Nonviolent Civil Disobedience

<p>War diplomacy and economic sanctions are three cornerstones of strategy that have in the past successfully coerced rogue regimes to capitulate. However it may be time to look beyond these persuasion techniques and develop a new method that can lead to regime change. During the 20th Century there have been several nations that have successfully transitioned from authoritarian rule to democracy. The transitions were hastened by nonviolent civil disobedience. Although nonviolent civil disobedience is a common form of political action throughout the world many political observers do not understand its nature and often underestimate its effect. Nonviolence is built on three key components that are found in most non-violent campaigns. By examining case studies it was possible to identify each component and its importance in a nonviolent civil disobedience campaign. The key components are mobilization strategy and ethics. South Africa's nonviolence campaign demonstrated the power individual groups possess when they come together as one against a regime. South Africa's minority population was successfully mobilized and the ANC used protests strikes and boycotts to undermine the economy. When the economy collapsed so did the regime that had profited from the corrupt handling of economic affairs. South African protesters were also able to draw worldwide support when they convinced other nations that apartheid was immoral. The successful overthrow of Ferdinand Marcos can be attributed to the same components of nonviolent civil disobedience. Like South Africa several individual groups came together to protest the Marcos regime when Marcos declared martial law to avoid defeat in a democratic election. Philippine protestors used boycotts and strikes to tear apart the economy. When the military realized that Marcos no longer had control of the population the Chief of Staff disavowed the regime. Once the military capitulated Marcos'; power disintegrated. In each case</p><p>This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore you will see the original copyright references library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world) and other notations in the work.</p><p>This work is in the public domain in the United States of America and possibly other nations. Within the United States you may freely copy and distribute this work as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.</p><p>As a reproduction of a historical artifact this work may contain missing or blurred pages poor pictures errant marks etc. Scholars believe and we concur that this work is important enough to be preserved reproduced and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.</p>