Introduction and guidance

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 from such anxieties, in recent years, more countries have developed nuclear weapons and today nine nuclear weapons states are modernising their arsenals. With Russian President Vladimir Putin’s repeated threats of nuclear conflict since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, among other nuclear-armed threats, the potential use of nuclear weapons seems greater now than at any point since the Cold War.

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.

Since 1945, the issue of nuclear weapons has mobilised citizens from a broad range of backgrounds from around the world. Churches and other religious organisations, trade unions and political parties have played a significant role in opposing nuclear armaments. From the 1950s onwards, environmental and feminist groups have also been central actors. Those with specific expertise, including scientists, academics and physicians, have also been instrumental. Indeed, policymakers, politicians and even world leaders can be counted among anti-nuclear activists. The very diversity of the movement highlights that anyone can be an activist and can work to oppose nuclear weapons.

The course is divided into six sessions, and each session should take you around one hour to complete. 

In Session 1, you’ll learn about the destructive capabilities of nuclear weapons and why people have mobilised against them.

In Session 2, you’ll see what forms of activism citizens have engaged in to oppose nuclear weapons.

In Session 3, you’ll learn how activists have cooperated across national borders to work for a world free of nuclear weapons.

In Session 4, you’ll explore how different governments have responded to anti-nuclear activism.

In Session 5, you’ll assess the impact of anti-nuclear activism and see what changes have been brought about by citizens mobilising against nuclear weapons.

In Session 6, you’ll learn more about the United Nations Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW), one of the most important and most successful anti-nuclear campaigns in the world today.

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.

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 [Tip: hold Ctrl and click a link to open it in a new tab. (Hide tip)] . Participation will be completely confidential and we will not pass your details onto others.