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WHAT IS THIS?

WHAT IS THIS?. Unrest? Opposition? Protest? Uprising? Revolution?. Structure Agency. States Non-State Actors Governments Citizens Rulers People Laws Consent Elites Civil Society Institutions Movements Conditions Skills Physical Political Unrest Resistance. CIVIL RESISTANCE.

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WHAT IS THIS?

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  1. WHAT IS THIS? Unrest? Opposition? Protest? Uprising? Revolution?

  2. StructureAgency StatesNon-State Actors GovernmentsCitizens RulersPeople LawsConsent Elites Civil Society InstitutionsMovements Conditions Skills PhysicalPolitical UnrestResistance

  3. CIVIL RESISTANCE “Power concedes nothing and it never will. Find out just what any people will quietly submit to, and you have found out the exact measure of injustice and wrong which will be imposed upon them, and these will continue until they are resisted…The limits of tyrants are prescribed by the endurance of those whom they oppress.” – Frederick Douglass

  4. Tactics of Resistance Protest/Persuasion • Petitions, symbols, vigils • Marches, walk-outs Non-cooperation • Boycotts, strikes, sit-ins • Civil disobedience Intervention - Blockades, seizures

  5. The Dynamic of Resistance When the people deprive an oppressor of their consent, it reduces his legitimacy. When enough people refuse to cooperate, they increase the cost of holding control. When the system’s legitimacy drops and its costs rise, its enforcers doubt its endurance.

  6. RECORD OF RESISTANCE The great nation-changing nonviolent movements: Indians (1920s-40s) East Germans (1989) Salvadorans (1944) Mongolians (1990) African-Americans (‘60s) Malians (1991) Poles (1970s-1980s) Russians (1991) South Africans (‘84-’92) Serbs (2000) Chileans (1985-1988) Georgians (2003) Filipinos (1986) Ukrainians (2004) Czechs/Slovaks (1989) Maldivians (2008)

  7. Demand for Militant Struggle From people who want… - End to dictatorship (Syria, Belarus) - Self-determination (W. Papua, W. Sahara) - End to violence (Mexico, Nigeria)

  8. Syria: Civil Resistance March 15, 2011: “Rare Political Protest Held in Syria” (Reuters) March 27, 2011: “Democracy Movement Spreads to Syria” (IPS) April 15, 2011: “Syria’s Silent Majority Will Determine Next Step as Protests Grow” (Guardian) April 28, 2011: “Hundreds Resign from Ba’ath Party” (Guardian) June 11, 2011: “Syrian Army Cracking Amid Crackdown” (Al Jazeera) July 28, 2011: “Syrians Planning for Stepped-Up Protests” (NY Times) August 21, 2011: “Amid Crackdown, Syria’s Protesters Get Creative” (Global Post)

  9. Syria: Civil Resistance September 25, 2011: “Defectors Form Dissident Army” (Washington Post) October 14, 2011: “Thousands of Syrians Join Anti-Government Protests” (Guardian) December 8, 2011: “Syrians’ Launch Civil Disobedience ” (AFP) December 13, 2011: “Activists Show Opposition to Assad’s Rule” Dec. 15, 2011: “Syrian Army Defectors Kill 27 Soldiers” (NYTimes)

  10. Syria: Armed Struggle Jan. 26, 2012: “Unarmed Resistance Still Syria’s Best Hope” (NCR) Feb. 23, 2012: “Deep Divisions Hobble Syria’s Opposition” (New York Times) Feb. 26, 2012: “Saving the Nonviolent Revolution in Syria” (Al Ahram) April 20, 2012: “Militarization of Conflict Boosting Radicals, Marginalizing Moderates” (Democracy Digest) May 4, 2012: “Syrians Questioning If Armed Revolt Works” (Guardian) May 14, 2012: “Assad’s Businessmen Have Defected” (Al Arabiya)

  11. Syria: Armed Struggle May 18, 2012: “Largest Protests Yet in Syrian City of Aleppo” (Guardian) May 24, 2012: “Syrian Diplomats Expelled from Countries” (Guardian) July 3, 2012: “Syrian Rebel Fighters Boycott Push for United Front” (AFP) July 14, 2012: “Syria Massacre: Assad’s Forces ‘Shot Anything Moving’” (Guardian) July 19, 2012: “Why Assad’s Regime Will Probably Survive the Damascus Bombing” (Political Violence @ a Glance)

  12. Violent v. Nonviolent Power New study of 323 violent and nonviolent campaigns, 1900 to 2006: -Violent campaigns succeeded in 26% of cases. -Nonviolent campaigns succeeded in 53% of cases. Stephen & Chenoweth, “Why Civil Resistance Works”, International Security, Summer 2008.

  13. Emergent properties of civil resistance REASON - respects the citizen’s mind - persuasion, not coercion - signals honesty & credibility

  14. Emergent properties of civil resistance SELF-RULE - Swaraj - Self-organization - Planning - Nonviolent discipline

  15. Emergent properties of civil resistance REPRESENTATION • Ascertaining/presenting grievances • Listening, delegating, inviting participation • Humility, not hierarchy • Solidarity of all, not heroism of a few

  16. Emergent properties of civil resistance RESILIENCE • Momentum • Existential stakes • Certitude of faith in eventual success Fannie Lou Hamer

  17. The Basis of Resistance: A Choice of Identity “Who are you?” The object of a ruling elite, submissive to threats of repression and violence? or A citizen, able to develop the means to obtain power to win your rights?

  18. Civil Resistance Delivers… • Rights • Self-rule • Justice • Democracy • Peace

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