... And Peace

Fred is an experienced and ambitious German consul. A woman who rarely gets ruffled, at home everywhere and nowhere.  But then,...

Fred is an experienced and ambitious German consul. A woman who rarely gets ruffled, at home everywhere and nowhere.  But then, in Montevideo, she falters for the first time in her career and finds herself transferred to politically volatile Istanbul, her greatest challenge yet. Caught between the Justice Palace and summer residence, the secret service and German-Turkish cooperation, between affairs and loneliness, she is confronted with the limits of friendship, the rule of law and the European idea.

In the multi-faceted world of anarchism, non-violent anarchism and anarchist pacifism have always played a role. But what makes this...

In the multi-faceted world of anarchism, non-violent anarchism and anarchist pacifism have always played a role. But what makes this particular strain of anarchism distinctive? What are the foundations of non-violent anarchist theory? These questions are explored in depth in this illustrated introductory text, along with many other aspects of non-violent anarchism and anarchist pacifism. Its scope is wide-ranging: from theory to practice, from past to present and from biographical observation to the history of the movement - providing a comprehensive picture and coherent analysis of this particular form of anarchism.

Good preparation is the key to successful campaigns for social justice. This handbook gathers together experiences from non-violent campaigns in...

Good preparation is the key to successful campaigns for social justice. This handbook gathers together experiences from non-violent campaigns in different social contexts and countries around the world. While there is no single guaranteed recipe for the success of non-violent actions and campaigns, this handbook offers many helpful practical tips that activists can use to build their own campaign. 50 authors from the War Resisters' International (WRI) antimilitarist network contributed to the making of this handbook.

Handbook Against War is not a 'guide' to the everyday global murder and slaughter taking place in our fields and...

Handbook Against War is not a 'guide' to the everyday global murder and slaughter taking place in our fields and cities. War can't be reduced to simple answers. In her thinking and writing, Marlene Streeruwitz has constantly interrogated the line between patriarchy and psychosis, the private and political, losing and winning, past and present, war and peace. Handbooks typically treat a field of knowledge in a systematic way, but Handbook Against War moves far beyond that approach. Because war is constant, Streeruwitz argues, we know nothing of peace. This book shows how peace must become our model for living, how war is the opposite of life and democracy, and the steps we must take for peace. Handbook Against War is a brightly illuminated snapshot of our present reality.

Margot Käßmann and Konstantin Wecker are convinced that the idea of being able to stop armed violence with arms is...

Margot Käßmann and Konstantin Wecker are convinced that the idea of being able to stop armed violence with arms is a dangerous illusion. In this book, they make an important contribution to current debates, staunchly rejecting high levels of arms and arms deliveries, and declaring: 'No one can take away our faith in the power of pacifism!' Alongside their own extensive thoughts on the topics of war and peace, the theologian and songwriter have gathered texts from various pacifist traditions that illustrate the power of non-violent action.

In 1798, Immanuel Kant defined anarchy as 'law and freedom without force'. At first, this idea seems to have little...

In 1798, Immanuel Kant defined anarchy as 'law and freedom without force'. At first, this idea seems to have little to do with the world in which we live, but it has enjoyed the support of many who voted with their feet: with remarkable frequency down the ages, they have chosen to reject a life under the rule of others. Thomas Wagner's radical revisioning of the history of democracy follows these feet down the many paths they have taken. Until well into the modern age, a substantial portion of humanity lived in stateless societies because they wished to escape the control of rulers. Tales of the free lives of 'noble savages', 'Amazons', buccaneers and Bedouins have also stimulated the political imaginations of those forced to continue living in bondage all around the world. The idea of political freedom definitely didn't originate solely in Europe, and Fleeing to Freedom makes this the starting point for an urgent decolonisation of political thought. It is an invitation to pick up this fascinating trail and to follow it further.

Nuns, grandmothers, priests and postal workers break into military bases to protest against the nuclear bombs stationed there, demanding changes...

Nuns, grandmothers, priests and postal workers break into military bases to protest against the nuclear bombs stationed there, demanding changes to global infrastructures of violence. The Plowshares movement has became a symbol of radical Christian and non-violent practice, for example in Büchel, Germany, where American atomic weapons are stored, or in Kings Bay in America, a base for submarines with nuclear warheads. In both cases, break-ins were staged in 2018, using civil disobedience to resist the violence and authority of the state. The consequences were trials and year-long prison sentences. This book reproduces the remarkable closing statements of the accused activists, and gathers contributions 'from below' on the issue of disarmament, on the history of Christian anti-militarist resistance, and on the blind spots of the political Left. In a time of arms escalation, this book provides fresh impetus for a new peace movement far removed from bourgeois religiosity. Contains a foreword by David Steindl-Rast.

Lebenslaute (Sounds of Life) is an eclectic network of German musicians. Their concert blockades are directed against state structures such...

Lebenslaute (Sounds of Life) is an eclectic network of German musicians. Their concert blockades are directed against state structures such as the military and the Office for the Protection of the Constitution; against the nuclear, arms, genetic engineering and coal industries; against war, the destruction of nature and racism. The Music of Resitance in Impossible Places is a book in the best traditional sense: on opening it, something will catch your eye and you'll start reading... It is a book that charts a movement, documenting and preserving the experiences of a non-violent action group that has been practising civil disobedience for thirty-three years. And it is a history book: stories from 1986 to 2018 are told by long-time activists, newcomers, professional and amateur musicians, and supporters and followers of different ages. This chronicle contains 180 mostly full-colour photos, as well as numerous documents that reflect on the conditions, imperatives and consequences of these unique direct actions.

Russia's Left has been deeply divided on the issue of Ukraine since 2014. While the leadership of the Communist Party...

Russia's Left has been deeply divided on the issue of Ukraine since 2014. While the leadership of the Communist Party (CPRF) supports Putin's strategy, many left-wing groups and activists have become part of the protest movement. Special Operations and Peace seeks to show the entire spectrum of positions within the Russian Left - in relation to the Ukraine War, Russia's invasion policy, NATO involvement, the humanitarian crisis, and the issues of refugees and sanctions. It looks at oppositional CPRF members; social democracy and left-wing socialism; the smaller Stalinist and Trotskyist parties; anarchists, trade union activists and feminists; university lecturers and diasporic authors. Original documents and interviews are accompanied by introductory and analytical text that places these in their wider social contexts and explores the situation of left-wing political forces in Putin's Russia as a whole.

Convinced that Germany's path to isolation and catastrophe could be prevented by reversing and renouncing its belief in the sword,...

Convinced that Germany's path to isolation and catastrophe could be prevented by reversing and renouncing its belief in the sword, a number of German officers became war opponents and pacifists. 'Crying into the wilderness', they opened themselves up to abuse and slander, social ostracism and exclusion, persecution, expulsion and exile - and warned against the continued aberration of Prussian-German power and its violent politics. Their battle with the ruling elites shows how there was another way of resolving conflicts besides supporting the cult of war. The memory of these pacifist officers was repressed, 'forgotten' or deliberately erased after 1933 and, following a brief moment of rehabilition, again after 1945. Their rediscovery, based on in-depth research into their biographies, thus also calls into question the process of 'coming to terms with the past' and the 'culture of remembrance' that, for superficial reasons, hides the best traditions of recent German history.

Who were the German army deserters? Were they heroes or cowards? Did they contribute to resistance against National Socialism and...

Who were the German army deserters? Were they heroes or cowards? Did they contribute to resistance against National Socialism and put down a marker against the war? How were they perceived by their comrades, by their superiors and by the Wehrmacht lawyers sitting in judgement upon them? To answer these questions, Stefan Kurt Treiber examined several thousand Wehrmacht files, stretching from the 1941 campaign against the Soviet Union to the end of the Second World War. He thereby created a unique social profile of almost 1,000 deserters, which he uses in this study to analyse the biographies of the deserters, and to explore the circumstances of their flight, their motivations and their chances of survival.

This book remembers the German conscientious objectors of the Second World War, most of whom were executed by the military...

This book remembers the German conscientious objectors of the Second World War, most of whom were executed by the military justice system, and asks: what prompted these largely ordinary people to remain true to their conscience on religious grounds? What exactly motivated Franz Jägerstätter, Wilhelm Kempa and Hermann Stöhr to refuse to follow Hitler and to choose death over killing others in criminal wars? These are shocking testimonies of courage, integrity, trust in God and adherence to fundamental Christian values. All were abandoned by the major German churches, which preached a 'just war' and obedience to the authorities. Alongside well-known materials, other documents such as letters, photographs and personal testimonies are published here for the first time. There is also a chapter on the mechanisms and criminal actions of the Wehrmacht's justice system. In addition, the book traces the ways in which, after having been forgotten for so long, those who were discriminated against and ostracised as 'shirkers', 'cowards' and 'subverters of the war effort' have now become role models, with many regarded as martyrs by their churches. A book that counters still widespread prejudices.

In 1980s West Germany, a new type of memorial emerged as part of the peace movement's confrontation with an outdated...

In 1980s West Germany, a new type of memorial emerged as part of the peace movement's confrontation with an outdated culture of war remembrance: memorials for deserters. In East Germany, a few monuments of this kind for 'war-weary soldiers' had already been erected just after the Second World War.

This book outlines the contradictory discourses on desertion up until the 2002 rehabilitation of Wehrmacht deserters. More than 41 monuments and memorial sites for deserters are examined, each with their own complex origin stories and impacts. Sites where deserters were killed are also included, many of which are memorials today.

In the era of Trump, #MeToo and attacks like those in Halle or Hanau, masculinity is no longer a positive...

In the era of Trump, #MeToo and attacks like those in Halle or Hanau, masculinity is no longer a positive concept. Activist JJ Bola is searching for ways out of this crisis. He examines influences from non-Western traditions, pop culture and the LGBTQ+ community, and shows just how diverse masculinity can be.

In a measured tone, JJ Bola invites discussion that moves away from hardened positions. For only when men and concepts of masculinity change will there be true gender justice.

An entire town seems to make its living from the local arms company - including Julika's parents. She increasingly begins...

An entire town seems to make its living from the local arms company - including Julika's parents. She increasingly begins to question the arms trade and, more or less by chance, joins forces with Bobi, Amal, Manuel and Natalie, who are researching the sector for a school project. But soon that isn't enough for them. They want to shake up the town's inhabitants. And that requires radical action.

Recent years have seen the rise of resistance movements like 'Fridays for Future', which address the urgent issues of our...

Recent years have seen the rise of resistance movements like 'Fridays for Future', which address the urgent issues of our time and demand social change. For young people in particular, who are just beginning to express themselves politically, the question of the 'right' approach to take when fighting for major change looms large. The comic book opens with a news report on violent protests by residents at a nursing home. A heated family discussion ensues about the usefulness of violent and non-violent protest. The question is not what is morally right, but which strategy is more effective. Due to an (un)fortunate coincidence, various experts stray into the living room in the course of the discussion to contribute scientific findings and theories. A well thought-out comic that offers its readers encouragement.