Alternative Defence Commission Archive

Archive reference: Cwl ADC

One of the Commonweal Archives, this large archive records the work of an organisation which brought academics and others together to reflect on defence alternatives.

The Alternative Defence Commission

The Alternative Defence Commission was an independent group set up in October 1980 to explore the range of defence options open to Britain if it abandoned nuclear weapons and refused to have such weapons based on its territory. The group included politicians, academics, trade unionists, churchmen and journalists. The Commission was co-sponsored by the Lansbury House Trust Fund and the School of Peace Studies at the University of Bradford. It produced two major reports, "Defence without the Bomb" (Taylor and Francis, 1983) and "The Politics of Alternative Defence" (Paladin, 1987), and several Supplementary Papers. The Commission was wound up in 1987.

The Archive

The Archive was donated to Commonweal Collection in 1988. It consists of records of the Commission, such as internal and external correspondence, meeting papers, draft publications, plus background information and press cuttings.

See this collection-level entry on the library catalogue for more information about the Archive. Note that it is not yet fully catalogued and thus access is limited.