ABSTRACT
Peace movements have a pedigree as long as war. They are also among the oldest and most significant transnational movements of the modern age: ‘Peace societies began sprouting in 1815. . . . A renowned International Peace Congress was held in Paris in 1849’, the postCrimean war negotiations in 1856 were influenced by peace activists, and ‘by 1900, there were 425 peace societies throughout the world’ (Charnovitz, 1997: 192-193). However, they have throughout the past two centuries been so heterogeneous that it is probably correct to speak of loosely connected ‘peace movements’ than of a single movement. Their roots and orientations have included Christian and non-Christian spiritual pacifism, liberal internationalism, socialism, feminism and anti-imperialism (Carter, 1992: 1-12, 17). In terms of their advocacy activities, they can further be classified into ‘those who oppose all wars and by extension all preparations for war; those who oppose a specific type of weapon; those who oppose particular policies relating to arms, and those who protest against a specific war’, and finally those who make ‘positive attempts to end conflict’ (ibid.: 15; see also Van Dungen, 1985: 22-23).
