Physicians And The Peace Movement

First Published in 1992. This book was written in recognition of the many physicians and other health workers who, since the formation of the first peace societies in 1815, have dedicated their lives to make the world a more peaceful and just place to live. The intention is to introduce the field to illustrate the main issues and avenues that have motivated individuals and groups to work directly for peace. The conclusion draws these threads together and considers some ways in which the health professions may contribute to peace work in the future.

We are all spiritual beings. Our spirituality is an inborn part of our nature - the essence of who we are as aware and intuitive human beings. Having an appreciation of the spiritual in our lives allows us to explore the deepest layer of our being, for ourselves, for our relationships with each other, and for the world beyond. In The Heart of Conflict, Dr. Elinor Powell takes a fresh look at conflict, and then suggests that it is our spirit that is put to the test and most clearly manifested when we are faced with any challenge in our lives.

We typically define and talk about wars using the language of politics, but what happens when you bring in a doctor’s perspective on conflict? Can war be diagnosed like an illness? Can health professionals participate in its mitigation and prevention? The contributors to Peace through Health: How Health Professionals Can Work for a Less Violent World engage with these ground-breaking ideas and describe tools that can further peace once war is understood as a public health problem. The idea of working for peace through the health sector has sparked many innovative programs, described here by over 30 experts familiar with the theory and practice of Peace through Health. They cover topics such as prevention and therapy, program evaluations, medical ethics, activism, medical journals, human rights, and the uses of epidemiology. Those considering careers in medicine and other health and humanitarian disciplines as well as those concerned about the growing presence of militarized violence in the world will value the book’s many insights Other Contributors: Will Boyce, Caecilie Buhmann, Anne BundeBirouste, Kenneth Bush, Helen Caldicott, Rob Chase, Khagendra Dahal, Hamit Dardagan, Ann Duggan, Lowell Ewert, Paul Farmer, Norbert Goldfield, Paula Gutlove, Katherine Kaufer Christoffel, Maria Kett, John Last, Barry S. Levy, Tarek Loubani, Evan Lyon, Graeme MacQueen, Ian Maddocks, Ambrogio Manenti, Klaus Melf, Viet Nguyen-Gillham, Wendy Orr, Andrew D. Pinto, Alex Rosen, Simon Rushton, Hana Saab, Victor W. Sidel, Sonal Singh, John Sloboda, Karen Trollope-Kumar, Marshall Wallace, Jim Yong Kim, Anthony Zwi.

There is a long tradition of opposition to war and organized peace campaigns date from 1815. Since 1945, however, modern weapons technology has threatened world wide destruction and has stimulated widespread protests. This book sketches in the background of thinking about peace and resistance to war before 1945, and then examines how public opposition to nuclear weapons and testing grew in the 1950s and early 1960s. Later chapters cover the major ressurgence of nuclear disarmament campaigns in the 1980s. The book also looks at how peace protest has spread from its origins in North America and North West Europe to embrace many parts of the world; opposition to nuclear testing has indeed been particularly strong in Japan, Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific islands. The period 1945 to 1990 was dominated by the Cold War between the USA and USSR, and the role of the Soviet-sponsored World Peace Council caused difficulties for indeptendent peace groups in the West. During the 1980s the emergence of autonomous peace activity in a number of East European countries, and even on a very small scale in the USSR itself, transformed the possibilities for East-West co-operation between citizens to urge disarmament and political change. A chapter examines these developments. Opposition to all forms of militarism has spread in the last 30 years. This book charts the struggles to extend the right to conscientious objection to military service, and draft resistance to particular wars - for example in Southern Africa and Israel. It also looks in some detail at the growing opposition to the war in the Vietnam. The recent protests against the Gulf War are surveyed briefly in an epilogue.

Here is the most comprehensive compilation and analytic classification of book-length publications on the immense upwelling of peace activism that occurred in the United States during the 1980's. It is an indispensable reference addition to the bookshelf of all researchers of peace movements in the United States. Focusing on the post-World War II years with particular attention to the 1980's, this volume is an extensive bibliography of books categorized into six categories by theory: "transcenders, educators, intellectuals, politicians, protestors, and prophets." Peace Movement Organizations and Activists in the United States: An Analytic Bibliography is an indispensable tool for researchers and students of peace movements from several disciplines including history, political science, security studies, sociology, and international relations.

The evolution of the disarmament regime of the 1972 Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention (BTWC) is described from 1980, when the first BTWC Review Conference was held, until 1998. The author analyses the results of SIPRI's first four review Conferences.