Religion and War Resistance in the Plowshares Movement

Nepstad documents the trajectories of various Plowshares movement groups, revealing how activist decisions affect longevity.

Sharon Erickson Nepstad (Author)

9780521888929, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 7 April 2008

204 pages
22.4 x 15.8 x 2 cm, 0.5 kg

"As a whole, the book offers an in-depth examination of the US Plowshares movement throughout history and a comparative analysis of divergent pathways that the international Plowshare movements took. In addition, she extends her analysis by offering a compelling and theoretically informed discussion of movement trajectories over time." -Canadian Journal of Sociology

As the nuclear arms race exploded in the 1980s, a group of U.S. religious pacifists used radical nonviolence to intervene. Armed with hammers, they broke into military facilities to pound on missiles and pour blood on bombers, enacting the prophet Isaiah's vision: 'Nations shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks.' Calling themselves the Plowshares movement, these controversial activists received long prison sentences; nonetheless, their movement grew and expanded to Europe and Australia. In this book, Sharon Erickson Nepstad documents the emergence and international diffusion of this unique form of high-risk collective action. Drawing on interviews, original survey research, and archival data, Nepstad explains why some Plowshares groups have persisted over time while others have struggled or collapsed. Comparing the U.S. movement with less successful Plowshares groups overseas, Nepstad reveals how decisions about leadership, organization, retention, and cultural adaptations influence movements' long-term trajectories.

1. Challenges and trajectories
2. Historical development of the U.S. Plowshares Movement
3. Tactical legitimation and the theology of resistance
4. Sustaining commitment
5. Death of a charismatic leader
6. Intermittent resistance: the German, Dutch, and Australian Plowshares Movements
7. Internal tensions and implosion: the Swedish Plowshares Movement
8. Witnessing or winning? The British Plowshares Movement
9. From failed attempts to persistent resistance: understanding divergent movement trajectories.

Subject Areas: Political economy [KCP], Comparative politics [JPB], Sociology [JHB]