• Americas
      • Dutch
      • English
      • French
      • Mayan
      • Portuguese (Brazilian)
      • Spanish
    • Central & South Asia
      • Bangla
      • Dari
      • Dhivehi
      • English
      • Farsi
      • Kyrgyz
      See More
    • East Asia & Oceania
      • Indonesian
      • Burmese
      • Chin (Burma)
      • Chinese
      • Portuguese (Continental)
      • English
      See More
    • Europe & Eurasia
      • Armenian
      • Azeri
      • Belarusian
      • Catalan
      • Portuguese (Continental)
      • Croatian
      See More
    • Middle East & North Africa
      • Arabic
      • Azeri
      • Dari
      • English
      • Farsi
      • Hebrew
      See More
    • Sub-Saharan Africa
      • Afaan Oromo
      • Amharic
      • Arabic
      • Portuguese (Continental)
      • English
      • French
      See More
  • Learn More About ICNC's Translations Program

International Center on Nonviolent Conflict

  • About
    • What Is Civil Resistance?
    • Our Work
    • Our Impact
    • Who We Are
    • Jobs & Internships
    • Join Our Mailing List
    • Contact Us
  • Services
    • Online Courses
    • Interactive Workshops
    • Staff Training
    • Coaching
    • Training of Trainers (ToT)
  • Programs
    • Column 2
      • Minds of The Movement Blog
      • ICNC Publications
      • Nonviolent Conflict News
      • ICNC Online Courses
      • Regional Institutes
      • Sign Up
      • ICNC Webinars
      • For Activists & Organizers
      • For Scholars & Students
      • For Policy Community
  • Resource Library
    • English Language Resources
    • Translated Resources
    • ICNC Films
  • Media & Blog
    • For Journalists and Press
    • ICNC Newsmakers
    • Minds of the Movement Blog
  • Translations
    • Afran Oromo
    • Amharic
    • Arabic
    • Armenian
    • Azeri
    • Bahasa Indonesia
    • Bangla
    • Belarusian
    • Burmese
    • Chin (Burma)
    • Chinese
    • Croatian
    • Dutch
    • Estonian
    • Farsi
    • French
    • Georgian
    • German
    • Hebrew
    • Hindi
    • Italian
    • Japanese
    • Jing-Paw (Burma)
    • Karen (Burma)
    • Khmer
    • Kiswahili
    • Kituba
    • Korean
    • Latvian
    • Lingala
    • Lithuanian
    • Macedonian
    • Malagasy
    • Mayan
    • Mon (Burma)
    • Mongolian
    • Nepali
    • Norwegian
    • Pashto
    • Polish
    • Portuguese (Brazilian)
    • Portuguese (Continental)
    • Russian
    • Serbian
    • Sindh
    • Slovak
    • Spanish
    • Tagalog
    • Tamil
    • Thai
    • Tibetan
    • Tigrigna
    • Turkish
    • Ukrainian
    • Urdu
    • Uzbek
    • Vietnamese
    • Xhosa
    • Learn More About ICNC's Translations Program
  • Search
    • Search This Site

Why Civil Resistance Works

April 8, 2010 by intern3

Thursday, April 8, 2010
12:00pm – 1:00pm EST

Dr. Erica Chenoweth, Assistant Professor of Government at Wesleyan University looks at the strategic advantage of nonviolent struggle and civil resistance. Armed insurgency may have triumphed in the Algerian war of independence, the Chinese Revolution, and the anti-Soviet war in Afghanistan. These cases, among others, have convinced many observers that violent insurgency is likely to succeed. Moreover, insurgents often claim that they turn to violence as a last resort, having exhausted all other methods of seeking redress for their grievances.

Professor Chenoweth challenges both claims, arguing that nonviolent resistance has actually been more effective in the 20th century than violent resistance. She presents a new data set, which provides robust statistical evidence of the strategic superiority of nonviolent resistance, even in cases where the opponent regime is brutal. The research implies that violent resistance is seldom necessary, as many insurgents claim. Rather, civil resistance can be an effective substitute for insurgency in civil wars.

Additional Resources

  • Presentation Slides

Filed Under: Webinar 2010, Webinars

International Center on Nonviolent Conflict

600 New Hampshire Avenue NW
Suite 1010
Washington, D.C. 20037, USA

+1 202-596-8845

Other ICNC Affiliated Websites

  • Nonviolent Conflict News
  • Online Courses Platform
  • CivilResistance.net

Copyright ©2025 International Center on Nonviolent Conflict · All Rights Reserved

Note: Search results are listed in alphabetical order.