A collection of articles and interviews of interest to peacemakers.
(All items on this page are free of charge and may be reproduced.)
Recent Reflections on the Occupy Movement
Seattle WTO Shutdown ’99 to Occupy:Organizing to Win 12 Years Later
By David Solnit -- December 5, 2011
Building the World We Want
By Michael Nagler -- Metta Center for Nonviolence -- Dec. 22, 2011
Nonviolent Success (PDF)
by Robert Irwin
From the review...
"Sharp is a remarkably single-minded and hopeful person. Decades after many people have laid aside whatever youthful idealism they had, Sharp still affirms, "if understood accurately and applied intelligently, wisely, and courageously, this alternative type of struggle… offers great hope for a better future for our world." Hopefulness tends to vary with temperament. But Gene Sharp's research provides solid evidence and reasoning that can
sustain realistic hope for persons of any temperament."
"Waging Nonviolent Struggle is an indispensable work. It is an up-to-date guide and a gateway to other valuable resources. Clear organization (and a detailed index) make this book "consultable" as well as readable, and at $14.95 it is very reasonably priced. When it comes to nonviolent struggle, Sharp does not have all the answers; but you can find more of them by starting with his writings than any other way I know."
read more...
The African-American Freedom MovementThrough the Lens of Gandhian Nonviolence
MA Thesis -- 137 pages -- 2 MB PDF
By Chris Moore-Backman, MA
This thesis explores the meaning and application of the three definitive
aspects of the Gandhian approach to nonviolence—personal transformation,
constructive program (work of social uplift and renewal), and political
action, then details the African-American Freedom Movement’s unique expression
of and experimentation within those three spheres. Drawing on an in-depth
review of historical, theoretical, and biographical literature, and an
interview series with six living contemporaries of Martin Luther King Jr.,
the study highlights key similarities between the nonviolence philosophies
and leadership of Mohandas Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr., as well as
similarities between the movements of which these leaders were a part.
Significant differences are also noted, such as the African-American Freedom
Movement’s relative lack of focused and systematized implementation of
a constructive program along Gandhian lines. The study illustrates the
degree to which the African-American Freedom Movement manifested Gandhian
principles and practices, while also suggesting that contemporary nonviolence
practitioners can identify ways in which the Gandhian approach can be more
fully adopted.
 | Active Nonviolence Across the World by Richard Deats, 2009 "In the 19th century, Victor Hugo wrote, “An invasion of armies can be resisted, but not an idea whose time has come.” Looking back over the past century, especially since the movements Gandhi and King led and inspired, we see the growing influence and impact of nonviolence as an idea whose time has come." | |
Role of Media
Lessons Learned re Nonviolence
Peaceworkers History and Vision
Peace Activism
Marching in Gandhi's Footsteps
Compassionate Listening: An Exploratory Sourcebook About Conflict Transformation
Gene Knudsen Hoffman and colleagues.
From the Introduction (by Dennis Rivers):
Forms of compassionate listening have been practiced among Quakers and Buddhists for centuries, and among psychotherapists for decades. Gene Knudsen Hoffman was both a Quaker peace activist and a pastoral counselor, and in my view she achieved two great things in the course of her long life of conscience.
First, she has took the practice of compassionate listening out of the quiet environs of the Quaker meeting house, out from behind the closed doors of the therapy session, and on to the stage of the world’s greatest conflicts. Her many trips to Russia and the Middle East have made her a legend in the peacemaking
community. Second, she popularized compassionate listening in a generous way that invites and encourages other people to take up this practice, develop it and apply it in new areas. This book is an expression of that
generosity. Available for free around the world as an e-book, it includes both her lesson plans for Compassionate Listening Workshops and reports from Leah Green and Cynthia Monroe, two of her co-pioneers and creative colleagues.
A Dialogue on Nonviolent Resistance and Liberation Theology
-- by Terry Messman
This essay presents a heartfully imagined "conversation" between Dr.
Martin Luther King, Jr., Archbishop Oscar Romero, Gustavo Gutierrez, Dietrich
Bonhoeffer, Father Daniel Berrigan, Dorothee Sölle, Mohandas Gandhi, Adolfo
Perez Esquivel, Lynne Shivers, Gene Sharp, Thomas Merton, Fernando Cardenal,
Miguel D’Escoto, members of a base community in Brazil, and Sister Ita
Ford, who was assassinated in El Salvador in December, 1980.
Courageous Compassion:
A page of quotes from Gandhi summarizing the fundamental principles of
nonviolent advocacy/resistance.
Compiled by Dennis Rivers.
Muscle Building for PEACE and JUSTICE
A nonviolent workout routine for the 21st century
Article by Pamela Haines
People prepare for war by going to boot camp. They are challenged to do
things they have never done before, use muscles they never knew they had.
They practice, stretch and exert. It’s hard work, and they sometimes wonder
if it’s worth all the struggle and pain. But they come out better prepared
to wage war. What if we put the same kind of intention, practice and hard
work into developing the skills to wage peace? read more...
Leverage Points: Places to Intervene in a System
Article by Donella Meadows. Meadows (1941-2001) taught environmental
science at Darthouth for many years. She wrote "Leverage Points" partly
to debunk the popular 'leverage point' idea that there were magical points
in any system where a small amount of effort would create a big improvement.
In the process, she created a careful and readable description of the
many different levels at which one can work at intervening in all systems,
great and small. This article has many implications for advocates of peace, justice
and sustainability. read more...
The Chord of Conscience: Eight Audiences of Nonviolent Protest
article by Dennis Rivers
Perhaps one reason why nonviolent protests are difficult to plan and difficult to conceptualize is that there can be many audiences to an act of conscience and each audience may be taking home a different message. Here is my preliminary list of the various audiences and the possible different messages, based on my participation in many nonviolent protests and trainings since the late 1970s.
Although one might imagine at first glance that protests are aimed at authorities, my list suggests that authorities are only one audience of many, and not always the most significant. For each protest, the idea of multiple audiences raises at least two issues of priorities: whom do we want to reach most of all? …and what is the message we most want to deliver to that audience? I doubt that my list is complete. Please let me know your suggestions for additional entries. read more...
T H E A R T O F C O N S C I E N C E
Michael Thompson
Dennis Rivers
