Introduction

This book explores the challenges and opportunities facing the contemporary U.S. peace movement. The majority of the academic literature on the movement focuses on peace organizations or recognized leaders, leaving out the knowledge and experiences of individual movement participants. I attempt to fi ll this knowledge gap through an examination of activist demographics, the relationship of their peace movement participation to social identity and networks, how they respond to and are impacted by the post-9/11 political structure, and how they view the movement’s challenges, opportunities, and future prospects.