UNPACKING NON-VIOLENT RESISTANCE
In 2011, social scientists Erica Chenoweth and Maria Stephan garnered global attention for publishing one of the few statistical analyses demonstrating the effectiveness of nonviolence. Their research provided evidence that nonviolent resistance campaigns were twice as likely to achieve their objectives and ten times more likely to lead to a democratic transition compared to violent campaigns1. Peter Gelderloos, an American anarchist activist and writer, noted in a 2020 essay the appeal of this research among certain social movements, describing it as presenting a “very comfortable view of social change.” Gelderloos observed that movements like Extinction Rebellion adopted the study to advocate for pacifism in environmental activism, contrasting with the more confrontational approaches seen at Standing Rock and Le ZAD. Chenoweth and Stephan’s findings resurfaced during the 2020 George Floyd uprising, spreading widely among liberals and media in Canada, the US, and beyond, who used the research to condemn protests and riots, emphasizing the effectiveness and moral high ground of nonviolent methods.
In Waterloo Region, Ontario, where we are graduate students at Wilfrid Laurier University, a similar institutional preference for nonviolence is observed. Community Justice Initiatives (CJI) in Kitchener, a non-profit organization, spearheaded the first restorative justice program formally acknowledged by a court of law, setting a legal precedent that now enables the international promotion of their restorative justice program as a method for crime control.2
This embrace of nonviolent resistance prompts a deeper examination into which modes are deemed legitimate and acceptable. The tendency of states and institutions to denounce violent resistance while often overlooking the suppression of nonviolent forms of resistance reveals a number of key criticisms and contradictions.
Since its publication, Chenoweth and Stephan’s work on nonviolence has been roundly debunked.3 Numerous studies have highlighted a commonly overlooked aspect of resistance throughout history: violence has always played a role in global resistance efforts.4 5 6 Indeed, even campaigns traditionally viewed as “nonviolent” often contained elements of violence or violent offshoots.7 This historical ignorance is starkly apparent in Chenoweth and Stephan’s biased research, which labelled resistances as “nonviolent” without acknowledging the elements of violence involved, cherry-picked “major” nonviolent campaigns that weeded out many of the ineffective nonviolent campaigns, and only analyzed violent conflicts that had over 1,000 combatant deaths (i.e., wars, not social movements).8
The literature on the effectiveness of nonviolent resistance fails to address the lack of a direct link between nonviolence and movement success for historically excluded and marginalized groups.9 However, there are notable examples demonstrating the efficacy of violence in gaining support for and achieving policy goals in resistance led by minority groups.10 11 Although nonviolent protests bring awareness to an issue, violent protests create the sense of urgency and conditions needed for change.12 This dynamic was evident in the Rodney King Riots of the 1990s. Before the riots, South Central L.A. representative Maxine Waters concentrated on international initiatives and women’s rights — it was the riots that prompted Waters to shift her focus towards addressing the protesters’ concerns through legislative action in the House, resulting in the passage of bills aimed at improving neighbourhood infrastructure and creating jobs in inner cities.
We can turn to Frantz Fanon and his insights for a critical perspective on violence as a mechanism of resistance against colonial settler projects. Fanon’s theories are founded on the belief that the colonizer’s violence shattered the Indigenous social structure and economy.13 The counter-violence of the colonized, Fanon contends, is a requirement for decolonization, and it serves Indigenous peoples in both a political and clinical sense.14
This screen grab from a video shared by the Toronto chapter of the Palestinian Youth Movement of the arrest at a Sunday protest in downtown Toronto was shared on social media Tuesday. (Pymtoronto/Instagram) – CBC
There is a long history of Palestinians and their allies who have used every non-violent form of protest imaginable in their resistance to the brutal occupation.15 Similar to the struggles of Indigenous and Black communities across Turtle Island, we can see the state condone the violent resistance for some, while xenophobic tropes and stereotypes are used to condemn violent acts of resistance on the other side. State endorsement of violence extends to ordinary citizens, evident in X (formerly Twitter), where supporters of the state of Israel openly call for the death of Palestinians, whereas pro-Palestinian speech is branded as hate speech and anti-Semitism merely for demanding justice and a ceasefire.
Other forms of nonviolent resistance have played a crucial role in social justice movements. The Boycott, Divest, Sanctions (BDS) movement, often mischaracterized by privileged communities as costly and futile, has proven to be an accessible and effective resistance strategy. BDS participation discourages international investment, partnership and development, which lead to a 46% drop in direct foreign investment in the state of Israel in 2014, along with decades of other notable successes.16
When we consider the complexity of social issues and injustices, a multi-faceted approach which includes violent and nonviolent strategies must be considered to effectively challenge and change social structures. By clearly showing how these different forms of resistance strategies are in fact working towards the same goal, narratives presented by dominant power structures to subdue or repress resistance can be easily discredited. Understanding the purpose of diverse resistance tactics in addressing various forms of oppression and injustice allows for strategic adaptivity and resilience in social movements, which is what’s actually crucial to their success.17 18
By Fitsum Areguy, Jenna Sykes & Shazia Mohamed
1Ranalli, R. (2019). Paths of Resistance: Erica Chenoweth’s Research. Harvard Kennedy School. Retrieved from https://www.hks.harvard.edu/faculty-research/policy-topics/advocacy-social-movements/paths-resistance-erica-chenoweths-research
2 Centre for Justice & Reconciliation. (2016). CJI History. cjiwr.com. Retrieved from https://cjiwr.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/CJI-History.pdf
3 Sinjun, P. (2020). Erica Chenoweth and the Shoddiness of Nonviolence Research. For Student Power. Retrieved from https://medium.com/@forstudentpower/erica-chenoweth-and-the-shoddiness-of-nonviolence-research-9944340b4365
4Ranalli, R. (2019). Paths of Resistance: Erica Chenoweth’s Research. Harvard Kennedy School. Retrieved from https://www.hks.harvard.edu/faculty-research/policy-topics/advocacy-social-movements/paths-resistance-erica-chenoweths-research
5Basset, L. (2020). Why Violent Protests Work. GQ. Retrieved from https://www.gq.com/story/why-violent-protests-work
6Shuman, E., Hasan-Aslih, S., van Zomeren, M., Saguy, T. & Halperin, E. Protest movements involving limited violence can sometimes be effective: Evidence from the 2020 BlackLivesMatter protests. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2022 Apr 5;119(14):e2118990119. doi: 10.1073/pnas.2118990119. Epub 2022 Mar 28. PMID: 35344420; PMCID: PMC9168928.
7Sinjun, P. (2020). Erica Chenoweth and the Shoddiness of Nonviolence Research. For Student Power. Retrieved from https://medium.com/@forstudentpower/erica-chenoweth-and-the-shoddiness-of-nonviolence-research-9944340b4365
8Sinjun, P. (2020). Erica Chenoweth and the Shoddiness of Nonviolence Research. For Student Power. Retrieved from https://medium.com/@forstudentpower/erica-chenoweth-and-the-shoddiness-of-nonviolence-research-9944340b4365
9Shuman, E., Hasan-Aslih, S., van Zomeren, M., Saguy, T. & Halperin, E. Protest movements involving limited violence can sometimes be effective: Evidence from the 2020 BlackLivesMatter protests. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2022 Apr 5;119(14):e2118990119. doi: 10.1073/pnas.2118990119. Epub 2022 Mar 28. PMID: 35344420; PMCID: PMC9168928.
10Shuman, E., Hasan-Aslih, S., van Zomeren, M., Saguy, T. & Halperin, E. Protest movements involving limited violence can sometimes be effective: Evidence from the 2020 BlackLivesMatter protests. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2022 Apr 5;119(14):e2118990119. doi: 10.1073/pnas.2118990119. Epub 2022 Mar 28. PMID: 35344420; PMCID: PMC9168928.
11Basset, L. (2020). Why Violent Protests Work. GQ. Retrieved from https://www.gq.com/story/why-violent-protests-work
12Basset, L. (2020). Why Violent Protests Work. GQ. Retrieved from https://www.gq.com/story/why-violent-protests-work
13Ndayisenga, Z. (2022). Fanon on the Arbitrariness of Using Violence: An Inevitable for Both Colonialism and Decolonization. Journal of Black Studies, 53(5), 464-484. https://doi.org/10.1177/00219347221077273
14Ndayisenga, Z. (2022). Fanon on the Arbitrariness of Using Violence: An Inevitable for Both Colonialism and Decolonization. Journal of Black Studies, 53(5), 464-484. https://doi.org/10.1177/00219347221077273
15Mason, V. & Falk, R. (2016). Assessing Nonviolence in the Palestinian Rights Struggle. State Crime Journal, 5(1), 163–186. https://doi.org/10.13169/statecrime.5.1.0163
16BDS Movement. (n.d.). BDS Movement. Retrieved from https://bdsmovement.net/
17Basset, L. (2020). Why Violent Protests Work. GQ. Retrieved from https://www.gq.com/story/why-violent-protests-work
18Shuman, E., Hasan-Aslih, S., van Zomeren, M., Saguy, T. & Halperin, E. Protest movements involving limited violence can sometimes be effective: Evidence from the 2020 BlackLivesMatter protests. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2022 Apr 5;119(14):e2118990119. doi: 10.1073/pnas.2118990119. Epub 2022 Mar 28. PMID: 35344420; PMCID: PMC9168928.