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Anti-War Movement

Definition

An anti-war movement is a social or political movement that opposes wars or specific types of war. Participants may be pacifists who generally oppose all war or they may be opposed only to specific wars because they see them as unjust or illegal.

Analogy

Imagine you're playing a game where two teams are constantly fighting each other. But some players on both sides realize that this constant fighting isn't helping anyone—it's just causing more harm than good. These players form an "anti-fighting" team within the game—that's what an anti-war movement does in real life politics.

Related terms

Pacifism: A belief system that opposes war or violence as means of settling disputes or gaining advantage.

Conscientious Objector: An individual who has claimed the right to refuse military service based on freedom of thought, conscience, or religion.

Peace Movement: A social movement that seeks to achieve ideals such as the ending of a particular war (or all wars), minimize inter-human violence in a particular place or type of situation, and is often linked to the goal of achieving world peace.