Description
Two years ago, at the United Nations in New York, activists and diplomats banned nuclear
weapons. This book covers the story of their collective activism-a story of courage and hope, as well as lessons learned, that will hopefully inform and inspire others working for social justice.
The story of banning the bomb belongs to these diplomats, along with activists who brought a
legacy of protest and vision for an alternative future to the international table. This is, ultimately, a story of resistance and of movement building. It is a story of people saying, "!Ya basta!," enough, to the nuclear-armed governments. But this movement did not just reject what the nuclear-armed were offering. It consciously, creatively, and collectively sought to build something new-to generate and promote ideas, arguments, and frameworks that would disrupt mainstream myths and narratives about nuclear weapons, institute new international norms and laws, and ultimately set in place key mechanisms for the abolition of the atomic bomb.
I was directly involved in this work as an activist with one of the partner organizations of ICAN. I represented my organization, the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF), on ICAN's International Steering Group. The steering group is the policy-making body of ICAN, a group of ten activist organizations from around the world that works with ICAN's staff team to lead the campaign. As a genderqueer feminist peace activist, I tried to promote a feminist vision of both process and product in my work with ICAN-to bring theories and experiences of feminist and queer activists to the task of banning nuclear weapons. The nuclear weapon policy and discourse space is one that commonly reeks of toxic masculinity.
About the Author
Ray Acheson is currently Program Director, Women's International League for Peace and Freedom, New York. As Director of WILPF's disarmament program, Reaching Critical Will, I lead the organization's work on stigmatizing war and violence, advocating for disarmament and arms control, and raising gender perspectives on militarism and weapons. I provide analysis, reporting, research, and advocacy across of range of issues, including nuclear weapons, armed drones, autonomous weapons, small arms, the arms trade, and the use of explosive weapons in populated areas. I represent WILPF within the International Steering Group of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN), which won the 2017 Nobel Peace Prize. For ICAN, I worked closely with other activist partners and with governments to develop the key strategies and advocacy for the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons from 2010 to 2017, when the Treaty was negotiated and adopted at the United Nations.
Awards
Winner of FTGS Book Prize 2022 and Top 10 Books Reviewed 2022.
Book Information
ISBN 9781786614896
Author Ray Acheson
Format Hardback
Page Count 438
Imprint Rowman & Littlefield International
Publisher Rowman & Littlefield International
Weight(grams) 667g
Dimensions(mm) 226mm * 147mm * 33mm
weapons. This book covers the story of their collective activism-a story of courage and hope, as well as lessons learned, that will hopefully inform and inspire others working for social justice.
The story of banning the bomb belongs to these diplomats, along with activists who brought a
legacy of protest and vision for an alternative future to the international table. This is, ultimately, a story of resistance and of movement building. It is a story of people saying, "!Ya basta!," enough, to the nuclear-armed governments. But this movement did not just reject what the nuclear-armed were offering. It consciously, creatively, and collectively sought to build something new-to generate and promote ideas, arguments, and frameworks that would disrupt mainstream myths and narratives about nuclear weapons, institute new international norms and laws, and ultimately set in place key mechanisms for the abolition of the atomic bomb.
I was directly involved in this work as an activist with one of the partner organizations of ICAN. I represented my organization, the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF), on ICAN's International Steering Group. The steering group is the policy-making body of ICAN, a group of ten activist organizations from around the world that works with ICAN's staff team to lead the campaign. As a genderqueer feminist peace activist, I tried to promote a feminist vision of both process and product in my work with ICAN-to bring theories and experiences of feminist and queer activists to the task of banning nuclear weapons. The nuclear weapon policy and discourse space is one that commonly reeks of toxic masculinity.
About the Author
Ray Acheson is currently Program Director, Women's International League for Peace and Freedom, New York. As Director of WILPF's disarmament program, Reaching Critical Will, I lead the organization's work on stigmatizing war and violence, advocating for disarmament and arms control, and raising gender perspectives on militarism and weapons. I provide analysis, reporting, research, and advocacy across of range of issues, including nuclear weapons, armed drones, autonomous weapons, small arms, the arms trade, and the use of explosive weapons in populated areas. I represent WILPF within the International Steering Group of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN), which won the 2017 Nobel Peace Prize. For ICAN, I worked closely with other activist partners and with governments to develop the key strategies and advocacy for the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons from 2010 to 2017, when the Treaty was negotiated and adopted at the United Nations.
Awards
Winner of FTGS Book Prize 2022 and Top 10 Books Reviewed 2022.
Book Information
ISBN 9781786614896
Author Ray Acheson
Format Hardback
Page Count 438
Imprint Rowman & Littlefield International
Publisher Rowman & Littlefield International
Weight(grams) 667g
Dimensions(mm) 226mm * 147mm * 33mm
