Nonviolence Works
No single event nor charismatic leader changes history. History changes when large groups organize around common goals. Events and leaders can help galvanize forces. But people power has a great track record. And, movements that rely on principles of nonviolence seem to succeed more often and create more lasting change than those engaged in armed struggle. In the U.S., the Civil Rights, Free Speech and Anti-War Movements of the 1960s, the Women’s Movement, and the Gay Rights Movement all shifted the political and cultural landscape. More recently Occupy had an impact. Internationally there was the overthrow of Marcos in the Philippines, Tiananmen Square. Some might say the Indonesian election in 2014 represents another nonviolent regime change – a victory of the ballot over the bullet. And who can forget what happened in South Africa?
Speaker
Erica Chenoweth
Erica Chenoweth teaches Human Rights and International Affairs at Harvard Kennedy School where she directs the Nonviolent Action Lab at the Carr Center for Human Rights Policy. She is the author of Civil Resistance: What Everyone Needs to Know.
Fievez Daniel –
Thank you Erica for the best lecture in a long time!!!!! As a long time non violent protester I can a test to most of what you say. As a history major it is very apparent that violent groups work only for the short term – from Nazi occupation to ISIS now angering the population. Just look at the short term claim to fame of a suicide bomber.
Thank you for your insight. I will use it in my battle to stop the banks from foreclosing and destroying our lives and democracy.
Daniel Fievez