Australian Journal of Politics and History: Volume 61, Number 3, 2015, pp.432-449. © 2015 The Author. Australian Journal of Politics and History © 2015 School of Historical and Philosophical Inquiry, School of Political Science and International Studies, The University of Queensland and Wiley Publishing Asia Pty Ltd. Finding Common Ground in Transnational Peace Movements ASTRID MIGNON KIRCHHOF  Georgetown University, Washington, USA These concepts are discussed through the example of two globally significant mediators, Helen Caldicott and Petra Kelly. Drawing on ecofeminism and difference theory, both activists argued that women were, by nature, more peaceful than men, which meant that women provided the ideal model for humanity. Thus, they interpreted differential feminism as an emancipatory force that strengthened women’s position in society. On the one hand both women found a powerful language that reached millions of people through these concepts; on the other hand, it can be argued that because their own “difference feminist” politics publicly emphasised qualities and aptitudes consistent with traditional views of women, Caldicott’s and Kelly’s influence was eventually weakened within their respective movements. Introduction The international peace and nuclear disarmament movement established itself in parallel to the anti-nuclear power and anti-uranium movements (the latter predominantly in Australia), focussing mainly on nuclear weapons. Following NATO’s Dual-Track Decision in December 1979, and the invasion of Afghanistan by the Soviet Union in the same month, public concerns regarding nuclear warfare were beginning to take precedence over nuclear power. Accordingly, many anti-nuclear activists in Western Europe and the United States began to focus more on military rather than civilian uses, a shift that eventually reached Eastern Europe. The development of the neutron bomb in the US caused an upswing in global peace movements beginning in 1977, challenging the US’s capability of attacking the Soviet Union with medium range missiles without warning. Contemporary accounts also emphasised the fear of the expected imminent destruction of the world, due to the arms race between the superpowers, as the driving force behind the various activities of the peace campaigners at this time. The prevalence of a sense of fear can also be seen in the literature of the time as well as in many films, and the doom-laden rhetoric of many of the peace movement’s speakers. 1 In 1983 US President, Ronald Reagan, announced his Strategic Defense Initiative with which he wanted to make the US, with the help of  Research for this article was funded by a project grant of the German Science Foundation (DFG) as well as a grant from VW-Foundation. (DFG Project: Ki 1537/2-1 and Ki 1537/2-2 and VW Project: Az. 88 334). I would like to thank Chris McConville and Julie Stephens for their considered remarks on this paper. 1 Angelika Dörfler-Dierken, “Frieden von unten: die Friedensbewegung der 1980er Jahre”, in Ulrike Borchardt et al., eds, Friedensbildung: Das Hamburger Interdisziplinäre Modell (Göttingen, 2014), pp.19-38, here p.19.