The Peace Movement and the Ukraine War: Where to Now?

Abstract

In the absence of mass peace movements, how should the work of peace and nuclear disarmament go forward in the shadow of the Ukraine war? The attack on Ukraine by the government of Russia is an illegal war of aggression and must be strongly condemned. There should be immediate and unconditional negotiations to end hostilities, and then to work towards a fair and inclusive common security framework in Europe. All governments must come to the table with humility, recognizing their collective responsibility for bringing the world to the brink of nuclear war. Even if a greater catastrophe is avoided, the world already is much changed. Those who hold power in the United States and its allies are responding with calls for more arms spending and more forward deployment of military forces. The people of the world must respond with a peace movement not aligned with the government of any state. We must find ways to bring together the strands of emerging movements for a more fair, peaceful, and ecologically sustainable way of life. A first step is a better understanding of the causes in this moment of resurgent authoritarian nationalisms, arms racing, and war.

Keywords

• Ukraine
• peace movement
• nuclear disarmament
• social movements
• nation states
• imperialism