Oxford:My piece of England

Civil Resistance

Yet, anyone following the furious developments on Tbilisi’s streets - the scale of protest, and the disintegration of ruling elites, would be hard put to deny there was a revolutionary situation. In that sense, the Rose Revolution was a classic example of structural disintegration from the center, a process Sir Lewis Namier described as the “corrosion of the moral and mental bases of government.”

Source: Civil resistance and power politics, http://cis.politics.ox.ac.uk



There is now a growing awareness that civil resistance can be a successful strategy. This awareness stems from the power of example, but it has also been promoted by the growing literature on civil resistance. Some of these movements were not committed to nonviolence, but where movements have espoused a nonviolent strategy, then journalistic or academic accounts have had to address this issue.
The writings specifically on nonviolent action are themselves varied. Some are by protagonists, justifying their cause and their methods of struggle. Many reflect the desire to publicise a neglected strategy, or to inspire emulation, by providing examples of impressive nonviolent campaigns.
Gandhi in India, from 1919 to 1948, put nonviolent methods on the political map. Choice of this approach reflected Gandhi's conviction that the end is determined by the means

The impact of meeting violent repression with nonviolent resistance explored the political potential of nonviolent resistance, considering the possibility of non-violence conquest.

Obligation and disobedience in a democracy entered the mainstream of political theory in the 1960s and 1970s - including that of John Rawls.

Eminent protesters elaborated on their moral and political reasons for breaking the law, and sometimes looked back to Socrates and Thoreau, while their opponents accused them of undermining the constitution and promoting civil disorder.

Sharp's aim was to show that civil resistance did not require a principled commitment to nonviolence or outstanding moral qualities. He argued for a strategy comparable to military strategy, with an emphasis on discipline and organisation, timing and choice of appropriate tactics. He also demonstrated that throughout history people had evolved an enormous variety of nonviolent tactics. He listed 198 methods, classified under categories of nonviolent protest and persuasion; social, economic and political non-cooperation; and psychological, physical, social, economic and political intervention.

Although there are a number of material, organisational and psychological elements in power, ultimately the power of rulers rests on the obedience of their subjects. Power is generated from below, and is therefore fragile. Since power depends on at least tacit consent, once this consent is actively withdrawn, a regime begins to crumble.

Whilst Sharp was developing a comprehensive theory of nonviolent action, Hannah Arendt discovered that the model of nonviolent resistance could illuminate her broader theoretical explorations of the threats to free politics, direct democracy, and the creative nature of political action.

Her most explicit discussion of nonviolent action, however was On Violence, in which she defined instrumental violence as the opposite of power, which is based on people acting in concert, and argued that the apparent power of a supreme leader depended on popular cooperation and consent

To undermine the system based on ideological lies individuals can refuse to 'live a lie' by individual noncooperation - for example by not voting in farcical elections.

The international context of civil resistance campaigns has always been important. International media and ' international public opinion' can potentially assist the struggle and offer some immunity to celebrated leaders. Regimes which seek to exclude the outside world make civil resistance even more difficult.

Source: Civil resistance and power politics, http://cis.politics.ox.ac.uk