Without weapons – but not defenseless!

Webinar on the Concept of Social Defense with Dr. Christine Schweitzer

on June 8, 19:00

Military “defense” faces an unresolvable contradiction.

  • War costs. In the rarest cases, however, it hits those who are to blame for the war.
  • The land that is to be defended is destroyed. Modern wars destroy across the board.
  • What happens when one side threatens nuclear weapons? Who has the right to dismiss this as a “poker game” – and, if necessary, to drag the world down with it? Because for the victims it would not matter who started it and what international law says about it (it prohibits the threat and use of nuclear weapons).

ZOOM link
Meeting ID: 898 220 9633 Identifier Code: JH9acd

The number of participants on Zoom is limited to 100. If you are not among the first 100 participants, you can also follow the event live on YouTube.

YouTube link

So is the answer to military aggression surrender? No!

From the resistance to Nazi fascism in occupied countries as well as from other conflicts with blatant military superiority of one side, one can learn to resist without getting involved in military logic. These cases were systematically studied by peace scholars during the Cold War and summarized in the theory of social defense. Because at that time it was obvious that Europe could not be “defended” with nuclear weapons, only destroyed.

Social defense is the nonviolent alternative to military defense

Social defense is called the nonviolent active defense of a people against a military attack from outside or a coup d’état by coup plotters. It is based on the principles and methods of nonviolent action, civil resistance, and noncooperation.

That sounds theoretical?

That’s why we offer a webinar with many examples! It is addressed to people who want to deepen their knowledge as well as to those who have never heard of social defense but despair in the face of (self-)destructive violence.

Dr. Christine Schweitzer combines theory and practice of social defense

Our speaker knows the topic well: Dr. Christine Schweitzer (Hamburg) is a peace researcher and peace worker. She completed her PhD on nonviolent interventions in the former Yugoslavia (2009). In addition to her academic work, she is a practitioner in the field of civil conflict transformation. She works as the executive director of the League for Social Defense and is a staff member of the Institute for Peace Work and Nonviolent Conflict Resolution. For several years, she served as Program Director of the international Nonviolent Peaceforce, and from 2014 to 2019, she served on the Board of Directors of War Resisters International.

Click here for the webinar

The webinar is organized by the Peace Museum Nuremberg and DFG-VK Bavaria in cooperation with HMV-Bildungswerk and will take place on Wednesday, June 8, at 7:00 pm.

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ZOOM link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/8982209633?pwd=MlhwT3NqaTR4M0tqNHJ2NjN5cUpxdz09
Meeting ID: 898 220 9633 Identifier Code: JH9acd

The number of participants on Zoom is limited to 100. If you are not among the first 100 participants, you can also follow the event live on YouTube.

YouTube: https://youtu.be/7EhZxl3yoq0