Non-Governmental Organizations in World Politics: The Construction of Global Governance by Peter Willetts

Non-Governmental Organizations in World Politics: The Construction of Global Governance by Peter Willetts

Author:Peter Willetts [Willetts, Peter]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Law, International, Political Science, NGOs (Non-Governmental Organizations)
ISBN: 9780415381253
Google: tXFJMAAACAAJ
Goodreads: 11169564
Publisher: Routledge
Published: 2011-01-15T11:40:10+00:00


Networking by the peace movement

We saw that computer networking for the public started with BBSes. This was ideal for peace groups who wanted to organize within the local community in the United States, particularly in Silicon Valley, California. In 1985, Mark Graham and Scott Weikart, who were professional computer experts, formed PeaceNet, by bringing together four small specialist NGOs in the San Francisco Bay Area. In August 1986, PeaceNet offered its services on a subscription basis to a wider range of NGOs and to the general public, going on-line on 1 September 1986. Then, Weikart and Graham expanded PeaceNet to full US coverage and extensive overseas networking. They actively sought out other groups, to explain to them the benefits of e-mail and e-conferences.18 By the end of 1988, PeaceNet was linked to another 99 NGOs from the peace movement. They included many local groups; various solidarity groups, such as for Nicaragua; some 18 religious groups, notably Quakers, Mennonites, Unitarians, and Baha’i; the leading secular US groups, the War Resisters League, SANE, and the Freeze Campaign; the leading British groups, the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, and the more radical Committee of 100; the respected monthly magazine Peace News, well-established global networks, such as the International Peace Bureau formed in 1891, the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (1915), and the World Federalist Movement (1947); and the newer global networks, the World Disarmament Campaign (1979), International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War (1980), Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility (1981), and Peace Brigades International (1981).19

While it is not surprising to find peace activists adopted the Internet with enthusiasm, this was not sufficient for them to have been pioneers in networking. PeaceNet was itself a special type of NGO. It was a very small group of highly skilled computer experts, notably Graham and Weikart, who did no peace work themselves but were dedicated to promoting networking by peace activists. These two individuals were able to establish and operate a server, so that PeaceNet was an independent network offering the latest computing services directly to NGOs.



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