“It is generally assumed that tyrannies persist because they possess a monopoly on the use of force. While violence against their citizens can be decisive for a time, there is a better explanation: Tyrannies persist as long as citizens fail to understand how—without needing to resort to violence—they can undermine the tyrant’s base of support and force him from power.
Oppressed populations using nonviolent tactics—such as strikes, boycotts, mass protests, and other forms of disrupting societal order—are often the most powerful drivers of their own liberation.
Increasingly this good news has been embraced by dissidents and others concerned with the advancement of human rights and democratic governance free from corruption. Yet the potential of civil resistance remains widely under recognized because its premises sharply challenge conventional assumptions about the nature of power.
Policymakers, scholars, journalists, and other interested observers consistently overestimate the extent to which tyrants can rely on violence to manipulate a population they assume they control. At the same time, they underestimate the capacity of ordinary people to undermine tyranny and achieve rights through the strategic use of nonviolent tactics.” – Source
Civil resistance strategies operate successfully in many different conflicts because tyrants depend on wide-scale obedience to remain in power. However, over time many citizens living under dictatorships refuse to remain apathetic forever. – Peter Ackerman, Source, p.40
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In the book, Peter gathers and arranges the best and most cutting-edge research on civil resistance and combines it with a checklist procedure which draws on his experience on Wall Street. This book is the culmination of 20 years of experience and research generated by the International Center on Nonviolent Conflict and provides a guide for activists facing severe repression, tyrants, and occupation. Rafif Jouejati hosted and speakers included Peter Ackerman, Maria Stephan, Simon Peter, and Mubarak Awad.
About the Author
Dr. Peter Ackerman is the Founding Chair of ICNC, and one of the world’s leading authorities on nonviolent conflict. He holds a Ph.D. from The Fletcher School, Tufts University, and is also co-author of two seminal books on nonviolent resistance, A Force More Powerful: A Century of Nonviolent Conflict (Palgrave/St. Martin’s Press, 2001) and Strategic Nonviolent Conflict: The Dynamics of People Power in the Twentieth Century (Praeger, 1994). Dr. Ackerman was the Executive Producer of the PBS-TV documentary, Bringing Down a Dictator, on the fall of Serbian dictator Slobodan Milosevic. It received a 2003 Peabody Award and the 2002 ABC News VideoSource Award of the International Documentary Association.
In addition, Dr. Ackerman serves as co-chair of the International Advisory Committee of the United States Institute of Peace. He also serves on the Executive Committee of the Board of the Atlantic Council and is a member of the United States Paralympic Advisory Committee. Dr. Ackerman also served on the boards of CARE and the Council of Foreign Relations. He was for 15 years chairman of The Fletcher School Board of Overseers. Read more about Peter Ackerman.