Professionals, Homemakers, and Moral Witnesses: Resource Mobilization in the Movement against Nuclear Weapons

In this article, I explore how activists have sustained the movement against nuclear weapons in spite of persistent funding challenges. Using publicly available grant information, I demonstrate that foundation funding has typically come only after windows of opportunity had already opened—and activist campaigns were well underway. Next, I explore how activists drew on their personal resources to mobilize during three key moments: the scientists’ campaign, the test ban campaign, and the nuclear freeze campaign. Drawing on scholarly accounts of the movement, I divide these activists into three categories—professionals, homemakers, and moral witnesses—and sketch how each contributed to the movement against nuclear weapons. In light of this history, I draw two conclusions. First, I argue that more reliable funding would allow activists to respond to fleeting windows of opportunity more effectively and efficiently. Second, I suggest that the movement’s reliance on the personal resources of activists has allowed it to survive, but at the expense of building a diverse coalition in support of disarmament.