Trends in Anti-Nuclear Protests in the United States, 1984-1987
Abstract
This report updates previous RAND research on U.S. anti-nuclear protest groups, examines trends in anti-nuclear and related protests, and assess what these trends may imply for possible terrorist violence, either by terrorists infiltrating the anti-nuclear movement or violent elements arising within the movement. Two recent trends in protest activity may signal greater militancy in the movement. First, the number of protesters who are willing to face arrest, fines, and imprisonment has steadily increased over the past four years. In the first eleven months of 1987, nearly 3,000 protesters were arrested for anti-nuclear civil disobedience, compared with 1,056 in 1984. Second, some large, diverse groups of protesters have stretched the ability of their own organizers to control events involving civil disobedience. Consequently, the number of skirmishes between protesters and security personnel has increased. Third, radical environmentalist groups previously uninvolved in anti-nuclear activities have recently organized protests at uranium mines. Regular involvement by such groups in anti-nuclear protests, coupled with the trend toward greater cooperation between peace activists and environmentalists over such issues as uranium mining, nuclear testing, land and sea use, and transport and storage of toxic waste, could signal a more volatile, though not necessarily more violent, future for the anti-nuclear movement. (jd)
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 01, 1989
- Accession Number
- ADA228338
Entities
People
- Elizabeth H. Ondaatje
Organizations
- RAND Corporation