Randall Forsberg
American peace activist and political scientist
About Randall Forsberg
Lived 1943 – 2007 (aged 64). Randall Forsberg was an American political scientist and peace activist.
Nuclear Freeze movement
In December 1979, Forsberg gave a speech in Louisville at the annual meeting of Mobilization for Survival, an anti-nuclear organization. It is this speech that gained Forsberg momentum for her anti-nuclear campaign and led her to publish Call to Halt the Arms Race in 1979. This publication was the manifesto of the Nuclear Freeze Campaign. The four-paged document advocated a bilateral halt to the testing, production, deployment and delivery of nuclear weapons. By 1982, Forsberg's nuclear freeze campaign had gained support from various state and county governments, over 100 national organizations, numerous large labor unions, and many other organizations. Support for Forsberg's grassroots movement was very evident in 1982 when the freeze resolutions appeared on ballots in nine states. The polls showed that 10.8 million out of 18 million US citizens voted in favor of the freeze. After receiving the MacArthur Foundation grant, Randall became president of a group known as Freeze Voter. This group organized and collected large amounts of money in an effort to endorse candidates in the 1984 election who were for nuclear disarmament.
To add to her long list of achievements, Forsberg also served as a board member for the Arms Control Association.
Death Forsberg died of endometrial cancer on October 19, 2007 at the age of 64.
Campaigns 2002 write-in candidate for Senate, Massachusetts. 1980 launched the national Nuclear Weapons Freeze Campaign.
Government service 1995 appointed by President Clinton to Advisory Committee of US Arms Control and Disarmament Agency. 1989 briefed President Bush and his Cabinet officials on US-Soviet arms control issues. Served on panels for the US Congressional Research Service, the US General Accounting Office, and the US Office of Technology Assessment; Testified before US Congress Testified before Swedish Parliament three visits to Seoul, South Korea, in 2001 to participate in panels on North-South Korean reconciliation and arms reductions—two at the invitation of the South Korean military, and one at the invitation of South Korean peace activists. Served on Advisory Panel for the U.S. Office of Technology Assessment
Talks at West Point, the US Air Force Academy, the National Defense University, and the German War College; and met with senior government officials of Russia, China, Germany, Norway, and other countries. She was on the board or advisory board of the Boston Review, Arms Control Association, Journal of Peace Research, University of California Institute for Global Cooperation and Conflict, and Women's Action for New Directions from ____ until her death in 2007.
Awards 1989 Pomerance Award 1983 MacArthur Foundation Fellowship
Education B.A. Columbia University Ph.D. Political Science: Defense Policy; Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
Publications
Journals IDDS Database of World Arms Holdings, Production, and Trade. (annual) Arms Control Reporter, Institute for Defense and Disarmament Studies (monthly since 1982)
Articles "Citizens and Arms Control", Boston Review, October/November 2002 Randall Forsberg and Jonathan Cohen make it clear that the U.S. has no nation-state enemies left who could mount a sustained threat to our national security; see "Issues and Choices in Arms Production and Trade," in Randall Forsberg, editor, THE ARMS PRODUCTION DILEMMA (Cambridge, Massachusetts: MIT Press, 1994), pgs. 269–290. the Call to Halt the Nuclear Arms Race, the manifesto of the Nuclear Weapons Freeze Campaign, and she helped found and lead the campaign. 1980 "Randall Forsberg discusses her work and the current international situation", Peace Magazine, Aug-Sep 1989.
As well as articles in Scientific American, International Security, Technology Review, Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, and World Policy Journal.
Books Abolishing War: Culture and Institutions (with Elise Boulding, brc21.org: 1998). Nonproliferation Primer (with William Driscoll, Gregory Webb and Jonathan Dean) MIT Press April 1995 168 pp., 15 illus. The Arms Production Dilemma: Contraction and Restraint in the World Combat Aircraft Industry (MIT Press November 1994)320 pp. Cutting Conventional Forces (1DDS: 1989) Peace Resource Book (Lexiston Books: 1985) The Price of Defense (NYTimes: 1979) Resources Devoted to Military Research and Development: An International Comparison (SIPRI: 1972) Towards a Theory of Peace: The Role of Moral Beliefs (with Matthew Evangelista and Neta Crawford) Cornell Global Perspectives: 2019 Arms Control in the New Era: Linked Restraints on Arms Deployment, Production, and Trade (MIT Press: 1995)
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Important facts
People in Randall Forsberg's life
Named in this biography and alive at the same time
Contemporaries
People whose lives overlapped Randall Forsberg's
Frequently asked questions
Who was Randall Forsberg?
American peace activist and political scientist (1943–2007)
When was Randall Forsberg born?
Randall Forsberg was born on 23 July 1943.
When did Randall Forsberg die?
Randall Forsberg died on 19 October 2007 in New York City.
What was Randall Forsberg's occupation?
Randall Forsberg was a political scientist and peace activist.
What nationality was Randall Forsberg?
Randall Forsberg was American.
Sources & further reading
Cite this page
APA: Biography.guide. (2026). Randall Forsberg. https://biography.guide/randall-forsberg/
MLA: "Randall Forsberg." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/randall-forsberg/.
Chicago: "Randall Forsberg." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/randall-forsberg/.
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