Internationalism as Encounter: Grassroots Diplomacy on the San Francisco‐to‐Moscow March, 1960–61

Abstract This article discusses the ‘Global March for Peace’ of 1960–61 – an initiative that took a group of activists from San Francisco to Moscow, crossing countries on both sides of the Cold War divide. While the general development of this march is well known, this article offers a fresh perspective in several ways. Drawing on a varied range of sources, it pays particular attention to the expectations, experiences and reflections of US activists who had strongly been involved in the march. Moreover, it uses the history of the march to examine different elements of internationalist practice and reappraises the march as an experiment in ‘grassroots diplomacy’, while also revealing the latter's intrinsic tensions.