Does Nonviolence Work on a Large Scale - 1818 Words

It has been debated though out history whether or not nonviolence â€Å"works†. Many societies, and this without question includes the United States, have mostly relied on violent tactics. Many people believe that violence is the only way to stop wars, even though it creates war, and people tend to believe that violence is the one solution to many global and political problems. However, recent literature and research is starting to prove otherwise. Erica Chenoweth, a political scientist, recently published a book, Why Civil Resistance Works in 2011. The research highlights data that shows throughout history, nonviolent tactics are more effective than violent ones in various ways. Chenoweth seeks to explain why â€Å"nonviolent resistance often†¦show more content†¦Not only would the U.S. government be extremely displeased and angry with this but the nonviolent movement would likely not be able to gain enough members to support them. This is all because the sponsor wo uld ruin the creditability of the movement. When the support or sponsor is seen as non-threating or have creditability that gives the nonviolent campaign more creditability and makes that movement more likely to succeed.5 Many would argue that violent campaigns are more successful because they provide immediate results. Examples of this would be things such as providing territorial gains, settling scores, gaining prestige. While these things many be gained immediately, they tend to be short lived, and the violent campaigns of which these things are gained tend to fail in the long run.6 When looking at the twenty five largest resistance campaigns between 1900-2006, of which twenty were nonviolent and five were violent, the nonviolent had more success. Most of the violent campaigns that failed were trying to gain something immediately and in the long run. One example of this would be when the Nazi occupation invaded Poland in 1944 and tried to completely take over the country.7 While they made some territorial gains in the beginning, the overallShow MoreRelatedTerrorism And Its Effects On The United States1433 Words   |  6 Pagesof overthrowing it. By looking into, how nonviolent action works towar ds delegitimizing the state, along with both the Orange Revolution and the Egyptian Revolutions where nonviolence achieved this. In addition, understanding how the state in these cases handles or reacts to these events is a major factor, just as well as how the people use certain tools of nonviolent action against the state. After looking into these areas of nonviolence, understanding the answer to when and how non-violent actionRead MoreNonviolence And Its Absolute Moral2219 Words   |  9 Pagescentury we see the influence and impact of nonviolence all over the world. While â€Å"nonviolence is as old as the hills,† as Gandhi said, it was during the 20th century in which the philosophy and practice of nonviolence grasped the human imagination and exploded in amazing and unexpected ways, as individuals, groups, and movements developed creative, life-affirming ways to overcome oppression, resolve conflict, establish justice, and build democracy. Nonviolence has grown as a po licy, based on the moralRead MoreThe Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC)1699 Words   |  7 Pagessuccessful, but the leaders had a reluctance to combine individual local groups and thus saw the SNCC as a temporary partnership. A lack of strong leadership stemmed from the lack of experience in the students, who had organized small-scale protests, but nothing nearly as large as the SNCC. In Mat of 1961 SNCC got deeply involved in the â€Å"Freedom ride† movement, a movement in response to the lack of enforcement of the results of the Irene Morgan v. Commonwealth of Virginia supreme court ruling that segregatingRead MoreThe Struggle For Civil Rights During The Twentieth Century2664 Words   |  11 Pagesdevelopment in major civil rights organizations such as the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLA), and Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC). Baker outlined her work strateg y in this statement: You don’t see me on television, you don’t see news stories about me. The kind of role that I tried to play was pick up pieces or put together pieces out of which I hoped organization might come. My theory is, strong peopleRead More The Velvet Revolution Essay example2252 Words   |  10 Pagesstarted to push for an end to the single party political system that had been forced on them for years. 1989 was the year of many revolutions and demonstrations in eastern and central Europe. In October of 1989 police in Prague had to break up a few large demonstrations that broke out on the 71st anniversary of the establishment of Czechoslovakia. On the 50th anniversary of the death of Jan Opletal, a Czech student killed by the Nazis during World War II, students took to the streets for peaceful demonstrationsRead MoreNonviolent Movements Achieve Social Change Essay1718 Words   |  7 Pagesnon-violent methods can ultimately go beyond local violent protest, spread nationally t hrough movements, and protest without requiring violence. These events because of the non-violent protests have forever changed the American society, creating better work, race, and foreign country relations. The success of the labor, African American, and the 1960’s anti-war peace protest prove that nonviolent approach is the most effective means of attaining social change. Violent strikes during the Labor ForceRead MoreSummary of Ghandi the Movie6362 Words   |  26 Pagesor in any way using violence as a weapon. The fact that he defeated the British Empire by winning Indian Independence is considered as testimony that Gandhi should be given the status of being remembered as a ‘great man’ in history. Gandhi began his work against the injustices of the British Empire when he was still a young man in South Africa. After returning to India, Gandhi had convinced himself that he must get in touch with the common people and convince them to follow him in nonviolent and non-cooperativeRead MoreMediation Between Mediation And Arbitration2360 Words   |  10 Pagesis the opposite because the people do not need to be in the same room. Mediation can be used in two different rooms, where the mediator acts as a messenger. Since arbitration is resolved by a third party it resolves solely on content and typically does not address the relational or face saving aspects. (Cite) In mediation since the parties decide they get to discuss their problems with each other this will result in a saved relationship and an apology. Mediation unlike other techniques, fixes problemsRead More`` Four Days `` September `` By Bruno Barreto1936 Words   |  8 PagesBrazilian society has gone through transitions that have generally moved in the direction of modernization and democracy. The 1998 film, Four Days in September, directed by Bruno Barreto, is formed around the conflicts of an overpowering government that does not enforce social justice laws. The major transition of Brazil’s government is from a dictatorship to a democracy. The film is based on Fernando Gabeira s memoir O Que É Isso Companheiro, the true story of his involvement in the kidnapping of AmericanRead MoreNonviolent Resistance And Nonviolent Action2197 Words   |  9 Pagessupporters and ultimately achieved their goals. Thus, it is logical enough to say that nonviolen t resistance is effective and has the ability to force a social change. In fact, nonviolent action is a far better method for social change than violent works. To begin with, Gene Sharp, an expert on Peace Studies and Nonviolent Resistance, defines nonviolent action as, â€Å"methods of protest, noncooperation, and intervention in which the actionists, without employing physical violence, refuse to do certain