Flashcards on Non-Violent Resistance and Political Change

Non-Violent Resistance and Political Change: A Student Guide

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What is nonviolent resistance and how does it differ from withdrawal or passivity?

Nonviolent resistance employs noninstitutional forms of action—acts of omission, commission, or both—avoiding physical violence. It emphasizes activit

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Nonviolent Resistance

13 cards

Card 1

Question: What is nonviolent resistance and how does it differ from withdrawal or passivity?

Answer: Nonviolent resistance employs noninstitutional forms of action—acts of omission, commission, or both—avoiding physical violence. It emphasizes activit

Card 2

Question: According to scholars, why is nonviolence often overlooked in studies of political struggle?

Answer: Because violence creates urgency, nonviolence is seen as harder to measure, and there's a trend equating nonviolence with passivity, weakness, or paci

Card 3

Question: What are the five categories of techniques in Gene Sharp's theory of nonviolent resistance?

Answer: 1) Non-violent protest and persuasion methods, 2) Social non-cooperation methods, 3) Economic non-cooperation methods, 4) Political non-cooperation me

Card 4

Question: How does Gene Sharp's pluralistic dependency theory of power explain the effectiveness of nonviolent resistance?

Answer: Sharp argues power is pluralistic and derived from the consent and cooperation of the people. Nonviolent resistance withdraws that consent, underminin

Card 5

Question: List the seven reasons Gene Sharp identified for why people obey authority.

Answer: Habit, fear of sanctions, moral obligations, self-interest, emotional identification with elites, indifference to authority, and lack of self-confiden

Card 6

Question: What practical methods does Sharp propose for withdrawing consent from authority?

Answer: Protest, social non-cooperation, economic non-cooperation, political non-cooperation, and nonviolent intervention.

Card 7

Question: How does Schock categorize methods of nonviolent action?

Answer: 1) Methods of concentration (e.g., demonstrations, sit-ins) and 2) Methods of dispersion.

Card 8

Question: What are the typical phases of a nonviolent campaign listed in the notes?

Answer: Preparation → Repression → Solidarity and discipline → Political jiu-jitsu → Achieving success → Redistribution of power.

Card 9

Question: What critique does Marx offer about nonviolent resistance according to the notes?

Answer: Marx criticized it as 'a resistance that is not resistance,' implying it may be insufficiently transformative.

Card 10

Question: What other critiques of nonviolent resistance are mentioned in the notes?

Answer: Critiques include issues of stratification (the people aren't a single mass), insufficient attention to gender/patriarchy, and historical overstatemen