Free course

Banning the bomb: a global history of activism against nuclear weapons

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In this free course you will learn about the global anti-nuclear movement that has worked for decades to prevent the use of nuclear weapons, with the ultimate aim of abolishing them altogether. You will see how opposition to nuclear weapons has been an important cause on every continent. Beginning in 1945, this course will equip you with knowledge of the nature of anti-nuclear activism until the present day.

Transcript

This course has been produced as part of an AHRC-funded project on ‘Global histories of anti-nuclear activism’, with nine partner institutions in seven countries across five continents. This course was produced collaboratively by The Open University and the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN), winner of the 2017 Nobel Peace Prize.

Course learning outcomes

After studying this course, you should be able to:

understand the different forms of activism used to oppose nuclear weapons since 1945
learn how anti-nuclear activism has differed in different countries and regions
navigate newly digitised primary sources to gain a deeper understanding of anti-nuclear activism.

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First Published: 25/09/2024

Updated: 25/09/2024

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Course content

- Introduction and guidance
- Current section:
  Introduction
  Nuclear weapons have been used in war twice, when the Americans dropped atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945 at the end of the Second World War, and more than 2,000 times in nuclear tests. The scale of destruction brought about by these weapons, and the rapid increase in both the number and the power of nuclear weapons in the following years, has prompted deep fears about their potential future use. While the end of the Cold War offered brief relief ...
- Learning outcomes
- Moving around the course
- Acknowledgements
- Session1Session 1: Why do people oppose nuclear weapons?
- Current section:
  Introduction
  In this session, you’ll explore why citizens around the world have opposed and continue to oppose nuclear weapons.You’ll hear from a survivor of the nuclear bombing of Hiroshima, before exploring the impact of the development and testing of nuclear weapons, as well as the budgetary implications of producing nuclear weapons.Before you get started we would really appreciate a few minutes of your time to tell us about your expectations for this course, in our optional start-of-course survey ...
- 1 The horrors of nuclear
- 2 The impact of nuclear weapons development
- 3 The cost of nuclear weapons
- 4 Summary of Session 1
- References
- Acknowledgements
- Session2Session 2: How have citizens mobilised against nuclear weapons?
- Current section:
  Introduction
  In this session, you’ll learn about how citizens have mobilised against nuclear weapons since 1945.First, you’ll see how anti-nuclear activism developed in the years following the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945. Next, you’ll explore one of the most intense periods of anti-nuclear activism in the UK and elsewhere in Europe in the early 1980s. Then you’ll learn more about nuclear colonialism and how in many parts of the world, such as Polynesia, opposition to nuclear weapons ...
- 1 Anti-nuclear activism after 1945
- 2 The Euromissile Crisis and anti-nuclear activism in the UK in the early 1980s
- 3 Nuclear colonialism: anti-nuclear activism and national independence
- 4 Summary of Session 2
- Acknowledgements
- Session3Session 3: How have anti-nuclear activists cooperated across national boundaries?
- Current section:
  Introduction
  In this session, you’ll explore examples of how anti-nuclear activism crosses national borders as activists cooperate to effect change. First, you’ll learn about cross-country cooperation on a specific campaign, considering the Euromissile Crisis in Western Europe in the 1980s and how Western activists sought to engage with citizens on the other side of the Iron Curtain. Next, you’ll explore the role of the hibakusha, survivors of the nuclear attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and how they ...
- 1 Transnational activism during the Euromissile Crisis
- 2 The role of hibakusha as a global crossroads
- 3 South Africa and the World Campaign
- 4 Summary of Session 3
- Acknowledgements
- Session4Session 4: How have governments responded to anti-nuclear activism?
- Current section:
  Introduction
  Since 1945, anti-nuclear activists and organisations have emerged as important non-state actors in the struggle against nuclear weapons. One of the central aims of anti-nuclear activism has been to effect meaningful changes in the policies of national governments, where decisions concerning nuclear weapons are generally made. In this session, you’ll learn how different national governments have responded to anti-nuclear activists, with stances ranging from adversarial to cooperative.
- 1 Opposing anti-nuclear activism
- 2 Government cooperation with anti-nuclear activists
- 3 Summary of Session 4
- Acknowledgements
- Session5Session 5: What has anti-nuclear activism achieved?
- Current section:
  Introduction
  In this session, you will engage with a central question for anyone interested in activism: What has anti-nuclear activism achieved? This remains a hotly debated question, with some claiming that anti-nuclear activism has had only a marginal impact, and others arguing that anti-nuclear activists contributed to ending the Cold War. In this session, you will focus on two cases. First, you’ll look at anti-nuclear activism in the UK in the 1980s and consider its impact on policymakers and ...
- 1 The Euromissile Crisis and the end of the Cold War
- 2 Nuclear weapons free zones (NWFZ)
- 3 Summary of Session 5
- Acknowledgements
- Session6Session 6: Nuclear arms control and the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons
- Current section:
  Introduction
  In this session, you’ll learn more about the work of anti-nuclear activists and governments to stop the spread of nuclear weapons, also known as nuclear proliferation. First, you’ll explore earlier efforts to limit the spread of nuclear weapons, specifically with the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). Then, you’ll turn to the more recent work of the NGO the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) and their success in bringing about the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear ...
- 1 The Non-Proliferation Treaty
- 2 The Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW)
- 3 Anti-nuclear activism today
- 4 Summary of Session 6
- 5 Course conclusion
- References
- Further resources
- Where next?
- Acknowledgements

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Banning the bomb: a global history of activism against nuclear weapons

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