2nd International Faslane Academic Blockade & Conference
Universities Vs. Weapons of Mass Destruction - Part 2
Wednesday 27th - Thursday 28th June 2007
Trident Nuclear Weapons Base, Faslane, near Glasgow, Scotland
Not just an Academic Exercise:
The 2nd Faslane International Academic Blockade & Conference (FAB Conference) will
provide a forum for presenting and discussing papers focused on the impacts of, and alternatives
to, the nuclear state. In particular it will focus on the academic arguments against Blair’s
proposed ‘son of Trident’ which it is estimated will cost the UK £76 billion by 2030, equivalent
to the cost of bringing our CO2 emissions down by 60% over the same period. The conferenceis simultaneously a blockade of the Trident nuclear submarine base at Faslane, since it will takeplace directly at the North Gate of the base, on the road. This is a delightful form of action, one
in which we pit our profession against Weapons of Mass Destruction. Please come yourself andbring friends and colleagues, as we seek to continue to educate and mobilise ourselves, police,
workers and the general public, and demonstrate that academics are committed to the well-beingof the world we study. We would emphasise that the action is not restricted to academics; all
who work and study in universities, and all who are trying to think critically about the nature ofthe world, are invited to join us.
You can Participate in a Range of Ways:
You may present a paper at the conference. We hope that papers will take a variety of forms andreflect a variety of perspectives and disciplines. We particularly welcome explorations ofalternatives for local economic development and of the psychology of nuclear weapons states.
You are also very welcome to come along to listen to papers and participate in discussion
groups. If you choose to do so, you may join those who are willing to continue the conference
on the road in order to close down the base, thus risking arrest. We also need participants who
do not risk arrest and who can, for example, continue our educational work by handing out
papers to workers trying to enter the base on the morning of the 28th. Finally, our action
overlaps with a students’ week-long anti-nuclear summer camp, taking place close to Faslanefrom the 28th. The students will join our blockade on the 28th and have asked us to welcome
you to stay on for a few days and offer workshops or talks at their camp if you wish.
What to Do Now:
Register for the conference by emailing D.Webb@leedsmet.ac.uk with the following info:
1) your full name, university affiliation (if any), contact details
2) whether or not you intend to present a paper3) whether or not you intend to blockade the gate and thus risk arrest4) whether or not you are likely to require accommodation
5) which days you intend to participate (27th, 28th, any days of the student camp?)
If you intend to present a paper, please also supply an abstract to D.Webb@leedsmet.ac.uk,of 50-100 words, by 16th March 2007. You will need to send your completed paper to thesame address by 16th May 2007. Please note: papers should be no longer than 4000 words.
If you have not already done so, you should sign up to our email list to ensure you receive
further information – by sending a blank email to faslane.academic.blocksubscribe@lists.riseup.net. Please do help to publicise the action by forwarding this message
to your friends and colleagues and by asking them to sign up to the email list as well.

The Previous FAB Conference:
We hope you will come and join us in building on the success, solidarity and sheer enjoymentof the 1st Faslane Academic Blockade Conference. In the freezing cold on January 7th 2007, agroup of over 100 academics and students successfully held a conference at the North Gate ofFaslane nuclear submarine base. For a two-hour period papers analysing the nuclear situation
were delivered from the roadside, interspersed with seminar discussion groups. Then someparticipants occupied the road itself and continued the conference in a way which kept the gatesto the base blocked for several hours. In the end 17 academic staff and 17 students were arrested
and spent the night in Clydebank police cells before being released without charge the next day.
Many of the police seemed genuinely interested in the arguments and papers being presented,
and the discussion groups in the cells were as productive as the seminar had been. Our intention
is to produce an edited volume drawing on the papers submitted for both FAB conferences, andalso including accounts of the blockades themselves and wider analysis of how such actions cancontribute to bringing activism and academia together (Contact J.Kenrick@lbss.gla.ac.uk). The
action received excellent press coverage (see, for example,
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/glasgow_and_west/6237499.stm.)
For further details, including photographs, please visit our website:
http://www.faslane365.org/en/academics_and_scholars.
Faslane 365 Campaign:
Both FAB conferences are part of Faslane 365, a one-year continuous peaceful blockade of theTrident base at Faslane from 1st October 2006 to 30th September 2007. Faslane 365 is asking awide range of local, national and international groups from all sections of civil society to cometo Faslane with at least 100 people committed to stay and make their visions for a just andpeaceful future visible. See http://www.faslane365.org for more information, or contact Angie
Zelter, Valley Farmhouse, East Runton, Cromer, Norfolk, NR27 9PN, UK, Tel: 01263-512049,
Mobile: 07835354652, email reforest@gn.apc.org.
Nonviolent Direct Action and the Police Response:
The Faslane 365 actions are entirely non-violent, respectful of people, and are part of thebroader peace and global justice movement for fundamental peaceful change. Since there havebeen organised nonviolent actions against the base during the last several years there are good
relations with the police. The police are normally friendly and respectful, not using brutal tactics
but calm arrests. So far several hundreds (about 500) have been arrested in the F365 campaign
and all, including internationals, have been held until the next working day and given so called“PF letters” saying they will not be taken to court this time…So those of you who have not yet
decided to risk arrest, this is your chance to gain an experience of nonviolent responsible
academic field work, i.e. action for a pro-human science!
Look forward to seeing you on the 27th and 28th June!
The FAB Organisers: Stellan Vinthagen, Justin Kenrick, Jill Gibbon, Maud Bracke, Becka Kay,
Catherine Eschle, Mark Blaxter and David Webb.