ABSTRACT
There are various definitions of peace, and respectively, NGO activities that would fall within a broad framework of peace-seeking – from nonviolent resistance of war and refusal to use force, efforts at ending or making war less probable, and curbing armaments, to building up the legal and institutional frameworks that would outlaw war and provide conflict resolution mechanisms, to an encompassing view of positive peace that ensures people live with dignity in a just society (Cortright 2008: 6–8). This chapter looks narrowly at NGO antiwar and disarmament efforts and focuses on the post-WWII period, although peace and disarmament NGOs have a long history going back to the 19th century and a sizable literature thereof exists (Cooper 1991; Charnovitz 1997; Lynch 1999; Laity 2002; Davies 2007, 2014; Pugh 2012). It examines the effects of NGO activities in relation to the domestic and international political opportunity structures in which they unfold. Effectiveness is evaluated by the extent to which NGOs achieve their proclaimed goals. These include concrete policy changes, but also more broadly changing societal attitudes by educating the public, reframing issues, influencing public opinion, and generating media attention. 1
