Opposing War amid Repression: Anti-War Efforts in Russia

The Russian invasion of Ukraine has rightly provoked widespread condemnation. Perhaps the most important source of such condemnation has been the Russian people, many of whom have protested or otherwise dissented from their government’s actions. Peace-minded people around the world would do well to acknowledge anti-war efforts in Russia and to recognize our allies in … Continue reading Opposing War amid Repression: Anti-War Efforts in Russia →

A Defense against Threats or a Cause of Them? The United States’ Global Military Presence

The United States’ military presence extends across the earth. US military personnel are located in hundreds of US bases and outposts in dozens of countries around the globe. Like the US military’s enormous size (about 1.3 million troops) and enormous expense (over $700 billion per year), American troops’ international presence demonstrates the US military establishment’s … Continue reading A Defense against Threats or a Cause of Them? The United States’ Global Military Presence →

Help War’s Victims: End the Economic Punishment of Afghanistan

Having already endured decades of civil war, Afghanistan’s people must now face economic collapse and abysmal poverty. The Taliban’s victory, in August 2021, over the US-backed Afghan government led to a dramatic decrease in foreign support to Afghanistan. The United States has also placed economic sanctions on Taliban-ruled Afghanistan. These events have contributed to a … Continue reading Help War’s Victims: End the Economic Punishment of Afghanistan →

“An Inferno That Even the Mind of Dante Could Not Envision”: Martin Luther King on Nuclear Weapons

Although Martin Luther King is most famous for championing racial and economic justice and nonviolent protest, an aspect of King’s thought that has received relatively less attention is his opposition to the ultimate tools of violence, nuclear weapons. Historian Vincent Intondi, in his work African Americans against the Bomb: Nuclear Weapons, Colonialism, and the Black … Continue reading “An Inferno That Even the Mind of Dante Could Not Envision”: Martin Luther King on Nuclear Weapons →

Racial Discrimination and Weapons of Mass Destruction: The Navajo’s Struggle against Uranium Mining

A long struggle against injustice took a new turn this fall when a group of Navajo activists moved forward with an appeal to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. The New Mexico-based activists are trying to stop the Canadian company Laramide Resources, and its US subsidiary NuFuels, from mining for uranium on Navajo Nation land.[1] … Continue reading Racial Discrimination and Weapons of Mass Destruction: The Navajo’s Struggle against Uranium Mining →

People Standing against Tanks: The Civil Resistance of August 1991 and Its Ambiguous Legacy

Nonviolent civil resistance helped change history 30 years ago this August. When a group of hardline Communists within the Soviet Union attempted a coup in August 1991, they were met with significant resistance from other Soviet citizens, including both ordinary people and elites. The civil resisters ultimately prevailed over the coup plotters. The failed coup … Continue reading People Standing against Tanks: The Civil Resistance of August 1991 and Its Ambiguous Legacy →

A Cold War Comes Home? Anti-Asian Racism in Light of US-China Hostility

Racism against Americans of Asian heritage has received significant attention recently. Concerns about anti-Asian hate crimes arose last spring as the Covid-19 pandemic began to affect the United States.[1] The horrifying murders of eight people, six of them Asian, in the greater Atlanta area in March 2021 revived concerns about bigotry toward Asian Americans. As … Continue reading A Cold War Comes Home? Anti-Asian Racism in Light of US-China Hostility →

Making a Nonviolent Revolution: Review of Civil Resistance: What Everyone Needs to Know

Certain historical episodes of nonviolent resistance to injustice are famous: the Indian struggle for independence; the American civil rights movement; and the Arab Spring uprisings come to mind. However, many people who are aware of such episodes are not familiar either with the larger history of nonviolent resistance or with how such resistance can be … Continue reading Making a Nonviolent Revolution: Review of Civil Resistance: What Everyone Needs to Know →

Masking Up but Not Shutting Up: Defending Freedom of Speech during a Pandemic

Shortly after the World Health Organization declared Covid-19 a global pandemic, activists and journalists raised concerns about how governments’ response to the crisis might restrict freedom of expression and other civil liberties.[1] More than a year later, we have a better sense of how the pandemic response has limited press freedom and the flow of … Continue reading Masking Up but Not Shutting Up: Defending Freedom of Speech during a Pandemic →

Lethal from the Start: Uranium Mining’s Danger to the Most Vulnerable

Nuclear weapons kill directly when they are exploded in wartime or in tests.[1] They also kill indirectly: obtaining uranium, the metal used to produce both nuclear power and nuclear weapons, can expose people to radiation or other hazards. The results are often harmful, even lethal. As with nuclear testing, the people exposed to these hazards … Continue reading Lethal from the Start: Uranium Mining’s Danger to the Most Vulnerable →