Abstract

Refusing to take part in war is as old as war itself. This wide-ranging and original book brings together four different bodies of knowledge to examine the practice of conscientious objection: historical and philosophical analyses of conscientious objection as a critique of compulsory military service and militarization; feminist, LGBT and queer analyses of conscientious objection as a critique of patriarchy, sexism, and heterosexism; activist and academic analyses of conscientious objection as a social movement and individual act of resistance; legal analyses of the status of conscientious objection in international and national law. Conscientious objection is an increasingly important subject of academic and political debate in countries including the US, Israel and Turkey. This book provides a much needed introduction and tool for making sense of the history of nation-states in the 20th century and understanding the political developments of the early 21st century.
'This Turkish-oriented comparative study of conscientious objection to military service is illuminating, while exhibiting the courage of morally motivated individuals who defy coercive governments. In essence, this fine multi-authored volume challenges readers to assess the nature of good citizenship in the 21st Century.' Richard Falk, Princeton University. 'The world’s hundreds of thousands of conscientious objectors to military labour come alive in this volume, and not simply as figures of moral conscience. They are also revealed as symptoms and powerful critiques of militarism and the diverse problems it both feeds and draws on, including nationalism, patriarchy and class inequality, and racialism.' Catherine Lutz, Brown University. 'I wish I had had this book decades ago when I first found my way to conscientious objection and ultimately to draft resistance. It is far and away the best book I have seen on the subject. Çinar and Üsterci have conceived and assembled a remarkable and appropriately complex resource about freedom and resistance to militarism. An important book for scholars and activists alike.' Joseph Gerson, American Friends Service Committee. 'At last a book on conscientious objection to military service from the point of view of contemporary objectors ... it expresses the critique objection poses to patriarchy and social militarization and firmly places objection in the context of struggle for social transformation.' Howard Clark, chairperson, War Resisters' International
Özgür Heval Çinar is a lawyer. Currently he is a Ph.D. candidate and Graduate Teaching Assistant in the Law Department at the University of Essex. He has also worked at several NGOs, including the Istanbul branch of the Human Rights Association of Turkey and Human Rights Watch on a voluntary basis. He is the author of "The Effects of European Court of Human Rights' Decisions on the Turkish Legal System" as well as a number of journal articles. Coskun Üsterci is a peace and human rights activist. Graduating from the Department of Economic and Commercial Science at the Ege University, he was a founder of the Izmir War Resisters' Association. He is currently a member of the Human Rights Association, and has been working since 1992 at the Human Rights Foundation of Turkey, where he is a board member. In addition, he runs workshops on anti-militarism, conscientious objection and non-violence.