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Ananti-war movement is asocial movement in opposition to one or more nations' decision to start or carry on anarmed conflict. The termanti-war can also refer topacifism, which is the opposition to all use of military force during conflicts, or to anti-war books, paintings, and other works of art. Some activists distinguish between anti-war movements andpeace movements. Anti-war activists work through protest and othergrassroots means to attempt to pressure a government (or governments) to put an end to a particular war or conflict or to prevent one from arising.
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Substantial opposition to British war intervention in America led theBritish House of Commons on 27 February 1783 tovote against further war in America, paving the way for theSecond Rockingham ministry and thePeace of Paris.
Substantial antiwar sentiment developed in the United States roughly between the end of theWar of 1812 and the commencement of the Civil War in what is called theAntebellum era. A similar movement developed in England during the same period. The movement reflected both strictpacifist and more moderatenon-interventionist positions. Many prominent intellectuals of the time, includingRalph Waldo Emerson,Henry David Thoreau (seeCivil Disobedience) andWilliam Ellery Channing contributed literary works against war. Other names associated with the movement includeWilliam Ladd,Noah Worcester,Thomas Cogswell Upham, andAsa Mahan. Many peace societies were formed throughout the United States, the most prominent of which being theAmerican Peace Society. Numerous periodicals (such asThe Advocate of Peace) and books were also produced. TheBook of Peace, an anthology produced by the American Peace Society in 1845, must surely rank as one of the most remarkable works of antiwar literature ever produced.[1]
A recurring theme in this movement was the call for the establishment of an international court to adjudicate disputes between nations. Another distinct feature of antebellum antiwar literature was the emphasis on how war contributed to a moral decline and brutalization of society in general.
A key event in the early history of the modern anti-war stance inliterature andsociety was theAmerican Civil War, where it culminated in the candidacy ofGeorge B. McClellan forUS president as aPeace Democrat against incumbent PresidentAbraham Lincoln. The outlines of the antiwar stance are seen: the argument of the costs of maintaining the present conflict not being worth the gains that can be made, the appeal to end the horrors of war, and the argument of war being waged for the profit of particular interests. During the war, theNew York Draft Riots were started as violent protests against Lincoln'sEnrollment Act ofConscription to draft men to fight in the war. The outrage over conscription was augmented by the ability to "buy" one's way out, which could be afforded only by the wealthy. After the war,The Red Badge of Courage described the chaos and sense of death which resulted from the changing style of combat: away from the set engagement, and towards two armies engaging in continuous battle over a wide area.
William Thomas Stead formed an organization against theSecond Boer War, theStop the War Committee.
In Britain, in 1914, thePublic SchoolsOfficers' Training Corps annual camp was held atTidworth Camp, nearSalisbury Plain. Head of the British ArmyLord Kitchener was to review thecadets, but the imminence of the war prevented him. GeneralHorace Smith-Dorrien was sent instead. He surprised the two-or-three thousand cadets by declaring (in the words of Donald Christopher Smith, aBermudian cadet who was present) "that war should be avoided at almost any cost, that war would solve nothing, that the whole of Europe and more besides would be reduced to ruin, and that the loss of life would be so large that whole populations would be decimated. In our ignorance I, and many of us, felt almost ashamed of a British General who uttered such depressing and unpatriotic sentiments, but during the next four years, those of us who survived the holocaust-probably not more than one-quarter of us – learned how right the General's prognosis was and how courageous he had been to utter it."[2] Having voiced these sentiments did not hinder Smith-Dorrien's career, or prevent him from carrying out his duty in the First World War to the best of his abilities.
With the increasing mechanization of war, opposition to its horrors grew, particularly in the wake of the First World War. Europeanavant-garde cultural movements such asDada were explicitly anti-war.
TheEspionage Act of 1917 and theSedition Act of 1918 gave the American authorities the right to close newspapers and jail individuals for having anti-war views.
On 16 June 1918,Eugene V. Debs made an anti-war speech and was arrested under the Espionage Act of 1917. He was convicted, sentenced to serve ten years in prison, but PresidentWarren G. Harding commuted his sentence on 25 December 1921.
In 1924,Ernst Friedrich publishedKrieg dem Krieg! (War Against War!): an album of photographs drawn from German military and medical archives from the first world war. InRegarding the Pain of OthersSontag describes the book as "photography as shock therapy" that was designed to "horrify and demoralize".
It was in the 1930s that the Western anti-war movement took shape, to which the political and organizational roots of most of the existing movement can be traced. Characteristics of the anti-war movement included opposition to the corporate interests perceived as benefiting from war, to thestatus quo which was trading the lives of the young for the comforts of those who are older, the concept that those who were drafted were from poor families and would be fighting a war in place of privileged individuals who were able to avoid the draft and military service, and to the lack of input in decision making that those who would die in the conflict would have in deciding to engage in it.
In 1933, theOxford Union resolved in itsOxford Pledge, "That this House will in no circumstances fight for its King and Country."
Many warveterans, including US GeneralSmedley Butler, spoke out against wars andwar profiteering on their return to civilian life.
Veterans were still extremely cynical about themotivations for entering World War I, but many were willing to fight later in theSpanish Civil War, indicating thatpacifism was not always the motivation. These trends were depicted in novels such asAll Quiet on the Western Front,For Whom the Bell Tolls andJohnny Got His Gun.
Opposition toWorld War II was most vocal during its early period, and stronger still before it started whileappeasement andisolationism were considered viable diplomatic options. Communist-led organizations, including veterans of the Spanish Civil War,[3] opposed the war during the period starting with theMolotov–Ribbentrop pact but then turned into hawks after Germanyinvaded the Soviet Union.
The war seemed, for a time, to set anti-war movements at a distinct social disadvantage; very few, mostly ardentpacifists, continued to argue against the war and its results at the time. However, theCold War followed with thepost-war realignment, and the opposition resumed. The grim realities of modern combat, and the nature of mechanized society ensured that the anti-war viewpoint found presentation inCatch-22,Slaughterhouse-Five andThe Tin Drum. This sentiment grew in strength as the Cold War seemed to present the situation of an unending series of conflicts, which were fought at terrible cost to the younger generations.
Organized opposition to U.S. involvement in theVietnam War began slowly and in small numbers in 1964 on various college campuses in the United States and quickly as the war grew deadlier. In 1967 a coalition of antiwar activists formed theNational Mobilization Committee to End the War in Vietnam which organized several large anti-war demonstrations between the late 1960s and 1972. Counter-cultural songs, organizations, plays and other literary works encouraged a spirit of nonconformism, peace, and anti-establishmentarianism. This anti-war sentiment developed during a time of unprecedentedstudent activism and right on the heels of theCivil Rights Movement, and was reinforced in numbers by the demographically significantbaby boomers. It quickly grew to include a wide and varied cross-section of Americans from all walks of life. The anti-Vietnam war movement is often considered to have been a major factor affecting America's involvement in the war itself. ManyVietnam veterans, including futureSecretary of State and U.S. SenatorJohn Kerry and disabled veteranRon Kovic, spoke out against the Vietnam War on their return to the United States.
Mrs. Ngo Ba Thanh, a Vietnamese peace activist, aligned herVietnamese Women's Movement for the Right to Live with international activists of theWomen's International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF) andWomen Strike for Peace. Her imprisonment and publications about the war brought international attention to the social and economic issues created by the war and fostered international opposition to it.[4]: 109–110 [5]: 85, 89–90 Her arrest and lack of a trial sparkedBella Abzug and WILPF members to write to the United States Congress and petition PresidentRichard Nixon to appeal to South Vietnamese officials for her release,[4]: 126 [5]: 90 which was widely covered in the press.[6][7][8] Campaigns opposing the war and conscription also took place in Australia.[9]
Opposition to theSouth African Border War spread to a general resistance to theapartheid military. Organizations such as theEnd Conscription Campaign and Committee on South African War Resisters, were set up. Many opposed the war at this time.[citation needed]
Following the rise ofnationalism andpolitical tensions afterSlobodan Milošević came to power, as well as the outbreaks of theYugoslav Wars, numerous anti-war movements developed inSerbia.[10][11][12][13] Theanti-war protests inBelgrade were held mostly because of opposition theBattle of Vukovar,Siege of Dubrovnik andSiege of Sarajevo,[10][12] while protesters demanded thereferendum on a declaration of war and disruption ofmilitary conscription.[14][15][16]
More than 50,000 people participated in many protests, and more than 150,000 people took part in the most massive protest called "The Black Ribbon March" in solidarity with people inSarajevo.[17][11] It is estimated that between 50,000 and 200,000 peopledeserted from theYugoslav People's Army, while between 100,000 and 150,000 people emigrated from Serbia refusing to participate in the war.[14][12] According to professor Renaud De la Brosse, senior lecturer at theUniversity of Reims and a witness called by theInternational Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), it is surprising how great the resistance toMilošević's propaganda was among Serbs, given that and the lack of access to alternative news.[18]
The most famous associations and NGOs who marked the anti-war ideas and movements in Serbia were theCenter for Antiwar Action,Women in Black,Humanitarian Law Center andBelgrade Circle.[12][10] TheRimtutituki was arocksupergroup featuringEkatarina Velika,Električni Orgazam andPartibrejkers members, which was formed at the petition signing againstmobilization in Belgrade.[19]
NATO bombing of Yugoslavia during theKosovo War triggered debates over thelegitimacy of the intervention.[20][21] About 2,000Serbian Americans and anti-war activists protested in New York City against NATO airstrikes, while more than 7,000 people protested inSydney.[22] The most massive protestswere held inGreece, and demonstrations were also held inAmerican cities,French cities,Italian cities,London,Moscow,Brussels,Amsterdam,Toronto,Madrid,Berlin,Stuttgart,Salzburg andSkopje.[23][24][22]
There was initially little opposition to the2001 Afghanistan War in the United States and theUnited Kingdom, which was seen as a response to the11 September 2001 terrorist attacks and was supported by most of the American public. Most vocal opposition came from pacifist groups and groups promoting a left-wing political agenda. Over time, opposition to the war in Afghanistan has grown more widespread, partly as a result of weariness with the length of the conflict and partly as a result of a conflating of the conflict with the unpopular war in Iraq.[25]
The anti-war position gained renewed support and attention in the buildup to the2003 invasion of Iraq by the U.S. and its allies. Millions of people stagedmass protests across the world in the immediate prelude to the invasion, and demonstrations and other forms of anti-waractivism have continued throughout the occupation. The primary opposition within the U.S. to the continued occupation of Iraq has come from thegrassroots.Opposition to the conflict, how it had been fought, and complications during the aftermath period divided public sentiment in the U.S., resulting in majority public opinion turning against the war for the first time in the spring of 2004, a turn which has held since.[26]
The American country music bandDixie Chicks opposition to the war caused many radio stations to stop playing their records, but who were supported in their anti-war stance by the equally anti-war country music legendMerle Haggard, who in the summer of 2003 released a song critical of US media coverage of the Iraq War. Anti-war groups protested during both the Democratic National Convention and2008 Republican National Convention protests held inSaint Paul, Minnesota, in September 2008.[citation needed]
Organised opposition to a possible future military attack againstIran by the United States is known to have started during 2005–2006. Beginning in early 2005,journalists,activists andacademics such asSeymour Hersh,[27][28]Scott Ritter,[29]Joseph Cirincione[30] andJorge E. Hirsch[31] began publishing claims that United States' concerns over the alleged threat posed bythe possibility that Iran may have a nuclear weapons program might lead the US government to take military action against that country in the future. These reports, and the concurrent escalation of tensions between Iran and some Western governments, prompted the formation ofgrassroots organisations, includingCampaign Against Sanctions and Military Intervention in Iran in the US and theUnited Kingdom, to oppose potential military strikes on Iran. Additionally, several individuals, grassroots organisations and international governmental organisations, including the Director-General of theInternational Atomic Energy Agency,Mohamed ElBaradei,[32] a formerUnited Nations weapons inspector inIraq,Scott Ritter,[29]Nobel Prize winners includingShirin Ebadi,Mairead Corrigan-Maguire andBetty Williams,Harold Pinter andJody Williams,[33]Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament,[33]Code Pink,[34] theNon-Aligned Movement[citation needed] of 118 states, and theArab League, have publicly stated their opposition to a would-be attack on Iran.[citation needed]
Anti-war/Putin demonstrations took place inMoscow "opposing theWar in Donbass", i.e., inEastern Ukraine.[35]
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In May 2021, protests broke out following aflare-up of theIsrael–Palestine conflict. In the U.S., thousands gathered in at least seven major cities across the country in solidarity with Palestinians.[36] The 2021 conflict lasted from 6 May until 21 May when a ceasefire was signed.[37] The following day, an estimated 180,000 protestors gathered inHyde Park, England, in what may have been the largest pro-Palestine demonstration in British history. Speeches were made by anti-war campaigners and trade union members including demands that the UK governmentdisinvest and sanction Israel. Messages such as "free Palestine" and "stop the war" were displayed on banners and placards and chanted by protesters.[38] Despite the ceasefire, protests continued into June, with, for example, protestors inOakland, California, attempting to block an Israeli cargo ship from entering thePort of Oakland on 4 June.[39]
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Beginning in 2022, the anti-war movement was renewed following tensions betweenRussia andUkraine. Protests escalated on 24 February 2022, after Russiainvaded Ukraine.[40]
Russian PresidentVladimir Putin introducedprison sentences of up to 15 years for publishing "fake news" about Russian military operations.[41] As of December 2022, more than 4,000 people, including Russian opposition politicians and journalists, had been prosecuted under Russia's "fake news" laws for criticizing the war in Ukraine.[42]
Multiple protests against the war took place around the world since the start of theIsrael–Hamas war, in support of Palestine mostly.[43][44]
English poetRobert Southey's 1796 poemAfter Blenheim is an early modern example of anti-war literature that was written generations after theBattle of Blenheim but while Britain was again at war against France.[citation needed]
World War I produced a generation of poets and writers influenced by their experiences in the war. The work of poets, includingWilfred Owen andSiegfried Sassoon, exposed the contrast between the realities of life in the trenches and how the war was seen by the British public at the time and the earlier patriotic verse penned byRupert Brooke. The German writerErich Maria Remarque pennedAll Quiet on the Western Front, which has been adapted for several mediums and has become of the most often cited pieces of anti-war media.[citation needed]
Pablo Picasso's 1937 paintingGuernica on the other hand, used abstraction, rather than realism, to generate an emotional response to the loss of life from theCondor Legion andAviazione Legionaria'sbombing of Guernica during theSpanish Civil War. The American authorKurt Vonnegut used science fiction themes in his 1969 novelSlaughterhouse-Five, depicting thebombing of Dresden in World War II, which Vonnegut witnessed.[citation needed]
The second half of the 20th century also witnessed a strong anti-war presence in other art forms, including anti-war music such as "Eve of Destruction", "And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda" and "One Tin Soldier", and films such asM*A*S*H andDie Brücke, opposing theCold War in general or specific conflicts such as theVietnam War. The war inIraq has also generated significant artistic anti-war works, including the American filmmakerMichael Moore'sFahrenheit 9/11, which holds the box-office record for documentary films, and theCanadian musicianNeil Young's 2006 albumLiving with War.[citation needed]
Various people have discussed the philosophical question of whether war is inevitable, and how it can be avoided; in other words, what are the necessities of peace. Various intellectuals and others have discussed it from an intellectual and philosophical point of view, not only in public, but participating or leading anti-war campaigns despite its differing from their main areas of expertise, leaving their professional comfort zones to warn against or fight against wars.[citation needed]
Here is a list of notable anti-war scientists and intellectuals:
