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The field of psychiatry and foreign affairs is complex, at times ambiguous, and always demands of its practitioners tolerance for uncertainty. Although it does not seek a pedestal for psychiatric dimensions, it does insist that emotional factors be considered alongside political, strategic, and other perspectives intrinsic in international relations. Psychiatric participation in many areas of foreign affairs is subtle, low-key, and frequently not reported.
The Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs have long offered a unique international forum for psychiatric participation in world affairs. The scholarly participants share a deep sense of responsibility to prevent mankind from tragically destroying itself. They represent a wide variety of disciplines and an amalgam of national, cultural, and individual identities. The tasks involved in making themselves and their scientific contributions understandable to one another also provide the participating psychiatrist with an experience which broadens his world perspective and clarifies his understanding of certain aspects of psychiatry itself.
On its 21st birthday in 1979, the Pugwash Movement issued a booklet1 in which it described its organization, functions, and purposes:
The Pugwash Movement is a clear demonstration of the fundamental change that has been taking place in the post-war era in the relations between scientists and society.
The traditional “ivory tower” attitude of scientists that resulted in a sense of indifference to the social and political impact of their work is being replaced by an increasing awareness of their moral duty to help to reduce and, when possible, to eliminate the actual and potential harmful effects of the scientific and technological explosions that have become the hallmark of our time.
Page 269An ever-growing number of scientists now realize that they have a share in the responsibility of governments to utilize knowledge for constructive purposes, so that beyond th