Can a Baby Be an Enemy? Our world is in a deep, prolonged crisis. The threat of global nuclear war, the chronic condition of local wars, the imperilled environment, and mass star vation are among the major forms this crisis takes. The dangers of massive overkill, overexploitation of the environment, and overpopulation are well known, but surprisingly little has been said about their potential interac tions, their bearing upon each other. If there were to be a nuclear confronta tion between today's superpowers, it might not take place in today's world, but in a far less friendly habitat, such as the world may be some decades hence. And it need hardly be added that the era of this particular super power configuration may be waning rapidly, its place to be taken by other international arrangements not necessarily less threatening. To understand and cope with our situation we need correspondingly serious reflection. This volume forms a welcome part of that process. Un avoidably, a large part of our thinking about the issues of human survival must be oriented to physical and biological aspects of the total danger. But it has not escaped the authors of this book that, coupled with these aspects, there are profound psychological dangers, such as loss of the sense of futu rity, moral deterioration, and a fatalistic decline in the will to struggle to protect our home, the Earth.

Exploring the nature of nuclear war, this psychological treatise examines human reactions to nuclear disaster and accidental explosions. The discusssion is based on evidence of human fallibility that has emerged from the psychology of accidents and from research into decision-making in military and political contexts. Draws on the psychology of negotiation and conflict resolution to suggest ways in which the threat of nuclear war might be reduced.

This book is a treatise on the history of American psychology's role in nuclear war prevention. So writes Marilyn S. Jacobs in the preface to American Psychology in the Quest for Nuclear Peace. This timely and important study will facilitate the work of those psychologists who wish to use their knowledge and expertise in the cause of nuclear war prevention. Jacobs places the psychologist's struggle for nuclear peace in historical perspective and examines the complicated context in which the threat of nuclear war is embedded; one which is influenced by international relations, economic and political systems and weapons technology. Student and professional psychologists, political scientists, as well as the general reader concerned with the threat of nuclear war will find this book imperative reading. The study begins by examining the psychologist's role of social responsibility in the nuclear dilemma. Why is psychology involved? How did it become involved? What is the nature of the involvement? Is it appropriate that psychology be involved? The book is directed toward these questions. Jacobs interviews prominent individuals in the peace movement, most notably, Herbert Kelman, Irving Janis, Ralph White, and Thomas Milburn. Other chapters explore the psychologist's role as scientist, government consultant, and social activist.

DIVCultural history of the nuclear civil defense excercises in the US, Canada, and the UK, which emphasizes the performative aspect of the staged drills and evacuations./div