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Send to friendA diversity of methods to discover
Tactics rely on methods of action. The more methods you know, the more vocabulary you will have to articulate the proper tactical moves and the most strategic campaigns. Find out about the three main classes of nonviolent action, and what they can do for you.
Also, do you know from whom Gandhi gained most of his knowledge of nonviolent strategy? Find out from the words of the late Barbara Deming, one of America's most prominent nonviolent activists.
A diversity of methods to discover
Civil resistance relies on a large range of nonviolent sanctions.
• • •
Civil resistance resorts to two broad types of action: the "do" type and the "don't".
Acts of commission are when people start doing things they aren't supposed to do, or are forbidden to do: land seizures by landless peasants, for example.
Acts of omission are when people refuse to do what is expected of them, or that they are required to do by law: refusal to pay rent, for instance.
Nearly 200 different methods of nonviolent struggle have so far been identified.* These can be broken down into three main classes of actions.
Methods of symbolic protest are the best known and most used, mainly to persuade allies, expose a problem or communicate a viewpoint: petitions, leafleting, marches, buttons, etc. These methods alone are rarely capable of bringing about change. Strategically, they are most useful at the preparation stage or as reinforcement, alongside more disruptive ways to apply power.
Methods of non-cooperation are the many social, economic or political ways that consent and obedience can be removed: strikes of all kinds, boycotts of products or people, massive withdrawals from financial institutions, etc. Because methods of non-cooperation allow large-scale participation with a reduced level of risk, they are some of the most coercive in the nonviolent arsenal.
Methods of intervention. The third class of methods involves direct initiative to disrupt the normal workings of institutions through occupations, sit-ins, blockades, nonviolent raids, etc.
Creating parallel governments and alternative structures for self-rule are also included in this potent category. Intervention methods can be used by individuals, small or large groups, and by masses of people. They include creative, high-profile and high-risk ways of "standing in the way" of, and even replacing, an unjust system. Intervention methods usually require careful preparation, in-depth training and skillful implementation.
Power reclaimed: noncooperation
Quotes by Barbara Deming (1917 - 1984)
"To resort to power one need not be violent, and to speak to conscience one need not be meek. The most effective action both resorts to power and engages conscience. Nonviolent action does not have to get others to be nice. It can in effect force them to consult their consciences. Nor does it have to petition those in power to do something about a situation. It can face the authorities with a new fact and say: Accept this new situation which we have created."
"Gandhi once declared that it was his wife who unwittingly taught him the effectiveness of nonviolence. Who better than women should know that battles can be won without resort to physical strength? Who better than we should know all the power that resides in noncooperation?"
Philippe Duhamel,
interTatica.org, a liberation blog
You can download this post as a well-designed PDF for printing and distribution. http://files.me.com/bapu/gha3wo
This has been part number 10 in our running series on nonviolent struggle. Show some love or share you thoughts. Become a member of NewTactics and leave a comment below.
Previous piece. Next piece (upcoming).
A diversity of methods to discover
Civil resistance relies on a large range of nonviolent sanctions
• • •
Civil resistance resorts to two broad types of action: the "do" type and the "don't".
Acts of commission are when people start doing things they aren't supposed to do, or are forbidden to do: land seizures by landless peasants, for example.
Acts of omission are when people refuse to do what is expected of them, or that they are required to do by law: refusal to pay rent, for instance.
Nearly 200 different methods of nonviolent struggle have so far been identified.* These can be broken down into three main classes of actions.
Methods of symbolic protest are the best known and most used, mainly to persuade allies, expose a problem or communicate a viewpoint: petitions, leafleting, marches, buttons, etc. These methods alone are rarely capable of bringing about change. Strategically, they are most useful at the preparation stage or as reinforcement, alongside more disruptive ways to apply power.
Methods of non-cooperation are the many social, economic or political ways that consent and obedience can be removed: strikes of all kinds, boycotts of products or people, massive withdrawals from financial institutions, etc. Because methods of non-cooperation allow large-scale participation with a reduced level of risk, they are some of the most coercive in the nonviolent arsenal.
Methods of intervention. The third class of methods involves direct initiative to disrupt the normal workings of institutions through occupations, sit-ins, blockades, nonviolent raids, etc.
Creating parallel governments and alternative structures for self-rule are also included in this potent category. Intervention methods can be used by individuals, small or large groups, and by masses of people. They include creative, high-profile and high-risk ways of "standing in the way" of, and even replacing, an unjust system. Intervention methods usually require careful preparation, in-depth training and skillful implementation.
* See a list of 198 methods of nonviolent action. Gene Sharp's three volumes of "The Politics of Nonviolent Action" (1973) remains essential for in-depth knowledge of the methods, and how they work.
Power reclaimed: noncooperation
Quotes by Barbara Deming (1917 - 1984)
"To resort to power one need not be violent, and to speak to conscience one need not be meek. The most effective action both resorts to power and engages conscience. Nonviolent action does not have to get others to be nice. It can in effect force them to consult their consciences. Nor does it have to petition those in power to do something about a situation. It can face the authorities with a new fact and say: Accept this new situation which we have created."
"Gandhi once declared that it was his wife who unwittingly taught him the effectiveness of nonviolence. Who better than women should know that battles can be won without resort to physical strength? Who better than we should know all the power that resides in noncooperation?"
--
Philippe Duhamel,
interTatica.org, a liberation blog
You can download this post as a print-ready PDF for distribution.
This has been part ten in our running series on nonviolent struggle. Show some love and share your thoughts. Become a member of NewTactics and leave a comment below.
Previous piece. Next piece (upcoming).
