Demand New World Conference

Demand New World Conference

During the twentieth century, Quakers were active in publicizing peace-related concepts and striving against remilitarization. This poster, calling for a coordinated international effort in peace-building in place of force to deter war, sheds light on early explorations of what peace studies now call “positive peace.” Positive peace emphasizes the conditions necessary for peace, such as conflict resolution and peace-building. By presenting “new world conference” in red capital letters, the poster highlights the importance of this new mechanism. In accordance with the Quaker effort to foster conditions for peace, contemporaneous pacifist writers such as Virginia Woolf wrote about the role of socio-economic injustices (specifically financial and gender inequality) in the perpetuation of war. These features of pacifism manifest a paradigm shift during the modernist era, transforming pacifist activism from passive resistance of unethical wars to active promotion of peace. Therefore, this poster attests to the Friends’ active pacifism alongside the societal trend towards peace-building based on investigations of social justice issues.

YUTONG LI

Northern Friends Peace Board and the Friends Peace Committee