ICNC & ASIL PRESENT A GROUNDBREAKING EVENT SERIES

The International Center on Nonviolent Conflict and the American Society of International Law (ASIL) invite you to three critical discussions about the intersection of civil resistance and international law. These events are open to the public.

Topics include how civil resistance movements can receive international support, as well as how popular nonviolent movements contribute to the development of international law.

The last two years have seen nonviolent civil resistance movements fighting for democracy in places such as Belarus, Hong Kong, Thailand, Sudan, Algeria, Nicaragua, Venezuela, Zimbabwe, Iraq, and Iran. This is consistent with a rising trend of such movements worldwide—over the last decade, an estimated 90 new national movements arose demanding democracy and political transitions. Concurrently, a growing body of research reveals that these movements are comparatively the strongest drivers of democratic change in the world. They vastly outperform violent insurgency, coups, or top-down negotiated approaches (with no grassroots participation) in transitioning dictatorships to democracy. While civil resistance movements by themselves have not been sufficient to reverse the trend of rising authoritarianism worldwide, it is also evident that this trend cannot be reversed without them.

This event will draw on cutting-edge scholarship and practice on civil resistance, focusing on what activists on the ground need, as well as what new research tells us about this phenomenon, so that those in the international legal community can grapple with implications for international law.

Speakers:

• Quscondy Abdulshafi, Regional Advisor-Sudan, Freedom House
• Hardy Merriman (moderator), President and CEO, ICNC
• Jonathan Pinckney, Nonviolent Action Program, U.S. Institute of Peace and author When Civil Resistance Succeeds: Building Democracy After Popular Nonviolent Uprisings
• Alba Purroy, Peacebuilder and social activist, Venezuela
• Franak Viacorka, Advisor to Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya

Populations around the world are increasingly engaging in both reformist and revolutionary nonviolent civil resistance in order to pursue rights, freedom, and justice. Research shows that these movements have impacts, not just on political outcomes but also on the emergence and stability of democratic forms of governance.

What are the implications of this trend for key areas of international law? Taking account of civil resistance entails re-theorizing some foundational concepts in international law, such as sources of law, sovereignty, and the nature of “war,” and suggests some ways of moving from a state-centered international legal framework to an approach that recognizes individual and group actors as lawmakers, particularly in the area of human rights.

Speakers:

• Todd F. Buchwald (moderator), Former Ambassador, Office of Global Criminal Justice, U.S. Department of State
• Elizabeth Wilson, Rutgers Law School, Institute for Information Policy and Law; and author of People Power Movements and International Human Rights: Creating a Legal Framework

A growing body of evidence shows that nonviolent civil resistance movements are integral to driving democratic development, and therefore long-term stability and peace in the world. This raises the question of how pro-democracy and human rights movements can be better supported by a range of sympathetic external actors.

A report from the International Center on Nonviolent Conflict (ICNC) proposes a doctrine called the “Right to Assist” (R2A) to address this question. In addition, a newly published multi-year research study by Maria Stephan and Erica Chenoweth casts light on what forms of external support are most impactful for these movements. Drawing from these works, and the experience of activist and organizer Farida Nabourema, this event will discuss practical, legal, and other ramifications of external assistance to civil resistance movements.

Speakers:

• Hardy Merriman, ICNC, co-author of Preventing Mass Atrocities: From a Responsibility to Protect to a Right to Assist Campaigns of Civil Resistance
• Farida Nabourema, Togolese Civil League
• Maria Stephan, co-author of The Role of External Support in Nonviolent Campaigns: Poisoned Chalice or Holy Grail?
• Tabatha Thompson (moderator), U.S. Institute of Peace