The Politics of Protest [week 3] Campaigns Against Nuclear Arms, 1951 – 1965

Studying the campaign against nuclear arms Global protest movement British identity Extra-parliamentary activity Left-wing politics Coalition of support 1950s youth movement

The limited anti-nuclear movement prior to the mid-1950s Support for nuclear proliferation Identifying the enemy (Touraine) ‘Peace’ and the stigma of communism The immediate post-war period

The Turning Point, 1954 – 56 Key events Changing attitudes Nuclear testing

The Growth of the Movement, 1957 – 65 Where was the Labour Party? The impact of British CND Impact throughout Europe

Reasons for anti-nuclear protest in Britain Large coalition of participants (Parkin) A wider social agenda/movement Loss of Britain’s world power status Cuban Missile Crisis Response of the state British youth in the 1950s (Diski)

Conclusions Mass mobilisation Direct action Growth of civil disobedience