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Nonviolence

The Force Of Peace In Algeria’s Protests

April 7, 2019 the Christian Science Monitor. , , ,
An iconic image of the 1960s shows a young American placing flowers in the barrels of soldiers’ rifles during protests against the Vietnam War. Such symbols of peace (“flower power”) helped turn events. Something like that is now happening in Algeria. Since February, millions of pro-democracy protesters in the North African country have been purposefully peaceful, even joyful, in the streets. Their main chant is silmiya, silmiya (peaceful, peaceful). With a message of nonviolence, they aim to persuade the military to stop dictating who rules Algeria by the mere force of arms.

Nonviolent Versus Violent Peace In Afghanistan And The World

March 22, 2019 Dr. Hakim, Dissidentvoice.org ,
“Salam (peace)!” is how Afghans greet one another, some of them simultaneously placing a hand over their hearts. But, while everyone including Afghans wants peace, the Afghan Peace Volunteers and I have observed that the human species appears to be stuck on violent peace. We think that this is because most of us are reared as armed doves, like the one drawn by Wifred Hildonen for Cartoon Stock below. There is a new Peacemaker in town! Using Wilfred’s cartoon analogy, the Afghan Peace Volunteers and I are differentiating violent peace from nonviolent peace based on whether a society includes or excludes the use of weapons and armies as a resort to secure peace.

A Nonviolent Strategy To Defeat The US Coup Attempt In Venezuela

February 2, 2019 By Robert J. Burrowes, Popular Resistance , , ,
To the People of Venezuela: Given your existing and ongoing resistance to the coup in defense of your elected government, I would like to offer another avenue of support for you to consider. My support, if you like, to plan and implement a comprehensive nonviolent strategy to defeat the coup. So what is required? I have explained in detail how to formulate and implement a strategy for defeating coup attempts such as this in the book The Strategy of Nonviolent Defense: A Gandhian Approach. The chances of success are vastly enhanced if your struggle, and that of your solidarity allies around the world, is focused for maximum strategic impact and designed to spread the cost of doing so. Remember, it is you who will decide the fate of Venezuela. Not the US elite and not even your President and government.

The Tools Of Nonviolent Struggle Should Never Lose Their Edge

January 9, 2019 Rivera Sun, Dandelionsalad.wordpress.com , ,
The tools of nonviolent action and the skills of struggle are as vital to these times as reading, writing, and arithmetic. Training to use them is as essential as learning how to use a computer. The ability to boycott and strike is as important as the ability to drive a car. Every citizen who knows how to use email should also know how to protest, walk-out, shut-down, occupy, blockade, and more. This is the only way the power of the people can hold the power of oligarchs in check. Before the oligarchs concluded that the study of civics was detrimental to the longevity of their rule, every elementary student learned about checks-and-balances.

Lessons On Building Democracy After Nonviolent Revolutions

November 15, 2018 Jonathan Pinckney, Wagingnonviolence.org , ,
In 2011, Egypt began a political transition following a nonviolent revolution. There was tremendous optimism both from within the country and abroad that the transition was likely to lead to a democratic outcome. In 2014, Burkina Faso also began a political transition after a nonviolent revolution overthrew longtime authoritarian President Blaise Compaoré. While many admired the revolution, its unfavorable conditions — low levels of economic development and a region that was less conducive to democracy — made the prospects for democratic advancement less optimistic. Yet, today, Egypt is once again under autocratic rule, following a 2013 coup by General Abdel-Fatah al-Sissi.

More Than 2,500 Actions Call To End War, Poverty, Racism & Environmental Destruction

September 26, 2018 By The Pace e Bene/Campaign Nonviolence Team, Popular Resistance ,
Thousands of people organized and participated in the 2668 Nonviolence Actions throughout the U.S. and 24 countries this past week as part of Campaign Nonviolence events. The nonviolence campaign which is calling for a new culture of peace and nonviolence to end war, poverty, racism and environmental destruction is growing year by year.

Where Power Holders Get Power And How Movements Take It Away

July 15, 2018 Margaret Flowers and Kevin Zeese, Popular Resistance , ,
This week, we present the second class in the Popular Resistance School course, "How Social Transformation Occurs." The second class takes a more in-depth look at the power holders - what they need to exist and how social movements can weaken their power. We also discuss the characteristics of successful social movements, Grand Strategy, when to negotiate (or not) and violence versus nonviolence. Power holders do not operate in a vacuum, they rely on various factors and pillars to maintain their power.

New Data Offers Insights Into The Dynamics Of Nonviolent Resistance

May 19, 2018 Jonathan Pinckney and Erica Chenoweth, Wagingnonviolence.org ,
In a recent article for The Guardian, L.A. Kaufman argues that we are living in a “golden age” of protest. But, she cautions, protests are often not enough for movements to realize their desired outcomes. Applying more disruptive methods, like sit-ins or blockades, is a necessary next step for organizers who wish to effect transformative change. Indeed, tactical innovation and the adoption of a broad range of nonviolent methods is a hallmark of successful resistance campaigns in the past. That said, little systematic research exists to help organizers understand when and how to use different methods of resistance. How can shifting between acts of omission and commission, concentration and dispersion, or protest, noncooperation and intervention advantage or disadvantage nonviolent movements?

Can Antifa Build an Effective Broad-Based Anti-Fascist Movement?

April 29, 2018 By Sue Curry Jansen and Brian Martin, Waging Nonviolence , ,
The book is an informed and revealing, yet one-sided, account of efforts against fascism. What it omits is a sustained discussion of strategy to counter fascism by any means except using force to deter or fight the presence of the far right in public spaces. This one-dimensional approach limits the potential for participation of many sympathetic people. Furthermore, it can even alienate potential supporters who might be won over and involved using less confrontational tactics. Using violence sends a message that the way to oppose those with whom you disagree is to silence their speech. This can legitimate use of the same methods by opponents. Ultimately, suppressing free speech and using violence are not good ways to build the sort of free society Bray desires, because they fail to foster the attitudes and skills necessary for such a society to develop and flourish.

Shifting Systems With Nonviolent Strategy

April 6, 2018 By Rivera Sun, Transcend.org ,
The secret to successful nonviolent struggle lies in understanding strategy and systems. All systems require participation and resources to survive. Deny those things, and the system will wither away … or concede to meet your demands. Strategy can be that simple. Cut off the water and the plants will die. Block all other exits and the rabbit will come out the hole in front of you. Surround the castle and cut off the food supply and the people will surrender – or starve. Give Archimedes a lever long enough (and a pivot upon which to place it) and he can move the world.  If workers can sustain a strike and keep out scabs then the business owner must raise wages – or lose productivity. If all investors divest from fossil fuels then the industry has no capital with which to continue operating. If everyone boycotts palm oil then there’s no profit in clear-cutting the rainforest.

Why Training Women In Nonviolent Resistance Is Critical To Movement Success

March 3, 2018 Marie Berry and Erica Chenoweth, Wagingnonviolence.org , ,
In the year since Trump’s inauguration, we have seen an outpouring of popular mobilization in resistance to his administration’s policies. Crowd estimates suggest that 5.2-9 million people took to the streets in the United States to protest Trump’s policies or points of view over the past year. Many more have mobilized worldwide in reaction to the rise of right-wing populist movements across the globe, using people power to contest entrenched authority and confront oppressive regimes and systems. Women have been at the forefront of these efforts. The 2017 Women’s March on Washington — whose Sister Marches spanned all 50 states and dozens of other countries — was likely the biggest single-day demonstration in recorded U.S. history. The momentum continued in 2018, with between 1,856,683 and 2,637,214 people marching in Women’s Marches this year.

Gene Sharp, Godfather Of Nonviolent Revolution Dies At 90 Years Old

January 31, 2018 Ruaridh Arrow, Howtostartarevolution.org   , ,
The Albert Einstein Institution has announced that Dr Gene Sharp passed away peacefully on the 28th January at his home in East Boston. He had recently celebrated his 90th Birthday. For almost seven decades Gene dedicated his life to researching and writing on nonviolent means of struggle that might replace violence and war, his central thesis, that political power is held, not by rulers themselves, but by the willing consent of the people and institutions that support them. By studying techniques to undermine these institutions and pull them over to the democratic side, the ruler could be left powerless. Born on the 21st January 1928 to the Reverend Paul Sharp, a traveling minister and Eva Sharp a school teacher, Gene studied first at Ohio State University where he received his undergraduate and masters degrees in political studies...

Movement Strategy For Our Times

January 2, 2018 Margaret Flowers and Kevin Zeese, ClearingTheFOGRadio.org , ,
In 2017, more people became activated for social justice. At the same time, white supremacist groups became more visible, marching with torches and chanting words of hatred. There were conflicts between people who disagreed over what tactics would be most effective in stopping the rise of white supremacy and fascism and achieving greater equality and justice. We speak with Rivera Sun about her novels, which use fiction to teach lessons of movement strategy, and about organizing for social change in our times. Her newest book is "The Roots of Resistance: Book Two of the Dandelion Trilogy."

Net Neutrality: Gandhi’s Salt For US

December 16, 2017 Rivera Sun, www.popularresistance.org , ,
Net Neutrality is the keystone issue in the movement of movements. It is poised to become as pivotal to our interconnected struggles as the Salt March was for Gandhi and the Indian Self-Rule Movement. Gandhi's Salt Campaign offers us a model of how to get out of this mess - not just from the odious injustice of the end of Net Neutrality, but also from the tyranny of corporate rule.  In 1930, salt was a keystone, yet stealth issue. When the Indian National Congress tasked Mohandas K. Gandhi with planning a new campaign against the British Empire's colonial rule, no one expected the Salt Satyagraha would unravel the empire that the sun never set upon.

Day 6 Of Countdown To Launch: Rivera Sun

December 5, 2017 Staff, www.popularresistance.org ,
By Popular Resistance. Rivera Sun is an author, activist and movement strategist living in New Mexico. She writes fiction that teaches nonviolent strategy through compelling stories for people of all ages. Her current project is The Roots of Resistance, a sequel to The Dandelion Insurrection, which comes with a nonviolent action study guide. Popular Resistance has published many of Rivera's "Man From the North" articles, written in the voice of one of the characters from the series. She explains her support for Popular Resistance, "Popular Resistance is the place to go if you want to find out what the problems are, what the solutions are and how you can be a part of that solution."
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