Articles

There are a great many articles about aspects of nonviolent action. I have carefully selected just a few of these because they explain and/or illustrate important points about nonviolent strategy. If you click on any of the links below, you will be able to read (and download) that particular article.

1. ‘The Modified Consent Theory of Power’. This article simply explains and illustrates the consent theory of power and explains why it is inadequate in the imperial world of today. It also explains and illustrates the modified consent theory of power and identifies its importance to effective nonviolent strategy.

2. ‘Three Types of Power’. This diagram presents three types of power – ‘Power Over’, ‘Power With’ and ‘Power from Within’ – useful for understanding both how power manifests and can be used in nonviolent struggles.

3. ‘Nonviolent Action: Why and How it Works’. This article briefly explains why and how nonviolent action works.

4. ‘The Political Objective and Strategic Goal of Nonviolent Actions’. This article explains the vital distinction, which is virtually never understood, between the political objective and the strategic goal of any nonviolent action.

5. ‘Nonviolent Activism and the Police’ explains, from a Gandhian perspective, the appropriate nature of the relationship between activists and the military/police forces of the opponent elite.

6. ‘How to do Police Liaison’ explains how to do police liaison, which applies equally to liaison with military forces.

7. ‘Police Deals and Threats: How Should Nonviolent Activists Respond?’ explains how to respond to police/military deals and threats.

8. ‘Should I Be Arrested?’ will give nonviolent activists plenty to think about in response to this perennial question.

9. ‘Strategic Noncooperation Following Arrest’ explains options for noncooperation beyond arrest and assesses the value in each context.

10. ‘What is the difference between Privacy and Secrecy in a Nonviolent Campaign?’ explains the distinction and why it is important to be aware of it.

11. ‘Why Activists Fail’ explains the usual reasons why activist efforts fail to achieve their purpose and what must be done to avoid failure.

12. ‘Nonviolent Action: Minimizing the Risk of Violent Repression’ explains how to plan and implement your nonviolent action if you anticipate severe military and/or police repression but intend to proceed with your particular nonviolent action anyway.

13. ‘198 Tactics of Nonviolent Action’ is a document extracted from Gene Sharp’s The Politics of Nonviolent Action, Part Two: The Methods of Nonviolent Action. It is a comprehensive list of possible tactics that might be used in a nonviolent defense or liberation struggle. I have added photos from many different (historic and current) nonviolent struggles around the world.

Source of this document: https://nonviolentliberationstrategy.wordpress.com/articles/