Women Pacifists Reconsidered: A Trans-Atlantic Dialogue

World peace is a social normative ideal that a growing number of people in the course of human history have favored. Nonetheless, war and armed conflicts still play a major role in world affairs, and when war is declared, many citizens, without being asked to participate in the decision to go to war, continue to respond positively, even enthusiastically, heeding their government`s call for "self-defense" or "national security." That women as a rule have rarely been present at or involved in the decision-making processes - and yet are increasingly war`s victims - often goes unnoticed. Is their absence a sign of disinterest, of (silent) support, and/or of marginalization? Research on this topic is by and large lacking. Yet as many studies suggest, the more democratic a country`s decision-making processes are, the less likely it is for that country to go to war. Thus one finds a convergence of interests among the aims of pacifism, women`s rights, and social justice. Once a war begins, convinced opponents of armed conflict, men and women alike, are often silenced, if not threatened, physically and materially. Their publications are banned; their rights to speak out against the war are hampered. Some are arrested; others flee. And no matter who "wins," when the war is over, there is rarely immediate interest in sorting out the details of the recent past. Questions such as "Was it a just war?" are hardly asked. Rather, postwar normalization and myths about the "great" or "patriotic" war are usually the main orders of the day. The opponents of the war are again neglected. The proposed project intends to reconsider some of these overlooked pacifist actors. Specifically, it will investigate the theoretical work and activities of late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century women pacifists in Austria- Hungary, Germany, Russia, and the United States. Some of these women are well-known, such as Bertha von Suttner and Jane Addams, the first and second women Nobel Peace Prize laureates (1905 and 1931, respectively). Many other women pacifists, however, are largely forgotten, such as Anna Eckstein, Helene Granitsch, Andrea H. Proudfoot, and Dr. Shchishkin-Jawein. What prompted these women to struggle for peace against the grain of their militarist times? What role did international contacts and mobility play in their efforts? How well could they network at home and abroad? How did their views change during the course of the First World War? Understanding the careers of these women pacifists can lead to greater insight into the challenges activist women face today under the continuing dominance of patriarchal structures, which place might before right and aim to marginalize women in society and political decision-making.