In April 1971, more than a thousand Vietnam veterans descended on Washington, DC, for a series of antiwar actions dubbed Dewey Canyon III, “a limited incursion into the land of Congress.” For a week the veterans demonstrated and lobbied government officials to end the...
Southeast Asia
Why social movement scholars should study the GI Movement
The ignominies of the U.S. war in Vietnam are well known, as recounted in Chuck Searcy’s essay. Less well known is the rebellion in the ranks known as “the GI Movement,” which David Cortright discusses in his article. Active duty servicepersons circulated dissident...
Healing the wounds of war and seeking reconciliation
When I flew out of Viet Nam in 1968, it was with huge relief that I was departing safely after a tumultuous year that made clear to me and the world that America would never win this war. But I was also troubled, confused, and angry. The Vietnamese people were...
Understanding Indonesia’s Illiberal Turn
Caroline Hughes The banning of HTI and jailing of former Jakarta Governor Basuki Purnama for blasphemy represent an illiberal turn in Indonesia. This should be understood against the backdrop of decades of state suppression and manipulation of civil society movements....
Indonesian Civil Society: Struggling to Survive
Peter van Tuijl As general elections in Indonesia approach in April 2019, Indonesian civil society is facing significant challenges in promoting peace and human rights. The social and political space to promote a principled politics based on universal values is...
State Ibuism in Contemporary Indonesia
Lailatul Fitriyah A pillar of the construction of the state in Indonesia is the ideology of Ibuism (“mother” in Indonesian), a form of socio-biological engineering that reflects and reinforces gendered differences in governmental policies and is, presently, justified...
Vietnam: Wrong Lessons Learned
Andrew Bacevich Andrew Bacevich is Professor Emeritus of History and international relations at Boston University. He was a commissioned officer in the U.S. Army and served as platoon leader in Vietnam in 1970-71. The major lesson that the U.S. national security...
Vietnam Contingencies
Marilyn Young Marilyn Young is Professor of History at New York University. She is author of The Vietnam Wars: 1945-1990. As we reflect on how the war began, it is worth considering how things might have played out differently. We know that Ho Chi Minh used the U.S....
The Vietnam War: Lessons Unlearned
David Cortright David Cortright is Associate Director for Programs and Policy Studies at the Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies. As an enlisted soldier during the Vietnam War, he spoke out against that conflict. There are many lessons of Vietnam, but three...
Religious Peacebuilding in Mindanao
Scott Appleby The war being waged in mineral-rich Mindanao, the southernmost island region of the Philippines, is a perfect storm of contemporary violent conflict. It is about land and resources, religion and clan, sovereignty, governance, and corruption in high and...
Interfaith Women’s Peacemaking in Indonesia
Sumanto Al Qurtuby In 1999, in response to bloody communal violence that broke out in eastern Indonesia, a handful of Catholic, Protestant, and Muslim women leaders and activists established the interfaith alliance Gerakan Perempuan Peduli, the Concerned Women’s...
Engaging the Military in Building Peace in Mindanao
Myla Leguro Civilian peacebuilders in the southern Philippines are strategically engaging the military as an important stakeholder in the peace process. An increasing number of former military officials are now directly involved in the Mindanao peace negotiations...