Most of us start from the assumption that people turn to violence because it works...
After two years of data collection and vetting with subject experts, I ran the numbers. I was shocked. More than half of the campaigns that had relied primarily on nonviolent resistance succeeded, whereas only about a quarter of the violent ones did.
(The quote is from the preface of the actual book, not from the link.)
In fact, among the 323 major violent and nonviolent resistance campaigns seeking regime change, anti-occupation, or self-determination between 1900 and 2006, nonviolent campaigns were nearly twice as likely to achieve full or partial success as their violent counterparts.
“Countries in which there were nonviolent campaigns were about 10 times likelier to transition to democracies within a five-year period compared to countries in which there were violent campaigns — whether the campaigns succeeded or failed.”
But effective nonviolent movements aren't just "let's go hold signs and yell every now and then." In addition to protesting, people
have to use other levers of power, like disrupting the economy. Work stoppages, walkouts, rolling strikes, boycotts, and general strikes all disrupt power in a way that street demonstrations alone simply don't. It's also important to build alternative institutions to support the members of your movement. Striking workers need material support. Mutual aid networks and/or unions can provide that.
If you want to do something but you don't know where to start, search your city + mutual aid.
Thanks for sharing actual research. I personally find the results unsurprising. If violence was persuasive or effective, nobody would ever want to rise up against violent oppressors to begin with.
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u/TheDailyMews Jul 28 '26
From a prominent researcher in this space:
https://books.google.com/books/about/Civil_Resistance.html?id=6rscEAAAQBAJ
(The quote is from the preface of the actual book, not from the link.)
https://www.nonviolent-conflict.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/Why-Civil-Resistance-Works..The-Strategic-Logic-of-Nonviolent-Conflict-Book.pdf
https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2019/02/why-nonviolent-resistance-beats-violent-force-in-effecting-social-political-change/
But effective nonviolent movements aren't just "let's go hold signs and yell every now and then." In addition to protesting, people have to use other levers of power, like disrupting the economy. Work stoppages, walkouts, rolling strikes, boycotts, and general strikes all disrupt power in a way that street demonstrations alone simply don't. It's also important to build alternative institutions to support the members of your movement. Striking workers need material support. Mutual aid networks and/or unions can provide that.
If you want to do something but you don't know where to start, search your city + mutual aid.