During war, space for debate shrinks. Narrow ideas of patriotism and democracy marginalize and silence opposition to militarism abroad and repression at home. Although powerful, these ideas encounter widespread resistance. Analyzing the official statements of 15 organizations from 1990-2005, the authors show that the U.S. peace movement strongly contested taken-for-granted assumptions regarding nationalism, religion, security, and global justice. Contesting Patriotism engages cutting-edge theories in social movements research to understand the ways that activists promote peace through their words. Concepts of culture, power, strategy, and identity are used to explain how movement organizations and activists contribute to social change. The diversity of organizations and conflicts studied make this book a unique and important contribution to peace building and to social movements scholarship.

"It is a 234-page serving of some much needed analysis of the modern American peace movement, more specifically, how it has managed to play an important role in balancing the popular discourse about war and patriotism. . . . It is a work of great significance in an area of research that, as the authors themselves point out, has been neglected for far too long." - Contemporary Sociology, December 2009

"We wring our hands about the culture of violence that pervades our nation, and some of us expend enormous energy trying to change our country's rhetoric from one of war to one of peace. We act locally and from within esteemed national peace groups such asthe Fellowship of Reconciliation, Pax Christi, War Resisters League, and the American Friends Service Committee. But the wars-and the worries-persist. What should we do? And how? Contesting Patriotism gives us a language to talk about our dilemmas. In it, Lynne Woehrle, Pat Coy, and Greg Maney describe the rhetoric used by peace organizations and then give us real solutions as we look to the future. Contesting Patriotism is an academic book, complete with an 11-page bibliography, but it's written by professors who are themselves activists and is eminently readable. It's a must-read for anyone who wants to move from wailing about strategy to truly working for peace.." - Sojourners, July 2009

"We wring our hands about the culture of violence that pervades our nation, and some of us expend enormous energy trying to change our country's rhetoric from one of war to one of peace. We act locally and from within esteemed national peace groups such as the Fellowship of Reconciliation, Pax Christi, War Resisters League, and the American Friends Service Committee. But the wars-and the worries-persist. What should we do? And how? Contesting Patriotism gives us a language to talk about our dilemmas. In it, Lynne Woehrle, Pat Coy, and Greg Maney describe the rhetoric used by peace organizations and then give us real solutions as we look to the future. Contesting Patriotism is an academic book, complete with an 11-page bibliography, but it's written by professors who are themselves activists and is eminently readable. It's a "must-read" for anyone who wants to move from wailing about strategy to truly working for peace." - Sojourners, July 2009

"Woehrle, Coy, and Maney combine both their academic interests and their personal experience in developing a very clear assessment of the ways in which major groups in the peace movement have advanced this cause in their publications over the past 20 years.... Woehrle, Coy, and Maney provide rich, deep, but fully accessible research that will sharpen our focus, increase our effectiveness, and provoke our community to great coherence through self-reflection and cross-movement dialogue." - Fellowship, Spring 2010

"Contesting Patriotismis a bombproof, peer-reviewed academic study on the ways the peace movement has responded to war and threats of war in its messaging. It gives examples of the strongest antiwar/pro-peace arguments from different approaches, explains reasoning for framing arguments, and categorizes arguments according to their characteristics....The authors combed through a great deal of peace group arguments and isolated the strongest persuasive writing, contextualized it, and compared contexts." - Win Magazine, Summer 2010, Volume 27

"This excellent analysis considers all these in relation to North American peace movement organizations…. The study is well-structured and progresses logically…. It is an ideal book for postgraduate students….This book also opens up a new avenue of research for academics researching Latin American or African social movements…. This book is of significant importance….A piece of work that sets that standard for future research very high. A highly recommended book." - Interface: a journal for and about social movements, May 2010

"Contesting Patriotism provides an intellectually complex, nuanced analysis of the conflicting uses of patriotism by war and peace forces in the modern world. Scholars, peace activists, government officials, and member of the general public can learn much from it." - History News Network, May 2009

"Contesting Patriotism offers a comprehensive, detailed, and nuanced reading….While this book offers an intelligent content analysis, it also raises new research questions." - Mobilization

"Coy, Maney, and Woehrle detail ways in which PMOs create "oppositional knowledge" by introducing new information into public debates, critiquing official lines of argument, envisioning new social and political arrangements, and calling people to action…. Contesting Patriotism is notable for its research design that captures both the agency of social movement organizations and the political and cultural contexts that constrain and enable them in shaping political discourse…. The authors' systematic discourse analysis is impressive and compelling. The book is well referenced….I highly recommend Contesting Patriotism for its clarity because it offers anew level of focus on activist' cultural agency, and because it synthesizes many emerging interests in the cultural study of social movements." - Criticalmass, Fall 2010

"Woehrle, Coy, and Maney have performed a notable public service with Contesting Patriotism. Readers get solid evidence for the authors’ claims that historical context, organizational identity, and perceived audience matter as PMOs produce oppositional knowledge and fight hegemony. We are reminded that PMO discourse work is strategic, varying with political climate and political space. The authors show us that peace protest is among the highest forms of patriotism." - Policy Sciences

"Woehrle, Coy, and Maney have performed a notable public service with Contesting Patriotism. Readers get solid evidence for the authors’ claims that historical context, organizational identity, and perceived audience matter as PMOs produce oppositional knowledge and fight hegemony. We are reminded that PMO discourse work is strategic, varying with political climate and political space...The authors show us that peace protest is among the highest forms of patriotism." - Policy Sciences