Introduction
Welcome to the Nonviolent Direct Action (NVDA) topic in the Commons Social Change Library. We have gathered a wide range of materials to inform the public in relation to strategic nonviolent campaigning.
Related terms are civil resistance, strategic nonviolence, and nonviolent struggle. See Dictionaries, Glossaries and Terminology for Civil Resistance.
Here are some suggested links. You can also narrow down the results in the NVDA Topic according to your interests by using the ‘Refine by Format’; ‘Refine by Topic’ (for cross overs with other topics eg Coalition Building); ‘Refine by Author’; and ‘Refine by Collection’ functions.
NVDA Resources
The Case for NVDA
- The success of nonviolent civil resistance: Erica Chenoweth at TEDxBoulder
- Civil Resistance: What Everyone Needs to Know, Erica Chenoweth
- Breaking bad laws is how good laws get made: Amanda Tattersall
- What Makes Non Violent Direct Action (NVDA) Effective?
- Can Nonviolent Struggle Defeat a Dictator? This Database Emphatically says Yes
- How to Win Well: Civil Resistance Breakthroughs and the Path to Democracy, ICNC
Theory and Philosophy of NVDA
- A collection of nonviolence quotes
- Nonviolent Direct Action as Social Parable
- Gene Sharp’s 198 Methods of Nonviolent Action
- There Are Realistic Alternatives by Gene Sharp
- Book review of This is an Uprising: How Nonviolent Revolt Is Shaping the Twenty-First Century
- The Trifecta of Civil Resistance: Unity, Planning, Discipline, Hardy Merriman
- Civil Resistance and the 3.5% Rule: An Overview
Strategy
- Campaign Strategy: Start Here
- Pillars of Support: Start Here
- The Importance of Strategic Planning in Nonviolent Struggle
- Steps in Strategic Planning for Nonviolent Struggles against Repressive Regimes
- The Path of Most Resistance: A Step-by-Step Guide to Planning Nonviolent Campaigns
Guides and Tips
- Organising for Effective Non Violent Actions
- Movement Power: The Science of Nonviolent Direct Action
- Protests: Start Here
- Make Change: How-To’s for Effective Peaceful Protest
- How to start a direct action group to make Martin Luther King proud
- Affinity Groups for Non-Violent Direct Action
- Check list for affinity groups
- Media Checklist for Actions
- Preparing for a Community Blockade
- Beginners guide to a blockade camp
- Articles by George Lakey and Daniel Hunter, strategists and trainers
Resources for NVDA Training
- Nonviolence Trainer’s Resource Manual
- Checklist for Non-violent Direct Action trainings
- Training and Planning Tools
Legal Rights
- Legal Guides for Activists about Protests
- Community Activism in Victoria: The right to protest and other legal issues
- Legal Handbook for the Victorian Coal and Gas Movement
- What is this thing called Activist Legal Support?
- Your Activist Speech in Court
- Crowdfunding to Cover Fines
Please make sure to check the legal situation in the place you are taking action. Legal information may date and is never a substitute for legal advice.
Safety and Resilience
- Staying safe: Protective strategies for activists
- A Resource for Activists Working Through Trauma
- Be Safe – List of resourcese collated by Commons library
- Streetwise & Steady: A Workbook for Action Peacekeepers or Event Marshals
- Resources for Marshals at Protests and Rallies
Tactics
- Tactics Toolkit
- Gene Sharp’s 198 Methods of Nonviolent Action
- Civil Resistance Tactics in the 21st Century: Report and Webinar
- A Tactic Typology
- Campaign Tactics
- Tactics: Noncooperation
- Strengthen a Campaign with Dilemma Demonstrations
- Got Action Logic?
Browse the Tactics Topic for several guides to tactics, including:
- Tripods
- Sit-ins
- Bird-dogging
- Consumer Boycotts
- Preparing for a Community Blockade
- Protests Camps
- Paddle Power Manual: The Theory And Tactics Of Kayaktivism
Case Studies
- Enabling Emergence: The Bentley Blockade and the Struggle for a Gasfield Free Northern Rivers
- Jabiluka: Fight for Country
- Prophetic Witness Against the War Machine [The Peace Pilgrims and Pine Gap]
- James Price Point/Walmadan – A Huge Win
- Environmental Blockading in Australia and Around the World – Timeline 1974-1997
- Lessons from the Greensboro Student Sit-ins
- The creativity fuelling the struggle to defund the police
- How defeating Keystone XL built a bolder, savvier climate movement
- Many more case studies.
Want a break from reading?
- Watch TED Talk: The success of nonviolent civil resistance: Erica Chenoweth
- Listen to Treesits, Lock-ons and Barricades: Environmental Blockading in the 1980s
- Listen to Acting Up! 45 Years of Friends of the Earth
- Listen to these ChangeMakers podcasts
- Listen to the Nonviolent Action Lab Podcast
- Listen and watch 40 years of Australian blockading songs
Explore Further
Browse the full Nonviolent Direct Action Topic on the Commona
