Civic Engagement

Paper Summary:

In this article, the writer notes that an examination of civic engagement in global public policy demonstrates that citizens have increasingly joined transnational networks to try to influence policy and bring about change. The writer points out that some of these campaigns have been very successful, some have had mixed success, and some failed to achieve their goals altogether. The writer discusses that in the 1980's, the civic engagement of millions of people to reduce the nuclear arsenals of the United States and the Soviet Union was a mixed success, for significant nuclear arms reductions were achieved, but nuclear war is still a threat to the survival of humanity. The writer maintains that many aspects of this civic engagement need to be examined and analyzed, not only because these efforts helped to end the Cold War, but because similar efforts are needed today to prevent new nuclear arms races from developing, both regionally and globally.
The writer concludes that examining civic engagement in global public policy demonstrates that concerned citizens have increasingly participated in transnational efforts to try to influence policy and effect change. The paper includes an annotated bibliography.

From the Paper:

"Criteria such as the signing and ratification of these treaties confirms the success of this civic engagement campaign, as does documented evidence that the nuclear arsenals of the two superpowers were reduced by fifty-percent in many strategic and tactical weapons categories, while other categories such as short-range and medium range nuclear ballistic missiles were eliminated entirely. This was all achieved without any direct participation by citizens in international decision-making forums, and was produced primarily through domestic political pressure."
"This campaign was legitimate, for the nuclear arms race had escalated for decades after the first atomic bombs were developed, and the nuclear arsenals of the two superpowers consisted of more than forty-thousand nuclear warheads by the early 1980's."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Beck, Sanderson. "Anti-Nuclear Protests." Online. Available: http://san. beck. org/GPJ29-AntiNuclearProtests.html. 17 November 2006.
• Daggett, Stephen, and Serafino, Nina. "The Use of Force: Key Statements by Weinberger, Shultz, Aspin, Bush, Powell, Albright, and Perry." Congressional Research Service Report for Congress. Washington D.C.: Library of Congress, December 5, 1995.
• Daubert, Victoria and Moran, Sue Ellen. Origins, Goals, and Tactics of the U.S. Anti-Nuclear Protest Movement. Washington D.C.: Rand Corporation, 1994.
• DuBois, Thomas. "The Weinberger Doctrine." Parameters, Vol. 21, No. 4. Winter 1991-92.
• Kissinger, Henry. Diplomacy. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1994.

More papers on Civic Engagement:

• Research Paper # 101989 : "The Influence of Civic Engagement on Arms Control"
• Essay # 54536 : "Civic Engagement"
• Analytical Essay # 67384 : "America's Civic Disengagement"

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