2 Government cooperation with anti-nuclear activists

While the UK government had an adversarial relationship with anti-nuclear activists, this was by no means the case in all countries. In some cases, activists and civil society groups cooperated fruitfully with policymakers and governments, resulting in new policies and even international initiatives for nuclear disarmament.

One example is the Six Nation Initiative (also known as the Five Continent Initiative). On 22 May 1984, against the backdrop of the nuclear arms race and heightened tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union, six world leaders came together to call for concrete measures to reduce tensions and nuclear weapons. Raúl Alfonsín of Argentina, Indira Gandhi of India, Miguel de la Madrid of Mexico, Julius Nyerere of Tanzania, Olof Palme of Sweden, and Andreas Papandreou of Greece made the following proposal:

The initiative originated among a group of anti-nuclear activists including New Zealander Nicholas Dunlop, Canadian Douglas Roche, and Icelandic MP Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson. Keen to work across national boundaries and to have activists and politicians work together, they approached several world leaders to take part in the initiative, with six ultimately agreeing by the spring of 1984.

Figure 2 A photo of the world leaders involved in the Six Nation Initiative, pictured here receiving an award for their work towards nuclear disarmament. Andreas Papandreou Foundation (APF), box 4, The Four Continent Peace Initiative, 22 May 1984

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Figure 2 A photo of the world leaders involved in the Six Nation Initiative, pictured here receiving an award for their work towards ...

Activity 2

Watch this video of then President of Argentina Raúl Alfonsín accepting a peace award for the 1984 Six Nation Initiative, then answer the question below.

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Transcript

[APPLAUSE]

RAUL ALFONSIN:

[SPEAKING SPANISH]

INTERPRETER:

The prize we have been generously awarded enables us to unite as one, even though we are very far apart. It is perhaps a symbol that in spite of distance, we are together in a common enterprise. The defence of our most fundamental right, the right to live.

Nowadays, we only have it as a conditional right. In a few minutes, the decision of a few men can take it away from us forever. Those few men who can decide in minutes our extermination are no doubt intelligent and full of goodwill. It is preposterous that men of goodwill should feel compelled to play with the life or death of us all.

There are those who think it is not very realistic to wish to change reality. The discord and mistrust that led to this absurd situation, we are told, have always existed and always will exist. But if we had never fought to change reality, we would still live in caves.

And if today discord and mistrust have led us to the brink of the abyss, to promote concord and trust is not an illusion but a necessity. We said in Delhi that we did not have the might to prohibit the nuclear holocaust, but we did have reason on our side and our voices to prevent it.

We said that if our voices joined each other by millions, by tens of millions, by hundreds of millions of voices, our being right will change reality. The best prize that we received today is that we have all been allowed to put our voices together. Many others will certainly join them, and we will thus recover our right to live. Thank you.

[APPLAUSE]

End transcript

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1. According to President Alfonsín, how can the leaders of six non-nuclear countries influence the governments of nuclear-weapons states towards disarmament?

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Discussion

1. Alfonsín argues that he and the other five national leaders have reason on their side. Moreover, he suggests that their voices are joined by those of hundreds of millions, referring to the importance of citizens around the world calling for nuclear disarmament.

While the Six Nation Initiative did not immediately succeed in bringing about a nuclear freeze or securing general disarmament, it was nevertheless an important example of world leaders from different parts of the world cooperating with other each and with anti-nuclear activists from around the world to push for nuclear disarmament.