A Global Campus Beyond the Cold War. Peace and Disarmament Among Spanish Academics during the Debate on Joining and Remaining in NATO (1981-1986)

Abstract

Historiography has recently shown a special interest in assessing the cultural impact of the social engagement of academics during the Cold War through their advocacy of disarmament or human rights. This academic social activism became part of a complex “transnational civil society,” which was to influence international relations. In light of these considerations, this article aims to delve into the distinctive characteristics of the “nuclear culture” and “science diplomacy” of the Spanish academic world between 1981 and 1986. Spain’s experience of the final stage of the Cold War was somewhat unusual. The resurgence of nuclear tension between the two superpowers was mediated by the domestic political transition from a military dictatorship to a parliamentary democracy, but also by the democratisation of foreign policy and the accession of Spain to NATO. To understand how this took place and with what effects, this article will focus on three main points. Firstly, it will set out an analysis of the impact of historian E.P. Thompson’s critical thinking on the Cold War and the European Campaign for Disarmament among Spanish academics. Secondly, it will examine how certain academics, who played an active part in the debate either for or against joining and remaining in NATO, shaped the nuclear culture of the time through the daily press. Finally, it will argue the involvement, or lack thereof, of Spain’s scientific sector in transnational networks for peace and disarmament and how, through civil society itself, the foundations were laid for the first centres aimed at the dissemination and study of peace.