The Peace Movement - An Anti-Establishment Movement
| Date | 01 June 1986 |
| DOI | 10.1177/002234338602300203 |
| Published date | 01 June 1986 |
| Author | Kim Salomon |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
The
Peace
Movement -
An
Anti-Establishment
Movement
KIM
SALOMON
University
of
Lund,
Department
of
History
Attempts
to
explain
the
emergence
of
the
peace
movement
in
the
1980s
often
point
to
factors
like
fear
of
nuclear
weapons,
Soviet
manipulation
of
public
opinion
in
the
West
and
NATO’s
double-track
decision
in
1979.
Among
these,
the
author
emphasizes
the
third
factor.
He
argues
that
NATO’s
double
track
de-
cision
made
the
threat
of
nuclear
war
seem
nearer
and
more
real,
thus
motivating
people
to
involve
themselves
in
the
peace
movement.
The
author
also
introduces
a
fourth
factor,
arguing
that
anti-
establishment
attitudes
constitute
the
most
important
single
impulse
behind
the
emergence
of
the
peace
movement
in
the
1980s.
The
movement
reflects
a
subculture
which
is
permanently
pitted
against
establishment
norms.
It
is
this
environment
of
critical
attitudes,
rather
than
a
quest
for
peace
or
an
op-
position
against
nuclear
weapons,
which
induces
people
to
involve
themselves
in
the
peace
movement.
The
author
substantiates
this
thesis
through
a
discussion
of
the
social
groups
which
tend
to
actively
sup-
port
the
peace
movement,
the
political
preferences
of the
peace
activists
and
their
goals
and
methods.
The
peace
movement
is
also
shown
in
a
historical
perspective,
which
emphasizes
its
relationship
with
other
popular
movements
of
the
post-war
era.
1.
Two
views
of
the
peace
movement
Post-war
Western
Europe
has
experienced
at
least
two
waves
of
important
peace
move-
ments
-
the
first
occurred
between
1958
and
1963
and
the
second
emerged
during
the
early
1980s.
The
former
wave
is
often
seen
as
a
reaction
to
the
first
nuclear
weapons
tests
in
the
atmosphere.
This
first
wave
of
nuclear
protest
was
fuelled
by
arguments
that
radioactive
fallout
could
persist
in
the
stratosphere
and
pollute
earth,
air
and
water
years
after
the
explosion.
Discussions
about
the
nuclear
threat
no
longer
appeared
as
thinking
about
the
unthinkable.
The
peace
movements
of
the
1980s
are
commonly
seen
as
a
reaction
to
NATOs
double-track
decision
in
1979.
Two
addi-
tional
explanatory
factors
are
commonly
re-
ferred
to
in
the
literature:
Man’s
fear
of
a
nuclear
war
and
Soviet
or
Communist
ma-
nipulations
of
popular
opinion
or
of
the
peace
movement
in
the
West.
These
three
explanations
are
logically
complementary
rather
than
mutually
exclusive,
but
they
be-
long
to
different
levels
of
generalization
(see
e.g.
Ditzel
1983,
pp.
17ff;
Joshua
1983;
Ma-
gri
1982;
Williams
1984,
pp.
Iff).
2.
Explaining
the
growth
of
the
peace
movement
Therc
are
many
reasons
why
the
Soviet
Union
would
be
interested
in
a
strong
West-
ern
peace
movement.
Or,
as
a
high-ranking
Swedish
officer
put
it,
’If
I
was
sitting
in
Moscow,
I would
certainly
welcome
many
of
the
dcmands
of
the
peace
movement.
This
is,
of
course,
the
way
things
look
from
Mos-
cow.
The
peace
movement
is
used
by
Mos-
cow
whether
the
movement
wants
it
or
not’
(LundagArd
1983,
p.
5).
Although
it
is
not
unlikely
that
the
Soviet
Union
has
supported
the
peace
movement
in
the
West
in
the
1980s,
there
is
no
evidence
of
such
support.
Besides,
it
is
doubtful
whether
the
Soviet
Union
has
had
any
influ-
ence
on
the
peace
movement’s
activities.
For
although
the
movement,
in
the
wake
of
the
double-track
decision,
first
and
foremost
focused
its
critical
attention
on
the
United
States
and
NATO,
it
soon
levied
criticism
against
the
Soviet
Union
as
well.
This
devel-
opment
was
not
appreciated
in
Moscow.
Also,
the
peace
movement
in
Western
Eu-
rope
has
to
some
extent
stimulated
the
*
This
article
is
an
abbreviated
version
of
the
author’s
book
Fred
tw
tid,
Mats0:
Liber,
1985.
It
was
trans-
lated
by
Thorbiorn
Knutsen,
in
consultation
with
the
author.
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