Prevention Of Nuclear War Research Articles

International physicians for prevention of nuclear war: 10th world congress

International physicians for prevention of nuclear war: 10th world congress

Militarism: a psychosocial disease.

The prevention of nuclear was logically implies the abolition of war itself. Approaches to the prevention of war founder on a paradox: as long as war is a credible option, measures to prevent war must be balanced against their negative effect on the conduct of a war if war breaks out. A different approach is to eliminate the credibility of the war option. Militarism is a major obstacle which effectively masks the inherent irrationality of war. Trial by combat is as absurd as the ancient practice of trial by ordeal to determine guilt or innocence. When militarims is addressed as a psychosocial disease, the absurd irrationality of its symptoms is clearly exposed. The actions of medical organizations like the Medical Association for Prevention of War (MAPW) Medical Campaign against Nuclear Weapons (MCANW), Physicians for Social Responsibility (PSR) and International Physicians for Prevention of Nuclear War (IPPNW), can be appropriately viewed as small but effective steps in the treatment of this disease.

10th Congress, International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War: celebration, controversy

10th Congress, International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War: celebration, controversy

The Republics as International Actors

To some extent I feel as Robert Lewis does, that the process leading from “national awakening” to “national liberation” is a worldwide tendency, and that the Soviet Union is part of a global Zeitgeist in this respect.Byway of illustrating this fifteen-stage process, I would like to just report on a couple of examples I came across in reading about the republics as independent actors. One such issue has to do with the attempts of the different republics, and the nations within them, to form transnational coalitions across borders. In a way, these attempts get around the problem of establishing formal diplomatic relations with other countries: maybe you do not need de jure recognition if in fact you can do things with other people. For instance, consider the anti-nuclear congress, organized in Kazakhstan by something called the Nevada-Semipalatinsk Movement, led by the poet Olzhas Suleimenov. In early 1989, a Soviet nuclear test in Kazakhstan was followed by a public protest, and Suleimenov became the leader of the movement. He and his people quickly decided to call it not the “Semipalatinsk Movement” but the “Nevada-Semipalatinsk Movement.” And they immediately brought in American Indians, Maoris, and other people from around the world, who are all being subjected to nuclear testing. He also established personal liaison with Dr. Bernard Lawn of the International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War in Cambridge, Massachusetts; last summer three hundred doctors and scientists in Semipalatinsk talked to people who were immediately affected by military nuclear testing.

The international physicians for the prevention of nuclear war: Transnational midwife of world peace

The International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War (IPPNW) is a contemporary example of a successful transnational non-governmental organization (NGO) which is providing leadership in accordance with Robert O. Keohane's definitional criteria. It has focused on the political issue-area of the prevention of nuclear war. Presently, it is cautiously expanding its mandate in order to engender international trust and co-operation in its role as an effective world leader. International or transnational NGOs have their roots in Quakerism of nearly 200 years ago. They take on a variety of forms but tend to share a distinguishing set of common characteristics. Since 1945, the number of international NGOs has grown impressively. The US affiliate of IPPNW, Physicians for Social Responsibility (PSR), anticipated the non-governmental function of IPPNW by almost two decades, essentially serving as a prototype in limited ways. PSR was founded in 1961 by a group of young doctors deeply concerned about the medical effects of nuclear war. From this founding group of US physicians came the leadership for IPPNW's formation in late 1980. The past successes and ongoing efforts of IPPNW as outlined in this paper demonstrate that IPPNW is serving in the needed role of a transnational organization acting as a midwife for the birthing of a new global comprehensive security system.

Global Health Interdependence and the International Physicians' Movement

International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War has had an impressive public impact in the 1980s, helping to shatter the myths of surviving and medically responding to a nuclear attack. The 1990s present a new challenge for the medical community in a different social and international context characterized by increasing global interdependence. Another view of physician activism is presented to complement advocacy for nuclear disarmament in the promotion of peace. A framework for analysis is provided by "fateful visions"--accepted policy views of prospective superpower relations--drawn from practitioners of foreign policy, international relations, and security affairs. A perceptual gap may exist between physicians who wish to address underlying ethical and public health concerns on security issues and policy practitioners who are accustomed to discussion within existing policy frames of reference that can be pragmatically used. A strategy is proposed for physicians to use their specialized training and skills to evaluate trends in global health interdependence. The international physicians' movement may contribute substantively to the formulation of policy by expanding and interpreting an increasingly complex database on interdependence, and by creating a dialogue with policy formulators based on mutual recognition of the value and legitimacy of each professions' expertise and complementary contributions to international security policy.

Nuclear freedom and students' sense of efficacy about prevention of nuclear war.

Questionnaire and interview responses of young New Zealanders, living in a nuclear-free zone, reveal general concerns about nuclear war but relatively little personal, subjective worry. Their sense of citizen and national efficacy is stronger than that reported by youngsters in other countries, but is not reflected in feelings of self-efficacy. Responses are compared to those reported in North American and European research, and the importance of adult role models in facilitating children's belief in the efficacy of antinuclear activities is highlighted.

Ninth world congress of international physicians for the prevention of nuclear war: ‘No More Hiroshimas’

The Ninth (1989) World Congress of International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War was held in Japan, at Hiroshima on 7-10 October, and at meetings in Nagasaki on 11-12 October and in other centres such as Kyoto in the following week.

The Hiroshima‐Nagasaki appeal of international physicians for the prevention of nuclear war (10 October 1989)

"The Hiroshima‐Nagasaki appeal of international physicians for the prevention of nuclear war (10 October 1989)." Medicine and War, 6(1), pp. 39–40

Hiroshima: the unforgettable fire.

BrMedJ 1989;2** 1023-5 There was never any doubt that sooner or later the International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War (IPPNW) would end up in Hiroshima. Last week some 3000 representatives of the world's fastest growing medical organisation met there for its largest ever annual congress. On the face of it Hiroshima looks like the wrong place to argue against the survivability of nuclear attack. In its parks and gardens the leaves were turning gold and red and fountains spouted, and the highrise blocks sparkled in the autumn light. Moored on a river once choked with bodies is Hiroshima's most famous shellfish restaurant. The local newspaper records that the Industrial Promotion Hall, left standing because the blast came from directly overhead, now requires structural repairs for normal wear and tear, together with the effects of traffic on the adjoining main road. And yet Hiroshima is booby trapped with reminders of its past, which tear you apart without warning. Just when you've convinced yourself that the effects of the bomb were probably no worse than the fire bombing of Dresden or that the 100 000 or so lives lost in an instant may have been fewer than the total number of Japanese and American lives lost had the war continued, you come across something that overwhelms your attempts at rationality. You catch sight of a tall grassy mound

Thoughts after reading Robert Jay Lifton's ‘The Nazi Doctors’

Robert Jay Lifton's remarkable book The Nazi Doctors and its tragic subject matter provided an opportunity to try and place the complicity of doctors in such barbarity in historical perspective. Massive episodes of killing of human beings by other human beings have been an ongoing saga for centuries. Misguided belief and misguided science, and the abuse of constantly advancing technology in the name of one or other nation-state, have made possible the acceleration of megadeath. The Nazi concentration and death camps were a particularly vicious manifestation within the spectrum of killing. Modern weaponry makes omnicide quite feasible. Our urgent need is to learn the lesson and to cultivate and promote planetary patriotism as promptly as possible. Adherence to an international code of human ethics is a compelling requirement. The origin of the International Committee of the Red Cross in 1863 was an inspiring and promising beginning. The formulation of the Declaration of Geneva by the World Medical Association in 1947 profoundly enhanced the value of the Hippocratic Oath and provides a sound ethical basis for the national and international guidance of the medical profession today. The International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War establishes another firm step in the right direction.

1983 to 1988 -- the BMA and the nuclear issue.

The creation of International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War coincided with the setting up of Sir John Stallworthy's Board of Science and Education Working Party of the British Medical Association on The Medical Effects of Nuclear War. The subsequent report was accepted and endorsed by the BMA's Representative Body, which resolved that the Association should take no political stance on the ‘nuclear issue’ and went on to establish its position on civil defence. The Medical Campaign Against Nuclear Weapons has lobbied for the BMA to recognize the implications of the first and two later reports, which have been complemented by equivalent documents from the World Health Organization and other professional bodies. The BMA's ‘no political stance’ did not prevent the 1984 Annual Representative Meeting calling for a massive reallocation of resources from military to health and welfare budgets world wide. Fruitless consultation with the government has necessitated a Board of Science discussion docume...

Albert Schweitzer and international health

Albert Schweitzer (1875-1965) was a medical missionary, theologian, philosopher, and musician and the only individual physician to receive the Nobel Peace Prize. His humanitar-ianism had a profound philosophical-religious basis, embodied in the concepts of "ethical mysticism" and "reverence for life." This paper outlines the relevance of Schweitzer's career to medical education and international health. The growing role of Western physicians in international health and in the prevention of nuclear war (and its medical consequences) is consistent with Schweitzer's active and universalist ethical principles aimed at the alleviation of the suffering shared by mankind. The example of Schweitzer and other individual physicians could be used to enhance participation of individual medical students and physicians in international health programs.

Global peace as a professional concern, II

Is the vision of global peace utopian, given that a record 22 wars killed an estimated 244 000 people in 1987 alone? This important issue is addressed from the perspective of a physician and medical educator. The paper focuses on the destructive powers of nuclear war and the biological, genetic and environmental consequences of ionizing radiation and the futility of the nuclear arms race. Priority is given to nuclear disarmament and the prevention of nuclear war. The effects of nuclear fallout, as well as concerns about nuclear energy, leaks and wastage are considered, and a global prescription for change is advocated.

INTERNATIONAL PHYSICIANS FOR THE PREVENTION OF NUCLEAR WAR: MESSIAHS OF THE NUCLEAR AGE?

INTERNATIONAL PHYSICIANS FOR THE PREVENTION OF NUCLEAR WAR: MESSIAHS OF THE NUCLEAR AGE?

Maintain Life on Earth!: Documentation of the Sixth World Congress of the International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War in Cologne May 29 to June 1 1986

Awkward translations and uneven style cannot detract from the importance of this work. It is a credible first attempt at documenting, publishing, and disseminating the proceedings of a World Congress of the International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War (IPPNW). Readers will sense an especially poignant atmosphere for this Sixth World Congress, as it followed the awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize to IPPNW, the nuclear reactor accident at Chernobyl, and the murder of Swedish Prime Minister Olaf Palme, one of the world's foremost peace activists. The book contains 49 transcribed addresses from physicians, academicians, administrators, and civil servants representing 14 countries. Included are official greetings from the United Nations, the Vatican, the leaders of both Germanies, and the leaders of both Superpowers. The book concludes with the 1986 decisions of the IPPNW International Council. Two particularly stirring lectures were delivered at this Congress. One, by American psychiatrist Leon

Disarmament Decisions as Social Dilemmas1

The individual deciding on a nuclear weapons production policy is faced with a dilemma in which a choice must be made to support one of several conflicting defense policies. In order to investigate the social‐psychological variables that are related to armament policy decision making, a telephone survey was conducted in the City of St. Louis, Missouri. Adult subjects (N= 110) responded to questions concerned with cognitive, attitudinal, and emotional responses to nuclear arms. Participants were also asked to choose a weapons production policy for the United States under conditions of continued and decreased Soviet nuclear arms production. Results indicated that respondents decisions about nuclear weapons production were related to their support for deterrence, the availability of their nuclear‐related images, their emotional response to nuclear war, their attributions of responsibility for the prevention of nuclear war, and their political party affiliation. Distinctions between antinuclear decision‐makers and pronuclear decision‐makers are discussed.

VIII world congress of international physicians for the prevention of nuclear war

VIII world congress of international physicians for the prevention of nuclear war

Psychology and the prevention of nuclear war, edited by ralph white. New York: New York University, 1986, 591 pp.

Psychology and the prevention of nuclear war, edited by ralph white. New York: New York University, 1986, 591 pp.

Physicians for Prevention of Nuclear War Prepare to Consider Applications for Clinical Research

WE ARE UNCOMPROMISING abolitionists.... For us, abolition constitutes a medical as well as a moral categoric imperative. These words were addressed by Bernard Lown, MD, copresident of International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War, to the 2500 delegates attending the group's seventh world congress in Moscow this spring. Although nuclear weapons were the main concern of the congress, in the wake of the accident at Chernobyl ( JAMA 1986;256:559-561, 565-568) there was also considerable debate on the risks of nuclear energy. Gordon Thompson, MD, executive director of the Institute of Resources and Security Studies in Australia, for example, pointed out that some countries have decided to exclude the nuclear option from their energy program altogether, and in others there has been a decline in the fortunes of the nuclear power industry. By way of illustration, Thompson said that the anticipated worldwide nuclear energy capacity of 4450 GWe by the year