candidates of all parties on their attitudes to specific issues of militarism and war. Women stated their inten-tion to vote, among other things, for

In Greece today, militarism manifests itself most visibly in the tens of thousands of young men who every year are obliged to perform compulsory military service.

Unlike most other EU member states, Greece still practises conscription, with the authorities demanding that all Greek males between the ages of 19 and 45 join the armed forces.

Greek men have declared their objection to compulsory military service since long before the right to conscientious objection was…

At least 500 international activists were arrested on 16 April after a thousand gathered in Belgium to carry out a “citizens' nuclear weapons inspection”.

A massive police presence greeted the simultaneous actions at NATO HQ in Brussels, SHAPE NATO military HQ) in Mons, and Kleine Brogel airbase where 20 US nuclear weapons are stored. There was also an unannounced inspection of a NATO satellite base in Gooik, which is involved in communication between these bases.

Activists were…

The European Constitution has a range of militarist provisions which could serve to strengthen the already powerful military forces within EU states, and the constitution includes a plan for a Europe-wide military force.

The militarisation of Europe is being widely opposed by grassroots activists throughout Europe. On Saturday 5 March 2005, a conference in Manchester will examine and oppose the growing militarism and nuclearism in Europe.

The conference, “A Europe for Peace”…

A new report by Dr Chris Langley for Scientists for Global Responsibility details the pervasive military presence within science and technology. The military concentrates its programmes largely on weapons-based research, which diverts such study away from actually understanding and handling the roots and causes of conflict. The report argues that a more balanced funding of science and technology that includes more resources directed towards solving global environmental and social problems…

World military spending has returned to Cold War levels. Between 2001 and 2003, world military spending increased by 18 percent to reach US$956 billion - very close to the Cold War peak in 1987. Three quarters of that spending was by high income countries, who together spent well over ten times more on the military than on official development assistance to poorer countries of Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Middle East.

There is a deep irony in the rich world going to ever-…

Despite intense losses in the recently ended war with neighbouring Ethiopia, and a few worrisome signs of incursions on freedom of speech and the press, the hopes amidst the people of the horn of Africa rested on hard-fought victories and advances in areas of education, youth and women's mobilisation, and popular political participation.

Eritrea was poised to be part of the community of nation-states rejecting passive victimisation by the forces of globalisation, a leader amongst…

On 1 May 2004 we celebrated the first anniversary of the end to 60 years of US navy bombing and presence here on the island of Vieques, Puerto Rico. An intense four-year campaign of nonviolent civil disobedience disrupted navy manoeuvres to the point of forcing an end to over half a century of military use of this island municipality, six miles south east of the main island of Puerto Rico.

The death of a civilian Navy employee - David Sanes Rodri'guez - caused by an errant bomb…

The fact that George W Bush's military record (or lack of) is of such concern to the US public (or certainly the US and international media), illustrates how militarised masculinity continues to be seen as a criterion on which the ability to lead a country is judged. Pitched up against a “real” veteran, even George W, leader of the “war on terror” has been found wanting.

The US peace movement needs our help.
More information and contacts at:…

There was a time when anyone caught talking about “US imperialism” was instantly branded a mad Leninist. No longer. Today, aided and abetted by the ever-more brazen antics of the Bush administration, talk of American “empire” and “imperialism” can be found across the political spectrum.

Sidney Lens's excellent historical overview of US imperialism first appeared in 1971 and its reissue now, with a new introduction by Howard Zinn, is extremely timely. For one thing Lens's survey helps…

The deployment of Japanese troops in Iraq, which began in January and is the first such operation since the second world war, continues to attract opposition from the majority of Japanese people.

Many view the sending of troops to Iraq as a violation of the country's post-war constitution, which renounced war forever; and though the soldiers are serving in a purely “humanitarian” capacity, there are fears that they could be drawn into armed conflict.

The defence ministry in…

In July 2003, the European Convention presented a draft European Union Constitution, consisting of 260 pages, divided into four chapters, plus several appendices and additional agreements which will also have constitutional status. While this constitution puts all the different EU treaties (with the exception of Euratom) into one huge document, that's not all it is.

Even the European Commission had to admit that it “completely rewrites the originals”, as far as foreign actions and…