| Popis: |
For centuries, concerned citizens have used conscientious objection (CO) to military service to promote peace and challenge state violence. Some European communities in the sixteenth century began citing Christian principles to resist the bearing of arms and reduce societal violence. Since that time, COs in Europe and the United States began to frame their CO as a function of individual conscience. Over time, changes in international law and the transnational connections of activists led to the evolution of CO in parts of Latin America, South Africa, Turkey, South Korea, and Israel. While CO has not ended war completely, it has promoted peace on multiple occasions, helped undermine public obedience that policymakers assume when they wage war, and challenged nationalist and racist roots of violence. |
