Peace: A History of Movements and Ideas

by David Cortright

Veteran scholar and peace activist David Cortright offers a definitive history of the human striving for peace and an analysis of its religious and intellectual roots. This authoritative, balanced, and highly readable volume traces the rise of peace advocacy and internationalism from their origins in earlier centuries through the mass movements of recent the pacifist campaigns of the 1930s, the Vietnam antiwar movement, and the waves of disarmament activism that peaked in the 1980s. Also explored are the underlying principles of peace - nonviolence, democracy, social justice, and human rights - all placed within a framework of 'realistic pacifism'. Peace brings the story up-to-date by examining opposition to the Iraq War and responses to the so-called 'war on terror'. This is history with a modern twist, set in the context of current debates about 'the responsibility to protect', nuclear proliferation, Darfur, and conflict transformation.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Philosophy, Politics

392 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2008

Reviews

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a detailed scholarly work covering the history of the peace movement in western society from the late eighteenth century to the Iraq war that began in 2003 (the book was published in 2008). After defining what peace is or could be, it discusses peace organisations, the rise of internationalism, debates on disarmament, the Cold War, Vietnam and the Middle East, the role of religion and democracy in both war and peace, responsibility to protect, and the way a “realistic pacifism” could be the best way forward. It attempts a non-partisan approach, but might come across to some readers as an apology for unilateral force, since there are always rogue states willing to rebel against an otherwise international consensus. I think the main message is that the elimination or at least reduction of armed conflict is always desirable and the best solution for everybody. Academic in style, it will be too heavy for many, but its content is certainly interesting and educational – a more distilled version would be welcome for a more general readership. It’s definitely required reading for anybody working in international relations and diplomacy.

[Jonathan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Accessible and well-written, "Peace: A History of Movements and Ideas" analyzes the trajectory of the peace movement since the 19th century (with a focus on the US and UK) and the philosophical and religious sources of inspiration for it. Cortright at times attributes good faith to actors I would not have attributed good faith to, but overall, it's a valuable read, especially given the unfortunate state of the peace movement today and the need for robust action to counter global militarism.

[Joshua · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is definitely a very interesting book. I'm not the kind of person that reads these types of book genres. It does have some pretty good stories. But, I found it to be a harder read because of the slower pace, I'm not saying that is what you will think. someone else could find this book to be very good. It just isn't my style.

[Simon · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book gives a history of the peace movement—in the West. Despite it being Anglocentric in its outlook, sticking mostly to Britain and the US, it does provide some useful insights and corrects some erroneous myths. For example, the policy of appeasement pursued by the British Conservative Government prior to the Second World War was not a peace policy, as many historians claim. The British peace movement at the time strongly opposed appeasement believing that it would lead to war. That’s the good bit of the book. The main drawback to the book is its narrow focus on just a few countries.

[Nikki Reads A Lot · Rating 2 out of 5]

An interesting summary of peace movements, too sympathetic to neoliberalism and US exceptionalism.
Also Cortright tends to jump around in history in a temporally confusing way.

[Bluepuddingg · Rating 4 out of 5]

I Recommend it to anyone who's interested in the history of peace movements. Very informative.