A database of over 1000 summaries of  nonviolent campaigns worldwide. It is important to note that the case studies included are indeed, campaigns, and not movements. For example, “the civil rights movement” is not included, but the Montgomery Bus Boycott is a case, as is the Nashville Sit-in of 1960. The colonial Indian movement for independence from Britain is not a case, but the Salt Satyagraha of 1930-31 is a case.

These summaries are researched and presented to:

1. provide free access to information about hundreds of cases of nonviolent action for learning and for citizen action. We research campaigns that have reached a point of completion. The cases are drawn from all continents and most countries. People are shown struggling for human rights, economic justice, democracy, national and ethnic identity, environmental sustainability, and peace.

2. make available comparative information that will support researchers and writers to develop strategic knowledge and theory. Each case is presented in two formats: the database file (with searchable fields) and the narrative describing the struggle as an unfolding story. The database supports searches by country, by issue, by action method used, and even by year — there is a case from ancient Egypt, 12th century BCE! Some cases are part of a “wave” of campaigns, such as the “Arab Awakening” of 2011; by pressing each “wave” button one can find cases.

Each campaign is sorted in one (or several) issue “clusters”. Those clusters are:

– Democracy
– Economic justice
– Environment
– Human rights (including free practice of religion, women’s rights)
– National / ethnic identity (including anti-colonial struggles)
– Peace

A project of Swarthmore College, 2011-present Case studies of nonviolent campaigns