Uprooting war

Unlike the numerous other treatments of the dangers of war, the benefits of disarmament, or the need for government or citizen action, this book is about developing strategies for grassroots activists to challenge and replace the war system itself. Brian Martin presents a wide-ranging critical analysis of social institutions, drawing in part upon his own experiences as a social activist. The peace movement has always used methods such as political lobbying, mass rallies and civil disobedience; all of this has been important, he says, but it has had little impact on arms races. The trouble is that few such campaigns seriously challenge the hierarchical structures which underlie both the preparations for war and its ultimate use. Uprooting War aims to encourage serious thinking about anti-war strategies which involve confronting institutions such as the state, bureaucracy, the military and patriarchy. Some of the alternative directions it examines are ‘social defence’, peace conversion and building self-managing political and economic institutions.