Domination and Resistance: The United States and the Marshall Islands during the Cold War

Martha Smith-Norris

Abstract

This book is about domination and resistance in the Pacific during the Cold War. In the race against the Soviet Union for nuclear supremacy, the United States tested a vast array of nuclear bombs and missiles in the Marshall Islands while at the same time conducting research on the effects of human exposure to radioactive fallout. Although these military and human experiments reinforced the American strategy of deterrence, they also led to the displacement of several atoll communities, serious health conditions in the Marshallese, and widespread ecological degradation. Confronted with these tr ... More

This book is about domination and resistance in the Pacific during the Cold War. In the race against the Soviet Union for nuclear supremacy, the United States tested a vast array of nuclear bombs and missiles in the Marshall Islands while at the same time conducting research on the effects of human exposure to radioactive fallout. Although these military and human experiments reinforced the American strategy of deterrence, they also led to the displacement of several atoll communities, serious health conditions in the Marshallese, and widespread ecological degradation. Confronted with these troubling consequences, the Marshall Islanders utilized a variety of political and legal tactics, including lawsuits, demonstrations, and negotiations, to draw attention to their plight in Washington and the United Nations. In response to these acts of resistance, the US strengthened its strategic interests in the Marshalls under the Compact of Free Association, but granted the islanders greater political autonomy, financial assistance, and a mechanism to settle nuclear claims. In the post-Cold War period, however, Washington failed to provide adequate compensation to the people of the Marshall Islands for the extensive health and environmental damages caused by the American testing programs.

End Matter

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