Waging Nonviolent Struggle: 20th Century Practice And 21st Century Potential [Paperback]

Gene Sharp (Author), Joshua Paulson (Author), Christopher A. Miller (Contributor), Hardy Merriman (Contributor)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0875581625 | ISBN-13: 978-0875581620 | Publication Date: March 30, 2005

This groundbreaking new work builds on 50 years of Gene Sharp’s definitive academic research and practical experience aiding nonviolent struggles around the world.

Recently, advocates have applied these methods and strategies with great success in Serbia and Ukraine. In his most recent work, Dr. Sharp shows how to strategically plan nonviolent struggle and make it more effective.

In Waging Nonviolent Struggle, Dr. Sharp documents 23 significant—and often successful—20th century nonviolent struggles in a range of cultural and political contexts, and reaffirms nonviolent action as a realistic and powerful alternative to both passivity and violence.

Building on the power analysis of his seminal Politics of Nonviolent Action, Dr. Sharp coherently integrates his theories into praxis, with a vitality tested on the frontlines, often under extreme violence.

Any serious student—or practitioner—of nonviolent struggle will find this book an invaluable resource. Skeptics will be compelled to seriously consider nonviolent action’s viability.

Today’s world is in desperate need of realistic alternatives to violent conflict. Waging Nonviolent Struggle demonstrates that these alternatives exist.

--This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"A must-read for policymakers and practitioners who are finally asking 'How did it happen?'[in Ukraine and Georgia]" -- Jennifer Windsor, Executive Director, Freedom House

"Sharp is one of the most imaginative strategic thinkers of our time . . . a capstone to his mountainous works" -- Major General Edward B. Atkeson, U.S. Army (Ret.), PhD Senior Fellow, Institute of Land Warfare, Association of the U.S. Army

"This book is a masterpiece . . . very useful not only to those who study nonviolent struggle but also to . . . nonviolent activists." -- Srdja Popovic, Co-founder Serbian democracy movement Otpor

"Waging Nonviolent Struggle is a powerful encyclopedia of major campaigns that adhere to the philosophy and discipline of nonviolence." -- U.S. Congressman John Lewis

"[Sharp] has distilled . . . case histories, practical advice, and reflection to produce a work of the greatest value." -- Jonathan Schell, Peace & Disarmament Correspondent, The Nation --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From the Inside Flap

Today's world is in desperate need of realistic alternatives to violent conflict. Nonviolent action—properly planned and executed—is a powerful and effective force for political and social change. Recently, advocates have applied nonviolent methods and strategies with great success in Serbia and Ukraine. Waging Nonviolent Struggle builds on 50 years of Dr. Sharp’s definitive academic research and practical experience aiding nonviolent struggles around the world. It breaks new ground about how to strategically plan nonviolent action and make it more effective. Dr. Sharp and his team of scholars document lessons learned firsthand, from Tiananmen Square to the Latvian Supreme Council, and from witnesses to the freedom riders in Alabama and the anti-Nazi resistance in Norway. Building on the power analysis of his seminal Politics of Nonviolent Action, Dr. Sharp coherently integrates his theories into praxis, with a vitality tested on the frontlines, often under extreme violence. Any serious student—or practitioner—of nonviolent struggle will find this book an invaluable resource. Skeptics will be compelled to seriously consider nonviolent action as a tried, tested and proven alternative to both passivity and violence. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 598 pages
• Publisher: Porter Sargent Pub (March 30, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0875581625
• ISBN-13: 978-0875581620
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.5 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #28,833 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #17 in Books > Politics & Social Sciences > Current Events > War & Peace
  • #37 in Books > History > Military > Strategy

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

38 of 39 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Indispensable Guide to Nonviolent Struggle - A Must-Read for the 21st Century, August 20, 2005

By 

Lester R. Kurtz (Austin, Texas) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Waging Nonviolent Struggle: 20th Century Practice And 21st Century Potential (Paperback)

Gene Sharp has done more to advance our understanding and practice of strategic nonviolence than anyone except perhaps Mahatma Gandhi himself. Waging Nonviolent Struggle is a compendium of his wisdom developed over half a century of serious study, writing, and consulting. If I were to recommend one volume on nonviolent struggle to newcomers and experts alike, it would be this one. Its argument is nuanced with deep social and political theory and also includes a practical guide to strategic planning for activists.

During the past five decades, Sharp has analyzed and systematized historic examples of types of nonviolent direct action; he has observed, advised, and learned from contemporary movements, and charted directions for the future. Waging Nonviolent Struggle is the culmination of that work. It begins with an instructive autobiographical preface that reviews the evolution of his thought, proceeds to a concise introduction to the underlying theory of power and nonviolent action and then provides 23 short case studies that illustrate its efficacy. The finale of the book is a practical guide to strategic planners that draws on Sharp's research and experience, charting the future of nonviolent direct action as a reflexive and deliberate strategy rather than improvised response to concrete historical situations.

This will be the foundational text for introductory courses at the nonviolent equivalent of the war academies; it will teach scholars and guide activists. It contains the information one needs to have to understand the tectonic shifts in geopolitics of recent decades, in which nonviolent people power rather the military brute force has been primarily responsible for reshaping the globe. Yes, freedom is on the march, but not for the reasons trumpeted in the halls of political privilege.

28 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A continuation of and an expansion upon Gandhian and other nonviolent tactics. Urgently needed for many nations/cultures. . ., August 12, 2005

By 

Nicholas Soucy (Lansing, Mi United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Waging Nonviolent Struggle: 20th Century Practice And 21st Century Potential (Paperback)

As I become more familiar with Gene Sharp and his work, I am increasingly convinced that he is a tremendously important scholar.

The title aptly describes the raw basis for this study: the application of organized, efficient strategy to active nonviolent struggle instead of to destructive violent pursuits.

Don't be apprehensive about approaching this book, despite that it may appear to be daunting or complex subject matter. Surely, it is large (at over 500 pages), but Sharp uses efficient, clear language that all students and readers can understand. His authority on the matter is encyclopedic and makes this long text rather joyful.

Visit the Albert Einstein Institute website ([...]) to read about the author, as well as to download a few shorter PDF books about nonviolence and politics.

These downloads are free and present a practical way to preview Sharp's intellect before you purchase Waging Nonviolent Struggle.

And, especially if you're a natural leader, I hope you that you do buy this book (or rent it from a library). We need more leaders equipped with the courage to be humane and nonviolent. We've had our fill of leaders who are warriors, soldiers, warmongers and tyrants. Those kinds of leaders resort to the fist or the gun or the missile instead of using our spectacular brainpower to compromise.

The intelligence is present in the human genepool. We just need to practice using our intellects to safeguard human rights, rather than to abuse them.

Reading Gene Sharp's books is an important step in the direction of a better world, for people and animals alike.

Thanks for reading.

26 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Debunks common myths concerning this practice, May 9, 2005

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Waging Nonviolent Struggle: 20th Century Practice And 21st Century Potential (Hardcover)

Senior scholar at the Albert Einstein Institution of Boston, Massachusetts Gene Sharp and his team of like-minded researchers apply 50 years of history, academics, and practical experience to present Waging Nonviolent Struggle: 20th Century Practice and 21st Century Potential, a meticulous accounting of how nonviolent methodologies can combat dictatorships, war, genocide, and oppression. Waging Nonviolent Struggle is particularly valuable in its use of logic and close analysis of specific historical cases of nonviolent struggle to debunk common myths concerning the practice. Such myths include the contention that nonviolence is ineffective against dictatorships and genocide, or that nonviolent methodologies rely upon an appeal to the moral character of the opponent (in fact, nonviolent coercive techniques such as economic boycott and social noncompliance have an impact regardless of the humanitarian stature of the regime in question). The high value of properly applied and disciplined nonviolent resistance is demonstrated, in particular because nonviolent methodologies have the potential to bring successful results at a lower overall mortality rate than violent methodologies, and uninvolved third parties (a.k.a. "innocent civilians") are less likely to suffer collateral damage. Scrutinized case studies, overviewed and documented by a variety of different researchers, range from a successful protest of German women in Berlin to save their Jewish husbands (who had intermarried) from deportation and execution during World War II; the 1989 student uprising in China that ended in a tragic massacre; the successful defense of democracy in Thailand after a long succession of military coups; the successful removal of genocidal dictator Slobodan Milosevic from power in Serbia; and much more. In addition, Waging Nonviolent Struggle offers a "handbook" concerning how to coordinate nonviolent resistance with an eye on practical results and success. Written especially to answer the demanding need for realistic alternatives to violent conflict, Waging Nonviolent Struggle succeeds admirably in its mission and carries the absolute highest recommendation.