War is a Crime Against Humanity

A Conversation about the War in Ukraine and the Power of Revolutionary Nonviolence with Joanne Sheehan of the War Resisters League. 

Joanne Sheehan of War Resisters League and War Resisters International joins Nonviolence Radio to share insights and strategies for resisting militarization and ending war through nonviolence, with a focus on current events of the war in Ukraine. In this episode, she encourages us to think of war itself as a crime against humanity, and then explores with Stephanie and Michael how specific nonviolent strategies might be used in Ukraine today.

A lasting peace, Joanne suggests, requires that these strategies be coupled with ‘constructive program’, a concerted effort to build up just and supportive infrastructures that will endure beyond efforts to stand up to present violence:

…constructive program needs to be transformative. So, I think at the root, that's the first thing that it is, right? It's really creating an alternative or a parallel to what presently exists. And then saying, “We’re going to do that with some values. We’re going to do that with values of empathy, equity, environmental concern, nonviolence, kind of community empowerment.” 

In this way, constructive program works beautifully with more active forms of resistance; as people engage in the deliberate dismantling of violent and oppressive forces (through noncooperation, demonstrations, etc.) they are simultaneously building the future community they want and need. Local people, as experts on their own wants and needs, lead the efforts of constructive program and thus are empowered, which is essential, especially at times of great violence and upheaval.

For nonviolent actions in Ukraine, please see the Resource List

Transcript archived at Waging Nonviolence [pending]