4.3 Nonviolent Resistance

Learning Objectives

At the end of this section, the participants will:

 

• Be able to define nonviolent resistance 
• Understand the key theories of nonviolent resistance
• Be able to discuss the key figures in nonviolent resistance movements
• Understand the relevance of nonviolent resistance to peace education 
• Understand ways to apply nonviolence in the classroom 

Guiding Questions 

Before reading this section, consider the following questions:

• Is there any time or any situation when violence is acceptable?
• Throughout history, revolutions have occurred by violent and nonviolent means. Which have been more successful? Is a violent revolution the only means to overthrow a violent regime?

 

 

Our nonviolence is as yet a mixed affair. It limps. Nevertheless, it is there and it continues to work like a leaven in a silent and invisible way, least understood by most. It is the only way.

- Mahatma Gandhi.

 

A small group of thoughtful people could change the world. Indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.

- Margaret Mead

 

Introduction

Nonviolence has been defined as “both an attitude and a course of action that seeks to build a community of caring” (Hermann, quoted in Gorsevski, 2004, p. 31). It is a philosophical system of thought as well as a practical framework for action. Though nonviolence has a significant and varied history, modern society has seen a re-emergence of this philosophy as a viable method for change.

 

Teaching nonviolence is a difficult task. Educators have to find a balance between the practical methods of nonviolence while simultaneously demonstrating the values inherent in nonviolence, such as democracy, human rights, and critical thinking.

 

The practical methods of nonviolent change can be demonstrated in the classroom by the retelling of the significant nonviolent success stories, of which there are many, but which rarely are found in traditional history books. Below we will examine one such case study.

 

Demonstrating the ideals of nonviolence can be challenging when we are confronted by a society which insists that violence must be met with violence to achieve peace.

Key Figures in Nonviolent Resistance Movements  

Over the course of the last century, there has been a significant development of nonviolent thought and philosophy, and several major charismatic political figures emerged.  In this section, we will briefly consider and analyze the major figures in nonviolence, their influences, and the significant implications their theories and actions hold for nonviolence in the classroom.

Mohandas K. Gandhi

Mohandas K. Gandhi, or Mahatma Gandhi, is the most recognizable figure of nonviolence, and is most widely known for his activism for India's independence from the British Empire. His life, political activism, and philosophy are examples of how to affect positive change nonviolently.

 

Gandhi was inspired by nonviolence far before his actions in India. His earliest exposure to nonviolence was in his correspondence with Leo Tolstoy, and through reading Letters to a Hindi. He proposed his earliest philosophy of Satyagraha – a Gujarati word translated as “truth-force” – in 1908. His early experiences would help formulate his principles which define modern nonviolent action.

 

Gandhi's actions in India, especially the Salt Satyagraha of 1930, are famous the world over. The Salt Satyagraha was a people's movement designed to encourage nonviolent coercion, which is a method of nonviolent change that removes the oppressor's basis of power. This movement alone did not create Indian independence, which took decades and a significant amount of struggle. However, it did provide a significant building block for the independence movement.

 

The following is an outline of the principles of Satyagraha, and how they were then applied to the Salt Satyagraha:

Truth

Satyagraha's moral basis was grounded in truth. To be binding, laws had to be truthful. All untruthful laws had to be resisted, though civilly—that is, by truthful means. Prior to the Salt Satyagraha, the Indian National Congress declared India independent. The Salt Satyagraha broke an untruthful law, as the British government had no right to impose their will. 

Civil disobedience

Civil disobedience is the active refusal to obey certain laws or demands of a government or international occupying force as form of nonviolent protest. In the Salt Satyagraha, the refusal to pay the salt tax imposed by the British colonial government was an act of civil disobedience.

Nonviolence

Commitment to nonviolence was an essential component of civil disobedience. The commitment in question could be either moral or tactical, depending on the moral aptitude of the practitioner. Gandhi's aim was to actualize the suffering and injustice committed by the British against the Indian people; if violence was committed by both sides, only a polarization of the bases would occur and little gain would be made. 

Moral fitness

The practice of civil disobedience required a minimum degree of moral fitness, to be acquired by the exercise of such virtues as truthfulness, nonviolence, temperance, courage, fearlessness, and freedom from greed. This principle was designed to prepare the practitioners of Satyagraha to adhere to strict nonviolence in the face of severe oppression and violence.

Acceptance of consequences

Practitioners of civil disobedience had to accept punishment for their disobedience voluntarily and without complaint. This willful submission to punishment may result in the polarization of world opinion. 

Organized social work

Finally, engagement in civil disobedience had to be complemented by engagement in organized social work, which ensured broad social support.

 

Notably, all of Gandhi's principles of Satyagraha are tactical, pragmatic principles. All of these have a direct application when attempting to create positive change.

Martin Luther King, Jr.

Martin Luther King Jr. was a clergyman, activist, and prominent leader in the civil rights movement in the United States during the 1950s and 1960s. As King was deeply influenced by Gandhi's work, the principles of Satyagraha are evident in his political activism. His fundamentals principles of nonviolence proceed in a parallel fashion to Gandhi's. According to Moses (1997), these are King's propositions of nonviolence:

 

• Even though nonviolence is ordinarily portrayed as cowardly, it is not. Nonviolent action and a willingness to suffer, rather than inflict suffering, requires a greater amount of courage.
• The nonviolence protester does not seek to disgrace his opponent, but to seek his understanding and friendship. The most efficient change occurs when both sides work towards one goal. 
• Nonviolence is directed towards evil, not towards those people committing the evil. Working against those people committing the evil only serves to further polarize the opposition and works against cooperation. 
• Nonviolent resistance is a willingness to accept suffering without retaliating. This is parallel to Gandhi's proposition of accepting consequences. By accepting physical suffering, the nonviolent resistor actualizes the suffering an oppressor regularly inflicts. This is fundamental to changing popular opinion and removing support from an oppressor. 
• God is always on the side of Truth. This is both a moral and tactical concept. To engage in a social transformation for reasons which are truthful will provide a solid moral basis and popular support will be more easily garnered.
• Nonviolent resistance prevents physical and emotional harm, and replaces hate with love. A continued influx of love will eventually erode societal institutions and practices which embody hate, anger, and violence. 

Gene Sharp

Gene Sharp, a leading theorist in the field of nonviolent change, mentions a number of practical considerations of nonviolence. Several significant conclusions about the viability of nonviolence emerge from his work. 

 

Sharp classifies methods of nonviolent change into two distinct categories. He states that there are Acts of Omission, in which the protester omits an actions which he/she would normally perform. This includes boycotts and strikes. When the protester commits an act that he/she would not normally perform, such as a protest, these are Acts of Commission. Sharp mentions that the most pragmatic course of action is to pursue a method of change which combines these two forms (Sharp, 2005a, p. 249-250). 

 

Sharp also discusses three possible outcomes from nonviolent change. Sharp classifies these as:

 

• Conversion, in which the authority or base of oppression has come to a new point of view due to the nonviolent protest, and social change is actualized;
• Accommodation, which is an intermediary conclusion, in which the authority has not lost his power or changed their mind, yet concedes to a degree to the demands of the nonviolent protesters; and, 
• Nonviolent Coercion, which is a method of change in which the authority's base of power has been removed and no longer possesses the means to enforce an oppressive environment (Sharp, 2005b, p. 254).

 

According to Sharp, one of these outcomes must be met in order for nonviolent change to have been achieved. If one of these conclusions has not been reached, then nonviolent change has not occurred.

Nonviolence in Pedagogy 

Promoting nonviolence in pedagogy is done through the promotion of nonviolent behaviors. According to Ian Harris (2003), there are a number of ways in which educators may achieve this goal:

 

• Set up the classroom in a way that is respectful of all interests, concerns and needs. This can be a constructive process in which the students assist in the creation of their own constitution for the class.

 

• Use effective group technique which allows them to practice nonviolence. Allow students the opportunity to analyze their local situations and provide real, pragmatic responses to them - let them determine what behaviors, attitudes, or situations are unfair in their own community. Allow the students, cooperatively and in groups, to come up with a nonviolent solution to the problems they have identified. 

 

• Allow for discourse on moral reasoning and explore argumentation. Allow the students to examine situation in which moral principles are involved - for example, the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, or the escalation of the arms race. Let the students determine which moral principles, if any, were used in these situations.

 

• Allow the student to explore all points of view for any topic. For example, in a history class this might be carried out by analyzing several primary documents detailing the struggles of oppositional sides, as well as several articles detailing world opinion. Exploring different perspectives allows for the student to have the most complete worldview. This teaches that the world is neither wholly wonderful nor wholly violent. Furthermore, it reinforces the idea that the world is beset by serious problems, yet allows for the serious proposal of nonviolent methods of change (p. 212-217).

 

Ultimately, educators have a civic duty to promote nonviolence as a viable method of social change. The rich history of positive nonviolent change worldwide demonstrates that nonviolence is emerging as the most successful method of societal change in the 21st century. Educators must utilize nonviolence in the classroom to ensure that this trend continues. 

Questions for Comprehension and Reflection

1. What are the key principles of nonviolent resistance?
2. What are the similarities between the philosophies of Gandhi, King, and Sharp? How are they different?
3. Task: Investigate a nonviolent resistance movement in your country or region. What techniques and strategies were used? Were they successful?
4. How can you bring nonviolent resistance into your classroom regardless of the subject you teach? How can you communicate this valuable concept to your students? How can you help them adopt this philosophy?

References

Gandhi, M. K. (2005). On Satyagraha.  In R. Holmes & B. Gan, (Eds.) Nonviolence in Theory and Practice. Long Grove, Illinois: Waveland Press.

 

Gorsevski, E. (2004). Peaceful Persuasion. Albany: State University of New York Press.

 

Harris, I. and Morrison, M. (2003). Peace Education. North Carolina: McFarland and Company.

 

Holmes, R. and Gan, B. (Eds.). (2005).  Nonviolence in Theory and Practice. Long Grove, Illinois: Waveland Press.

 

Mandela, N. (1964). I am prepared to Die.Retrieved from http://www.historyplace.com/speeches/mandela.htm

 

Moses, Greg. (1997). Revolution of conscience: Martin Luther King, Jr., and the philosophy of nonviolence. New York: Guilford Press.

 

Orosco, J.-A. (2008).  Cesar Chavez and the Common Sense of Nonviolence. Alburquerque: University of New Mexico Press.  

 

Sharp, G. (2005a). Nonviolent Action: An Active Technique of Struggle. In R. Holmes & B. Gan, (Eds.) Nonviolence in Theory and Practice. Long Grove, Illinois: Waveland Press. p. 247-253.

 

Sharp, G. (2005b). The Technique of Nonviolent Action. In R. Holmes & B. Gan, (Eds.) Nonviolence in Theory and Practice. Long Grove, Illinois: Waveland Press. p. 253-256. 

Selected Bibliography

Ackerman, P. and DuVall, J. (2000). A Force More Powerful: A Century of Nonviolent Conflict. New York: Palgrave Publishing.

 

Bondurant, J. (2005). Satyagraha in Action.  In R. Holmes & B. Gan, (Eds.) Nonviolence in Theory and Practice. Long Grove, Illinois: Waveland Press. p. 85-95.

 

Galtung, J. (1996). Peace by Peaceful Means. London: SAGE Publications.

 

Hudson, F. (2003). Clara Luper: Civil Rights Movement in Oklahoma City. Interview with Clara Luper. Retrieved from http://www.rose.edu/EOCRHC/Oral-Luper,C.htm.



Orosco, J.-A. (2005). Cesar Chavez and Principled Nonviolent Strategy.  In R. Holmes & B. Gan, (Eds.) Nonviolence in Theory and Practice. Long Grove, Illinois: Waveland Press. p. 261-270.

 

Wolpert, S. (1999). India. Berkeley: University of California Press.  

 

Zinn, Howard. A Fallacy on Law and Order: That Civil Disobedience Must be Absolutely Nonviolent. In J. Murphey (Ed.) Civil Disobedience and Violence. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth. p. 103-111.