Nonviolence

Nonviolence (or non-violence) is a set of assumptions about morality, power and conflict that leads its proponents to reject the use of violence in efforts to attain social or political goals. While often used as a synonym for pacifism, since the mid 20th century the term nonviolence has come to embody a diversity of techniques for waging social conflict without the use of violence, as well as the underlying political and philosophical rationale for the use of these techniques.

The methods of nonviolent action

Hunger strikes, pickets, vigils, petitions, sit-ins, tax refusal, go slows, blockades, draft refusal and demonstrations are some of the specific techniques that have been deployed by nonviolent movements. Throughout history, these are among the nonviolent methods used by ordinary people to counter injustice or oppression or bring about progressive change.

Related Topics:
Hunger strikes - Pickets - Vigils - Petitions - Sit-ins - Tax refusal

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To be effective, tactics must be carefully chosen, taking into account political and cultural circumstances, and form part of a larger plan or strategy.

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Walter Wink points to Jesus Christ as an early nonviolence strategist. Many of his teachings on nonviolence are revealed to be quite sophisticated when the cultural circumstances are understood. For example, among the people he was speaking to, if by collecting debts a person drove someone indebted to him to be naked, great shame fell on the debt collector -- not the naked man. So Jesus' suggestion - that if someone asks you for your coat you give him your clothes as well - was a way to bring shame upon the debt-collector and symbollically reverse the power relation.

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This kind of creativity is typical of nonviolent movements. Aristophanes' Lysistrata gives the fictional example of women withholding sexual favours from their husbands until war was abandoned.

Related Topics:
Aristophanes - Lysistrata

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A useful source of inspiration, for those seeking the best nonviolent tactics to deploy, is Gene Sharp’s list of 198 methods of nonviolent action, which includes symbolic, political, economic and physical actions.

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Nonviolence has also been used as a method of intervention across borders to deter attack and promote peaceful resolution of conflicts. This has met with several failures (at least on the level of deterring attack) such as the Human Shields in Iraq, but also many successes, such as the work of Project Accompaniment in Guatemala. Currently there are several non-governmental organizations working in this area, including, for example: Peace Brigades International, and the Nonviolent Peaceforce. The primary tactics that they employ are unarmed accompaniment and human rights observation/reporting.

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There are also many other great nonviolence leaders and theorists who have thought deeply about the spiritual and practical aspects of nonviolence: Lech Wa??sa, Petra Kelly, Thich Nhat Hanh, Dorothy Day, Albert Einstein, John Howard Yoder, Stanley Hauerwas, Johan Galtung, Martin Luther King Jr., Mahatma Gandhi, and César Chávez to name just a few.

Related Topics:
Lech Wa??sa - Petra Kelly - Thich Nhat Hanh - Dorothy Day - Albert Einstein - John Howard Yoder - Stanley Hauerwas - Johan Galtung - Martin Luther King Jr. - Mahatma Gandhi - César Chávez

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