The Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament by Martin Shaw

The Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament by Martin Shaw

The launch of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament in 1958 signalled the first modern protest movement in Britain. Martin Shaw details CND's rise, the activists involved, the tensions with the Committee of 100 around direct action, and the culture, radicalism and social groups that were mobilized to "ban the bomb". The book discusses how a new movement in the 1980s, led by European Nuclear Disarmament and the Greenham women’s peace camp, helped remove cruise missiles from Europe and end the Cold War. It examines how the campaign influenced – and was influenced by – antiwar movements from Vietnam to Iraq and Gaza, as well as the environmental and women’s movements. As the nuclear threat returns in the 2020s, this study shows that the antinuclear movement’s ideas and the non-violent direct action it pioneered still reverberate in the campaign against the UK’s "nuclear deterrent" – and in protest movements from Stop the War to Extinction Rebellion.

This whirlwind tour of CND's history provides an accessible account of the political context, campaigning dynamics and significant impact of Britain's most enduring mass movementTaking in key stops like Aldermaston, Greenham Common, Vietnam and Iraq, Shaw tells the story of this powerful grass-roots movement and brings it right up to date – as it continues to fight for the abolition of nuclear weapons. Well worth a read.

-- Kate Hudson, General Secretary, Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament

The Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament has been at the centre of anti-nuclear protest in the UK for six decades. Martin Shaw has written a stimulating, balanced and comprehensive account of its remarkable history – something we all need to know about if we are to find ways to act in the face of renewed nuclear dangers including explicit nuclear threats, the unravelling of nuclear arms control, and the development of new generations of nuclear weapons.

-- Mary Kaldor, Director, Conflict Research Programme, London School of Economics

Shaw expertly synthesizes over 75 years of anti-nuclear protests and resistance into one compelling, highly readable, short history. The result is the single best survey of the anti-nuclear movement in Britain, told judiciously by one of its long-term participants and a respected scholar of international relations.

-- Christopher R. Hill, Associate Professor of History, University of South Wales

Martin Shaw’s excellent book is the first comprehensive study of the multi-faceted and complex movement of opposition to nuclear weapons: it is informed, reflective and reliable, drawing on a range of sources, and judicious in its analysis. It is, moreover, well written and readable.

-- Richard Taylor, Emeritus Professorial Fellow, Wolfson College, Cambridge

As a sociologist and an activist who has participated in many of the campaigns discussed in this book, Martin Shaw is exceptionally well-qualified to write what will surely become the definitive history of CND. Using a wealth of newly available materials and with access to some of the key players, Shaw moves expertly across the decades, dissecting the successes and failures of those who have sought to rid Britain and the world of the threat of nuclear destruction. A key strength of the book lies in Shaw showing not only how CND was part of a wider transnational antinuclear movement, but also what CND contributed to this wider struggle. Some of his interpretations are controversial, not least the role he ascribes to CND and END in ending the Cold War, but they are all persuasively argued here. An impressive intellectual achievement.

-- Nicholas J. Wheeler, Professor of International Relations, University of Birmingham

Martin Shaw is Emeritus Professor of International Relations and Politics at the University of Sussex and Research Professor at the Institut Barcelona d'Estudis Internacionals. He has written widely on global politics, war and genocide.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9781788217781
ISBN 10	1788217780
Title	The Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament
Author	Martin Shaw
Series	Short Histories
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Paperback
Publisher	Agenda Publishing
Year published	2024-11-14
Number of pages	216
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.
Note	Unavailable