A Winter of Discontent: The Nuclear Freeze and American Politics

Description

The nuclear freeze movement grew more quickly than even the most optimistic activists thought possible, as large numbers of Americans became convinced that there was something wrong with United States defense policy and that they could do something about it. This analysis provides the first comprehensive history of the nuclear freeze movement, approaching it from three distinct perspectives. Changes in the politics and policy of nuclear weapons created an opportunity for a dissident movement. Intermediating forces in American politics influenced the situation. The efforts of activists and organizations to build a protest movement and their interaction with American political institutions provide the third perspective. A Winter of Discontent addresses both the broad spectrum of movement activity and the political context surrounding it. The text explores the challenge of the nuclear freeze movement to the content of United States national security policy and the policy making process. By analyzing the freeze, a theoretical framework for understanding the origins, development and potential political influence of other protest movements in the United States can be developed. The book also strives to integrate analysis of peace movements into an understanding of the policy context in which they emerge. This volume is essential for courses in social movements, strategic policy, American politics and political sociology. Antinuclear freeze activists and students of peace studies will also find this work invaluable. Contents Figures Acknowledgments Introduction Acronyms and Abbreviations 1 Nuclear Weapons Protest and Social Movements 2 Nuclear Weapons and National Security Policy: Continuity and Conflict 3 Military Spending: How Much Is Too Much? 4 The Arms Race and Domestic Political Mismanagement 5 Public Opinion: Volatility and Consistency 6 The Defection of the Elite 7 The Public Face of the Nuclear Freeze 8 The Roots of a Nuclear Disarmament Movement 9 Defining and Unifying the Nuclear Freeze Movement 10 A Strategy to Reach the Public 11 Before, Beside, Beyond the Freeze: Eruptions of Activism 12 The Freeze under Fire: Attacks from the Left and Right 13 Political Support: The Smothering Embrace 14 Changing the Politicians 15 The Freeze after the Fall 16 The Changing Political Landscape: The Nuclear Freeze and Protest Movements in the United States Selected Bibliography Index About the Author