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Branagan, Martin
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Given Name
Martin
Martin
Surname
Branagan
UNE Researcher ID
une-id:mbranag2
Email
mbranag2@une.edu.au
Preferred Given Name
Marty
School/Department
School of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences
56 results
Now showing 1 - 10 of 56
- PublicationCollaborative wilderness preservation and the Franklin River campaignThis chapter examines a case study in wilderness preservation and nonviolent direct action with international ramifications. It describes a campaign – which included a large-scale nonviolent blockade – to preserve a wild river and 769,355 hectares of 'wilderness' in the remote south-west of the island state of Tasmania, Australia. The campaign introduced two new elements to environmental nonviolent direct action. The first was collaboration between environmentalists and Aboriginal people. Despite significant friction, including over the name and concept of 'wilderness', there were positive aspects to the collaboration, including increased visibility of Tasmanian Aboriginals in mainstream society, while Aboriginal heritage issues were a pivotal factor in the legal determination for the preservation of the river. The second element involved deliberate, purposive engagement in the campaign by numerous creative people, most notably artists, photographers, film-makers and musicians. The arts created liminal atmospheres conducive to conversion, and provided relatively cheap but effective publicity tools which utilised the outstanding natural beauty to attract media attention, engage the public, and inspire activism. For the activists, the arts helped build group cohesion and solidarity, as well as enabling empowerment, emotional expression and the prevention of violence and burnout.
- PublicationIntroductionPeace building is an umbrella-term for many aspects of dealing with violent conflict. An early paper by Johan Galtung describes peacebuilding as activities used to reduce violence and promote all fonns of justice (Galtung, 1967, p. 12). In a nutshell, peacebuilding is a means of achieving sustainable and durable peace. By peace, we mean an absence of all kinds of violence. In its original use, the tenn peacebuilding was associated with bringing about peace by peaceful means (Galtung, 1996).
- PublicationTintin: From Violent Communist-Hating Conservative to Radical Peacenik, Part 2
An earlier paper in this journal (Branagan, 2020) discussed the enduring influence of the Tintin comic series, and the worth of analyzing them from an aesthetic viewpoint utilizing a peace studies framework. The paper described the early Tintin adventures as anti-semitic and otherwise racist, misogynistic, fervently anti-communist, violent and implicated in the normalization and legitimization of the Nazi occupation of Belgium. It also demonstrated the development of the Tintin adventures towards more sympathetic and central female characters, growing multi-culturalism, changing attitudes to violence, and increased concern for social justice.
This paper continues to explore the evolution of the Tintin adventures, exposing anti-authoritarian and anti-capitalist themes, increasing openmindedness, such as towards the paranormal, and an embracing of elements of the 1960s and 1970s counter-culture, such as liberation, flamboyant fashions, and social justice. It analyzes how Tintin emerges as a complex character and a role model for positive peace. Finally, it notes how these developments are supported by an increasing complexity of other characters and of narrative structures, and more sophisticated art.
- PublicationEditorial: Mining in a Sustainable World(University of Technology Sydney ePress (UTS ePress), 2014)
; ; Humanity has reaped great benefits from mining. Over the millennia that humans have practiced mining there have been many obvious improvements in mining's environmental and social impacts. However, some aspects of mining still involve an element of ecological violence1 and, in Australia, there is a growing amount of conflict concerned with mining. These two related issues - 'ecological violence' and 'conflict' - were explored at the 'Mining in a Sustainable World' conference on 13 to 15 October 2013 at the University of New England campus in Armidale, Australia. The conference was a joint initiative of the discipline of Peace Studies within the University of New England's School of Humanities, and the Australian Centre for Agriculture and Law. Specifically, conference delegates were interested in exploring the work being done to reduce ecological violence and conflict. Articles in this special edition of the International Journal of Rural Law and Policy arose from that conference. This editorial provides an overview of the rationale for the conference and the issues explored. - PublicationSpying, Sabotage, Subversion, People-smuggling: The Brave Women Who Resisted the Nazis Through non-violence
Many people think Nazi Germany was beaten only through military violence, and mainly by men. As Barack Obama said in 2009: "Nonviolence could not have halted Hitler's armies". In fact, non-violent action was widely used in resisting Nazism. Brave women often led it. They later got little recognition, though this is now changing.
Women in nations such as France, Germany and Holland gathered intelligence, founded resistance groups, published underground media and coordinated people-smuggling operations. Some engaged in sabotage. Their networking and people skills were invaluable, and their lack of visibility under a sexist regime was an asset. Some of these brave women sacrificed their lives for the cause.
It is useful to consider their impact today and how such female-led, non-violent movements might help people around the world resist dictatorships and invasions, such as in Ukraine.
Some German women used overt, concentrated tactics – such as those who were thrown into jail for speaking out against Hitler, and the "Rosenstrasse" group, who protested in Berlin in 1943. These non-Jewish women shouted for their Jewish husbands to be set free, despite the threat of being machine-gunned. Amazingly, they succeeded – at least in the short term – with about 2,000 men released. Most of these men survived the war.
- PublicationSouthern New England Social and Community Plan 2009 - Covering Local Government Authorities: Armidale Dumaresq, Guyra, Uralla and Walcha(Armidale Dumaresq Council, 2009)
; ; ; New England Strategic Alliance of Councils (NESAC): AustraliaThe Southern New England (SNE) Social and Community Plan is a guide to collaborative, integrated planning involving the three spheres of government, the community and commercial sectors. The Plan is based on social justice principles such as: • Equity - fairness in resource distribution, particularly for those most in need • Access - fairer access for everyone to the economic resources and services essential to meeting their basic needs and improving their quality of life • Rights - recognition and promotion of civil rights • Participation - better opportunities for genuine participation and consultation about decisions affecting people's lives. The Plan is also aimed at improving the accountability of decision-makers, and should help the councils, in conjunction with their communities meet the state government's social justice commitments. Preparation of a social and community plan is required at least every five years, and as with most councils, Armidale Dumaresq Council (ADC) has produced two already, one in 1999 and one in 2004, following the amalgamation of the former Armidale City and Dumaresq Shire Councils in 2000. Those Councils formerly prepared their own Plans in 1999, based on shared consultancy work on a community profile. This is the first joint Southern New England Plan, featuring Armidale Dumaresq, Walcha, Uralla and Guyra Councils. This Social Plan has aimed to identify and address the needs of the local community by: • describing who makes up the community • summarising key priority issues • assessing the effectiveness of any previous plans • recommending strategic ways for council and other government and non-government agencies to met community needs. - Publication'We Shall Never Be Moved': Australian Developments in NonviolenceWithin the Australian environment movement can be found a variety of modes of action, from the extremes of machinery sabotage to a strict or 'orthodox' nonviolence. 'Orthodox' nonviolence has been widely used and has produced a number of successful outcomes for campaigns. However, it has also been criticised for being imposed on grassroots activists from above, for being inflexible and dogmatic, and for being inappropriate in some situations. These critics have developed new forms of action in between the two extremes, forms that have also proven effective. This article discusses from an 'emic' or insider perspective what these methods are, and why they have emerged. It argues that they too are nonviolent, according to a broader and more realistic definition of nonviolence. The article notes areas of controversy within Australian nonviolence, including property damage, secrecy, and consensus decision-making. These controversies, although at times divisive, have produced a dialogue that has helped to build nonviolence into a continuously evolving praxis that can be adapted by those who use it, providing a wider range of options for activists, and maximising its usefulness for diverse situations in modem times.
- PublicationThe Australian Movement Against Uranium Mining: Its Rationale and EvolutionThis paper begins with a brief historical overview of the Australian movement against uranium mining, before focussing on two major campaigns: Roxby and Jabiluka. It describes the reasons the activists gave at the time for their blockades of the Roxby Downs uranium mine in South Australia in 1983 and 1984. These reasons - such as perceptions that the industry is unsafe - have changed little over time and were the basis for the campaign against the proposed Jabiluka mine in the Northern Territory in 1998. They continue to be cited by environmental groups and Aboriginal Traditional Owners to this day as new situations arise, such as the 2011 Fukushima Daiichi nuclear accident. The paper then describes how the movement evolved between the Roxby and Jabiluka blockades, with changes to the movement's philosophy, strategy, tactics and internal dynamics. This analysis includes a comparison between two anti-nuclear bike rides, one a year after the 1984 Roxby blockade and involving some of the same activists, and another at the time of the Jabiluka blockade. This author was present at all these events, and provides an emic (insider) perspective within a longitudinal participant-observation methodology. Although this perspective obviously has a subjective element, the paper fills a gap in that there is little written history of these blockades (particularly Roxby) and more generally of Australian resistance to uranium mining, let alone the aspects of nonviolence and movement evolution. It is an introductory history of these campaigns, examining the direct action components, the practicalities of nonviolent campaigning, and the evolution of Australian anti-uranium activism.
- PublicationSaving the World with Organic Agriculture: Environmental Peacebuilding in the Nascent Democracy of Myanmar(2017)
; ; In Myanmar, a history of structural and ecological violence has resulted in environmental degradation, loss of livelihoods and food insecurity for agrarian populations. This is resulting in the breakdown of traditional communities. It is anticipated that industrialised, modernisation processes will exacerbate the situation. This thesis is based on a case study into a unique environmental peacebuilding initiative that has been developed by Myanmar nationals, in an effort to address some of these socio-ecological issues. A grassroots, environmental, social movement organisation, the Network for Environment and Economic Development (NEED), has established a school and eco-farm in Myanmar, and has designed an environmental adult education (EAE) program, aimed at agrarian youth. EAE is a transformative education that is a hybrid of environmental education (EE) and adult learning theory. EAE is an effective tool in addressing localised environmental problems. Also, its praxis, when applied widely at the local level, has the potential to influence regional, state and global social and political institutions. NEED is educating young adults from a variety of ethnic groups, in land law, human rights, environmentalism, and the practice of permaculture. NEED has created a learning community; a space for new ecological voices and perspectives. The objective of this research is to see how this particular EAE model is contributing to environmental peace in Myanmar. This is important with regard to environmental and food insecurity issues in this rapidly developing nation. It is also important in light of the global systemic crisis of inequality, environmental injustice and climate change. The thesis discusses attempts to live simply and peacefully in a world that, despite 'sustainability' rhetoric, often forces us to do just the opposite, and is a unique contribution to the research into informal critical adult education for social action, and for environmental peacebuilding. It is also an example of grassroots activism emerging from the global South. The study utilizes Paulo Freire's notion of 'conscientization' (critical consciousness), critical social theory, as well as the writings of critical theorist Herbert Marcuse, and a Marxist theory of social movements, as lenses through which to analyse the learning that is occurring within this program, as well as the potential it has for broader, transformative social action. - PublicationRecent activity by Peace Studies, University of New England, AustraliaWe have held an annual Nonviolence Film Festival since 2009, showing thirty free films to students, staff and the general public. The 2012 festival included an international conference 'Cultivating Peace: Context, Practices and Multidimensional Models', which led to a book (Cultivating Peace: Contexts, Practices and Multidimensional Models, Cambridge Scholars Publishing, Newcastle) co-edited by Peace Studies staff. That film festival also included an exhibition: 'Transforming The Human Spirit' (with Soka Gakkai International), talks and discussion panels.