ICNC offered a moderated online course on civil resistance in partnership with the International Institute for Peace at Rutgers University Graduate School, which took place from October 6 to November 17, 2016.

Learn more by clicking on the following links:

• Applications, admission and course participants
• Course moderation
• Course content
• Learning gains survey and final evaluation results
• Selected testimonials
• Useful Tips from Participants for Course Success

Applications, admission and course participants
A record 189 applications were received in response to the call for the 2016 online course. The quality of applications was very high, and three rounds of application review were necessary to determine the final selection of 55 participants.

Among them were 32 women and 23 men from 35 countries, residing in 26 countries. Most of them were mid-level professionals; a number of them were experienced civic organizers and activists. A handful had journalism experience, and a few were NGO executives. Many of them engaged in academic work, usually in conjunction with other activities such as civic organizing and activism.

During the orientation webinar, participants were asked what they hoped to gain from the online seminar and what sorts of activities they had been ngaged in the past few years. The graphs below provide an overview of the diverse group of participants who took the ICNC online course in 2016. They indicate that participants were strongly interested in learning about nonviolent campaigns around the world and gaining knowledge on civil resistance that they could use in the field.

Course moderation

Seven ICNC academic advisors joined ICNC staff to moderate various discussion forums in the online course, adding significant value to the overall educational experience. The course moderators included: Dr. Erica Chenoweth, Dr. Kurt Schock, Dr. Jason MacLeod, Dr. Mary King, Dr. Stephen Zunes, Dr. Tom Hastings, Dr. Veronique Dudouet, Dr. Maciej Bartkowski, and Amber French.

Check out what participants thought about course moderation.

In addition to interventions in the forums, course moderators provided weekly summaries of forum discussions in each module, highlighting key points made, debates that took place, and core information shared.

Course content
The online course consisted of an introduction module and six thematic modules. Each thematic module was released at the beginning of the week and the participants and moderators engaged in different forums of the module throughout the week. A detailed course outline is provided below.

Check out what participants thought about the course content.

Welcome and Introductions
In the welcome module, we laid out the objectives of the course. We discussed course activities, including forum posts, recorded webinars, readings, videos, webinar meetings and online discussions. We then introduced the participants and course organizers and moderators. We provided online learning tips to help participants make the most of the online learning experience. Finally, we introduced participants to the People Power Game: A Strategic Game About Civil Resistance, a strategic video simulation that participants play throughout the course, during which the player takes on the role of a strategic planner for a nonviolent movement.

Module 1.  Foundation of Civil Resistance
In this session we laid the theoretical groundwork out of which this field has grown, digging into both data and the big picture. Virtually every day, somewhere in the world, there are people engaging in civil resistance. But what do we mean by this term? Do we all understand it the same way? How is civil resistance defined and spoken about in participants’ towns, communities, regions or countries? In this session we clarified the concept of civil resistance, looking into power that underlies people’s actions and considering the track record of civil resistance over the past 110 years, including the reasons behind its effectiveness. This module aimed to equip participants with data to share with others in their networks about the effectiveness of civil resistance, and to enable them to articulate what civil resistance is in a clear and concise manner.

Module 2. Emergence of Civil Resistance, Conditions and Skills
In this session, we looked at the emergence of civil resistance, the role and impact of conditions, and the importance of skills. We discussed the commonly-held view that certain conditions need to be in place for civil resistance to succeed. We looked at how skills of a movement actually stack up against the conditions civil resistance faces in a particular struggle context and what makes nonviolent actions effective in an environment that inhibits civil resistance. This session explored how civil resistance emerges often despite unfavorable conditions, considered various social developments within groups that make them more likely to rise up, and reflected on the importance of conditions in analyzing emergence and trajectories of civil resistance struggles. This module aimed to help participants understand the interplay between skills and conditions, and how skills can help overcome adversarial conditions.

Module 3. Strategies and Tactics of Civil Resistance
In this session, participants looked at what strategy in civil resistance is, and how it relates to tactics. We examined examples of different tactics, including cultural resistance tactics, and discuss tactical innovation, including strategic sequencing of tactics that enhance the effectiveness of nonviolent methods and campaigns. Finally, we explored different conflict analysis tools that help movements systematically assess and analyze the battlefield in which they are engaging nonviolently.

This module featured a webinar conversation with Jonathan Pinckney about his ICNC Monograph findings on nonviolent discipline.

Module 4. Repression and Backfire, Defections, Violent Flank
In this session, we started with a discussion about repressive contexts in which nonviolent resistance movements take place, and the phenomenon of backfire when violence against unarmed activists boomerangs back to those who carried out the repression. We explored how civil resistance movements can optimize the impact of backfire and use it to their advantage. How does the side that uses repression aim to hinder potential backfire? We then discussed defections that often, though not always, occur as a result of the backfire effect. This module focused on understanding defections from one group — security forces — and explores conditions under which the defections might happen. It also explored how regimes often try to mitigate the likelihood of security defections, and strategies that movements might deploy to increase chances of loyalty shifts among security forces. The last topic that this module explored was that of violent flanks. We looked at how the presence of a violent group — either part of a larger nonviolent movement or existing separately from it (e.g. armed insurgency) — impacts the dynamics and effectiveness of nonviolent struggle overall.

Module 5. New Frontiers in Civil Resistance
This module explored a variety of topics in the study of civil resistance, including: people power to fight corruption and impunity, civil resistance in war-torn environments, women and nonviolent resistance, democratization and civil resistance, and civil resistance and corporate governance. These (and other) topics were considered new frontiers in the quickly evolving field of civil resistance studies. They are often seen as either under-researched or only now gaining significance in the analysis of nonviolent conflict. First, we took an in-depth look at how anti-corruption campaigns work. Then we explored how people organize nonviolently in extremely violent environments, and discussed the role of women and gender in nonviolent movements. We also examined the long-term impact of civil resistance on democratization and democratic transitions and, finally, looked at how civil resistance can challenge effectively unlawful or unjust corporate behavior.

Module 6. Final Course Evaluation & Learning Gains Survey
In the last two days of this online course we solicited participants’ views about the course and their learning experience. We asked about their learning progress, overall educational experience, assessment of the course content, interactions in the forums, and their personal engagement during the six-week period. This feedback has allowed us to improve our future online courses and make our teaching pedagogy on civil resistance more effective and more impactful on all learners involved.

Selected learning gains survey and final evaluation results

1. Learning gains survey
2. Final evaluation

Learning gains survey results
ICNC distributed pre-seminar and post-seminar surveys to measure gains in learning progress among course participants. Included below are the graphed responses to selected questions from the surveys. In general, they illustrate a positive trend.

• Current Knowledge about Civil Resistance
• Comfort Level Speaking about Civil Resistance
• View on Importance of Nonviolent Discipline
• View on Effectiveness of Civil Resistance

1. Current Knowledge about Civil Resistance
More than 78% of participants who completed the post-seminar survey felt that they now possessed a very good knowledge base of civil resistance or nonviolent movements in comparison to 28% of participants who felt that they had a very good knowledge base of civil resistance prior to taking the course. (1: None; 10: A Lot)

On the scale below, select the number that best represents your current knowledge of civil resistance or nonviolent movements.

Above: Pre-Seminar Survey

Above: Post-Seminar Survey

2. Comfort Level Speaking about Civil Resistance
Over 84% of participants who completed the post-seminar learning gains survey felt very comfortable speaking to others about civil resistance in comparison to only 40% of participants who completed the pre-seminar learning gains survey. (1: Not At All; 10: Very Comfortable)

On the scale below, identify your comfort level in speaking to others about civil resistance or nonviolent movements.

Above: Pre-Seminar Survey

Above: Post-Seminar Survey

3. Importance of Nonviolent Discipline
100% percent of the participants who completed the post-seminar learning gains survey considered nonviolent discipline to be very important in a successful civil resistance movement in comparison to only 81% of participants who completed the pre-learning gains survey. (1: Not At All; 10: Extremely Important)

On the scale below, select the number that best represents your view about how important you think nonviolent discipline is in a successful civil resistance movement.

Above: Pre-Seminar Survey

Above: Post-Seminar Survey

4. Effectiveness of Civil Resistance
96.9% of participants who completed the post-seminar learning gains survey thought that civil resistance was more effective than violent resistance against violent regimes in comparison to only 75% of participants who completed the pre-seminar learning gains survey.

Do you think that nonviolent civil resistance is more effective than violent resistance against repressive regimes?

Pre-Seminar Survey:                                                  Post-Seminar Survey:

Final course evaluation results
Included below are graphed responses to selected questions from the final course evaluation.

• Course content
• Knowledge gains
• Weekly summaries
• Quality of course moderation
• Learning from other participants
• Course relevance to professional activities
• Course met expectations
• Recommending the course

Overall, more than 91% of participants who completed the final course evaluation felt that the course met or exceeded their expectations. Over 97% of participants would recommend the course to others. 99% of participants felt that the course was relevant to their current or future work. More than 97% thought that the course was well organized and planned. 100% reported that they had much more knowledge of nonviolent movements and civil resistance than they did before the course.

1. Course content was organized and planned (1: Strongly Disagree; 5: Strongly Agree)

2. I now have more knowledge about civil resistance and its various topics than I had before taking the course (1: Strongly Disagree; 5: Strongly Agree)

3. I found weekly module summaries shared by course moderators relevant and helpful (1: Strongly Disagree; 5: Strongly Agree)

4. Course moderators offered useful comments (1: Strongly Disagree; 5: Strongly Agree)

5. I learned about civil resistance from other course participants (1: Strongly Disagree; 5: Strongly Agree)

6. The knowledge I gained from the course will be relevant in my current and future study/work/activities (1: Strongly Disagree; 5: Strongly Agree)

7. The course met or exceeded my expectations (1: Strongly Disagree; 5: Strongly Agree)

8. I would recommend this course to other people (1: Strongly Disagree; 5: Strongly Agree)

Selected testimonials

“Before I joined the course, I thought I knew what nonviolent civil resistance is. Now, I understand what nonviolent civil resistance is.”
ICNC Online Course Participant, 2016

“Thank you all for your effort to organize this online course. Not only did it provide me with more knowledge about nonviolent resistance but it also gave me energy, motivation and confidence for the resistance. I got courage for our resistance as I learnt many new tactics, strategies and cases and got to know participants who were in similar struggles to ours. I recommend the course and the Center to everyone!”
ICNC Online Course Participant, 2016

“Before taking this course, I wasn’t a true believer than commitment to nonviolence would be successful. However, after taking this course, I am convinced that one can bring about change if you focus on unity, planning, and commitment to nonviolence. I have not only shared what I learned with the Free Laos Campaign standing members, but I have started to share the methods of nonviolent struggle with the Lao activists.”
Joe Rattanakhom, ICNC Online Course Participant, 2016

“After I took the ICNC online seminar on civil resistance I re-read Frantz Fanon’s “The wretched of the earth” which I really liked the first time. He writes expressively how violence is an antidote to oppression, injustice and colonial domination. However, my second read after everything I learnt in the ICNC course helped me to have a critical approach to this book. Fanon’s prose is still great but I cannot support anymore his eulogy of violence. Revolution without violence seems to be impossible for him. I can now say with a certainty that he was wrong: nonviolent revolutions are possible and nonviolent actions can be more effective than violence.”
Mario Ramirez, participant of the ICNC online seminar, 2016

Useful tips from participants for course success

• “I tried to read/watch one of the topics every day”
• “Set aside a specific time.”
• “Allocate more time than one hour daily, I would say 2-3 hours for those whose native tongue is not English and require more time to read and respond to the forums. Write down your response to the forum, while watching the video clips while reading, it saves time.”
• “Since I travel often for work, I try to read all the required readings during breaks and download reading materials to read on a flight.”
• “Print the book at the beginning of the week. Take notes as you work your way through videos and reading. Get GoodReader App (or a free version) for annotating PDF docs.”

In Fall 2016, ICNC launched its first ever grant program for high school educators from around the world to support development and implementation of educational initiatives on civil resistance movements and nonviolent action for high school students. Seven exceptional fellows were selected to develop and teach courses on this topic in different parts of the world in winter, spring and summer of 2017.

2016 High School Curriculum Fellowship awardees include:

Ahmadullah Archiwal has two Masters (the first in Journalism from the University of Peshawar in Pakistan and the second in International Affairs from the New School University in New York). He has been leading a small organization, OSCAR, which is the flagship of the nonviolent civic mobilization in Afghanistan, for the last five years. They are the only organization teaching nonviolence in Afghanistan and have done pioneering work such as generating important contextual materials on the topic, including translating relevant books from English into local languages, writing a book on nonviolence, and conducting relevant workshops in different parts of the country.

Course Title: Civic Education

High School: Umara Khan High School, Afghanistan

Abstract: This course aims to equip the students with a basic understanding of nonviolent civic mobilization, in addition to culturally specific tactics of nonviolent resistance. We will begin by discussing the history of nonviolent resistance, examining its effectiveness and the common misconceptions surrounding it. The course will then move to focus on forms of nonviolent resistance that have roots in Afghan culture. We will be reinforcing the idea that nonviolent civic mobilization has historically been used by Pashtuns and others living in the region. Our discussions will range in topic from Abdul Ghafar Khan to Pashtun Nationalism to contemporary civil resistance struggles in the Islamic world and beyond. We will examine the idea that nonviolent resistance is applicable not only in democratic societies, but in societies of all political makeups. The overall goal of the course is to reduce the group’s vulnerability to joining insurgency by educating them in nonviolent civic mobilization.

Archiwal’s course webpage

Elizabeth “Betsy” Cepparulo is a History teacher at Wilmington Friends School, in Wilmington, Delaware. She specializes in a course called Global Peace and Justice, which teaches world history through topics such as women’s rights, civil disobedience, social justice, and peace in a time of conflict. Prior to teaching, Betsy was an attorney in Pennsylvania for four years, focusing mainly on family law and criminal defense. She has her BA from Skidmore College, her JD from Temple University, and her Masters in Education Policy and Leadership from Stanford University.

Course Title: Nonviolent Direct Action

High School:  Wilmington Friends School, Delaware

Abstract: In this course, students will explore civil resistance movements from both practical and personal standpoints. Practically, students will learn concrete steps to engaging in a nonviolent direct action (NVDA) campaign. This will differentiate civil resistance and NVDA from passivity, which is sometimes confused with peaceful resistance.  Personally, students will study Gandhi and Indian Independence, James Lawson and MLK Jr with the Civil Rights movement, and finally Colombian civil resistance in the face of violence.  Students will write their own NVDA plans, contemplate a “peace force,” and explore the pros and cons of fighting violence and oppression with active peace. In the end, students will be able to articulate concrete steps and nuanced perspectives in ending conflict with civil resistance.

Betsy’s course webpage 

Regina Feldman currently teaches IB Twentieth Century World History and Theory of Knowledge at the Montessori High School at University Circle in Cleveland, Ohio. She taught the previous year at the Affiliated High School of Peking University in Beijing, China. Regina Feldman holds a Master of Philosophy in Ethnology, Human Biology and Communication Theory from the University of Vienna, Austria, a Master of Arts in Medical Anthropology and a Ph.D. in Cultural Anthropology from Case Western Reserve University, which were both earned as a Fulbright Scholar. She also earned a Montessori Certificate in Adolescent Studies and is IB-trained in History, Theory of Knowledge, and Extended Essay. In addition to teaching humanities at MHS, Regina Feldman functions as a Montessori Advisor and Curriculum Trainer and has helped build MHS as a Curriculum Developer, Coordinator, and Documenter since the school’s inception in 2008. She is an avid traveller, yoga practitioner, runner, and cook.

Course Title: Rights and Protests: The American Civil Rights Movement and South Africa

High School: Montessori High School at University Circle, Ohio

Abstract: This course explores struggles for rights and freedoms through two case studies, the study of the Civil Rights Movement in the United States between 1954 and the passing of the Civil Rights Act in 1965 and the study of protests against Apartheid in South Africa, beginning with the election of the National Party in 1948 and ending with first democratic general elections in 1994. Students explore the nature of discrimination, methods of nonviolent resistance and the importance of leadership and organizations or parties in civil society. This course is driven by inquiry: every week, students spend time in “Archive”, using a variety of sources – written, digital, visual –to respond to a weekly Guiding Question and build timelines to trace the evolution of rights and protests in both countries. Work in the Archive will be supported by key lessons, Socratic seminars, academic debate, documentaries, and playing of the strategic game People Power. IB-style research papers, annotated bibliographies, and critical memos, class, seminar, and debate preparation and participation are formatively and cumulatively assessed. The course closes with a Colloquium on the Big Guiding Question about the effectiveness of nonviolent resistance actions for long-term positive societal change.

Regina’s course webpage

George Greskovits studied sociology and cultural history for his BA at the University of East London, Holocaust studies for his MA at Royal Holloway University of London, and enrolled to the doctoral program at University College London. Before co-founding the Milestone Institute, he worked as a researcher for historical documentaries and museum exhibits, research projects funded by the UK Arts & Humanities Research Council (A.H.R.C.), and taught through seminars as well as private tuition at UCL. He is currently working as the Senior Director of Academic Programs at Milestone, responsible for all academic activities of the institute as well as teaching history and social sciences.

Course Title: Civil and Non-Violent Resistance

High School: Milestone Institute, Hungary

Abstract: The goal of the course is to introduce the students into the field of civil resistance studies, including its classical historical tradition as well as contemporary research findings. The module is therefore interdisciplinary and includes themes from political philosophy, political theory and empirical political science. Another goal of the course is to facilitate the discussion of the applicability and relevance of civil resistance to our contemporary societies. Special emphasis has been given to the historical and contemporary local context (i.e. Hungary), and an attempt has been made to countervail the androcentric bias of mainstream approaches to the history of civil resistance. We hope that students completing the course will depart with strong foundations in the subject as well as the ability to recognize the need for and the means of civil resistance that they can use for issues close to their heart.

Gcina Makoba lives in the outskirts of the city of Durban in the Province of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, where she finished her high school education. Despite the systematic barriers of  the past, she was able to obtain a Diploma in Education, a Diploma in Politics and Social Development, Participatory Action Research in Workers’ College, a B. Social Science in University of KwaZulu-Natal(UKZN), and is currently doing her Master of Development in the same institution, UKZN.

Course Title: Peaceful Resistance Course

High School: Imvaba High School, South Africa

Abstract: The course is an exciting, intense summary of peaceful resistance; it touches on the histories and the interrelationships among the Sub Saharan African countries, with the common feature of resisting the same injustice, colonialism, while denoting nonviolent resistance as an ever existing phenomenon in this part of the continent. It gradually introduces the tactics, strategies, advantages and disadvantages while teaching the reasons behind its effectiveness. The course gets into grips with the reality of unfavorable conditions that sometimes exist, and what can lead to mobilization backfiring through examining the dynamics that usually unfold. As the course gives the reasons of why peaceful resistance works,  it also forces students who otherwise might have thought that a violent way of responding to injustices is the right or effective means of struggle to openly discuss and consider alternative stories and perspectives that are centered around nonviolent resistance actions.

Gcina’s course webpage

Brahim Bilal Ramdhane was born as a slave in Boutilimit, Mauritania, but was able to obtain freedom for himself through his passion for learning and the educational successes he achieved throughout his youth. He has been a high school philosophy teacher for close to thirty years, and has also worked with numerous NGOs and international development agencies and served as an independent election observer for Mauritania’s 2009 presidential election. The last several years, he has played a leading role in Mauritania’s anti-slavery movement as vice president of IRA (Initiative for the Resurgence of the Abolitionist movement), an organization committed to nonviolent means of resistance. He endured 18 months in prison as a result of his activism, and was finally released by ruling of the Mauritanian Supreme Court. Since his release, he has received recognition from the US State Department for his courage and dedication to the cause of ending slavery in Mauritania.

Course Title: The Advantages of Peaceful Actions (Fighting Slavery)

High School: Lycée El Mina, Mauritania

Abstract: Civil resistance is a philosophy and a strategy that aims to improve society by addressing societal injustices and oppression, whether that oppression comes from the state or is part of the social fabric through the use of organized nonviolent actions. Mauritania has recently experienced civil resistance in the form of the antislavery movement that is pushing for societal changes that will end slavery and help the victims become equal members of society. Throughout this course, we will explore the concept of civil resistance and discuss specific examples from history, as well as the use of civil resistance actions in Mauritania today. The goals of the course will be to reflect on what can make civil resistance movements successful (leadership, inclusiveness, tactics and strategies), with a specific focus on the betterment of the Mauritanian society.