Conversations with History: Institute of International Studies, UC Berkeley

See the Conversations with History Blog See a webcast of this interview: Cranston

This interview is part of the Institute's "Conversations with History" series, and uses Internet technology to share with the public Berkeley's distinction as a global forum for ideas.

Welcome to a Conversation with History. I'm Harry Kreisler of the Institute of International Studies. Our guest is Alan Cranston, who served as the United States Senator from California for four terms and is now president and founder of the Global Security Institute and director of its nuclear weapons elimination initiative. In his distinguished career, Mr. Cranston was also a journalist, president of the World Federalists, comptroller of California, and a leading figure in reforming the California Democratic party. In 1946 he wrote Killing the Peace, an account of the Senate's failure to join the League of Nations. The New York Times named his book one of the ten best of that year.

1. Background ... influence of parents ... books read ... covering world events
2. Bringing New Ideas to the Public ... sounding the alarm about Hitler ... Hitler's lawsuit ... explaining the American system and war effort to immigrants and soldiers ... Grenville Clark and the new United Nations
3. Reforming the Political Process ... having and implementing a vision ... counting the votes ... legislating
4. The Problem of Nuclear Weapons ... movement toward abolition ... as a security issue ... as a moral issue ... failure to pass Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty ... threat of a nuclear incident
5. Sovereignty ... world problems requiring global solutions ... giving a piece of sovereignty to the UN ... humanitarian intervention ... abolition of nuclear weapons as an important first case
6. Lessons Learned ... bringing values to the political process ... democracy and globalization ... skills in politics ... getting involved ... disappointments and achievements ... the most satisfying arena

See the Alan Cranston page at this website for more information and links.

© Copyright 2000, Regents of the University of California

Photos by Jane Scherr. Site questions: Email iis_webmgr at berkeley.edu.