World Beyond War is an anti-war organization with chapters and affiliates in about two dozen countries. The organization bills itself as "a global nonviolent movement to end war and establish a just and sustainable peace." It is opposed to the very institution of war and not just individual wars. World Beyond War pursues the abolition of war through regional organizing along with global campaigns to close military bases and divest from corporations that profit from war and weapon sales. World Beyond War publishes books, maintains a speakers bureau, funds the installation of billboards, hosts conferences, organizes protests, and produces webinars. Its book "A Global Security System: An Alternative to War" has been updated and published yearly since 2015 in print, ebook, and audio formats. There is an accompanying online study and discussion guide. World Beyond War is a grassroots organization funded by small donors. The nonprofit organization is a fiscal affiliate of Alliance for Global Justice. The organization was founded in January 2014 by David Swanson, Leah Bolger and David Hartsough. The global organization is headquartered in Chartlottesville, Virginia. Staff members include Swanson, Bolger, organizing director Greta Zarro, education director Phill Gittins, technology and social media director Marc Eliot Stein and development director Alex McAdams. Board members include activists, journalists and academics Alice Slater, Pat Elder, Gar Smith, Odile Hugonot Haber, Liz Remmerswaal Hughes, Donnal Walter, John Reuwer, Barry Sweeney and Faod Ijadi. Advisory board members include Medea Benjamin, Ann Wright, Kathy Kelly, Kevin Zeese, Yves Engler, Dennis Kucinich, Rivera Sun, Matthew Hoh, Tamara Lorincz, Hakim Young, Johan Galtung.
Activities
World Beyond War hosts an global peace conference that gathers hundreds of activists every year. #NoWar2020 was scheduled for Ottawa, Canada and will now take place online. #NoWar2019 was in Limerick, Ireland. #NoWar2018 was in Toronto, Canada. Previous annual conferences were in Washington DC. World Beyond War promotes peace education programs and runs online courses in war abolition and peace activism. The organization also produces frequent webinars and other online events that are then made available for free on video. The "World Beyond War" podcast launched in January 2019 and has featured interviews with peace activists in Vietnam, Bolivia, Iran, Venezuela, Cyprus, Japan, USA, England, New Zealand, Canada, Ireland, Italy.
Publications and Coverage
Publications by people affiliated with World Beyond War have appeared in The Nation, The New York Times, Truthout, Counterpunch, and The Progressive. It has gotten coverage by the Cato Institute, Scientific American, Truthdig, Common Dreams, and Catholic Sentinel. In 2020, Milwaukee congresswoman Gwen Moore referred to US military budget as a "feeding frenzy" at an event featuring World Beyond War's billboard in Milwaukee, which read "3% of US military spending could end starvation on earth." This was covered in Urban Milwaukee. World Beyond War initiated a letter-writing campaign for the cancellation of Canada's annual weapons expo, CANSEC, which was scheduled to take place in Ottawa, Canada in May, 2020 despite the coronavirus pandemic. This campaign was eventually credited with helping to force the decision to cancel. World Beyond War alternates global organizing activity with regional events, such as an April 2020 webinar on military bases in Guam.
Controversy
In June 2019, World Beyond War "was refused permission to place advertisements featuring the slogan “US troops out of Shannon” on billboards in Limerick during Donald Trump’s visit to Ireland." These billboards would have supplemented World Beyond War's three-day annual #NoWar2019 conference in Limerick, Island, which focused on calls by Irish activists and leaders to end the use of Shannon Airport as a military base for foreign aircraft.
