| The Politics of Nonviolent Action (3 volumes) | |
| Author: | Gene Sharp |
| Country: | United States |
| Language: | English |
| Publisher: | Porter Sargent |
| Pub Date: | 1973 |
| Pages: | 913 |
| Isbn: | 978-0875580685 |
| Oclc: | 691136 |
The Politics of Nonviolent Action is a three-volume political science book by Gene Sharp, originally published in the United States in 1973. Sharp is one of the most influential theoreticians of nonviolent action, and his publications have been influential in movements around the world. This book contains his foundational analyses of the nature of political power, and of the methods and dynamics of nonviolent action. It represents a "thorough revision and rewriting" of the author's 1968 doctoral thesis at Oxford University.[1] The book has been reviewed in professional journals and newspapers, and is mentioned on many contemporary websites.[2] It has been fully translated into Italian and partially translated into several other languages.
The three volumes or "parts" of The Politics of Nonviolent Action contain a total of 14 chapters, as well as a preface by the author, and an introduction by Thomas C. Schelling. Each part begins with an introduction by the author.[3] The first volume or "part" addresses the theory of power that implicitly or explicitly underlies nonviolent action; Volume 2 offers a detailed analysis of the methods of nonviolent action; and the Volume 3 analyzes the dynamics of nonviolent action.
Chapter 1, The Nature and Control of Political Power, explains that, although rarely articulated, there are "basically... two views of the nature of power."[4] The "monolith theory"[4] views people as dependent upon the good will of their governments, whereas nonviolent action is grounded in the converse "pluralistic-dependency theory"[4] that views government as "dependent on the people's good will, decisions and support,"[4] a view that Sharp argues is "sounder and more accurate."[4] Sharp argues that "political power is not intrinsic to the power-holder,"[4] but flows from outside sources that include perceptions of authority, available human resources; skills and knowledge; material resources; and intangible psychological and ideological factors. These sources all depend upon obedience, which arises for "various and multiple"[4] reasons that include habit, fear of sanctions, perceived moral obligation, psychological identification with the ruler, zones of indifference, and absence of self-confidence among subjects. Obedience is essentially voluntary, and consent can be withdrawn.
Next, Nonviolent Action: An Active Technique of Struggle (chapter 2) explains that nonviolent action may be used for a diverse mixture of motives that are religious, ethical, moral, or based on expediency.[4] "Passivity, submission, cowardice [have] nothing to do with the nonviolent technique,"[4] which is correctly understood as "one type of active response."[4] [5] Nonviolence has suffered scholarly neglect.[4] Nonviolence may involve both acts of omission and acts of commission,[4] does not rely solely on persuading the opponent,[4] and "does not depend on the assumption that man is inherently 'good'."[4] These and other characteristics of nonviolence are explained and illustrates through examples from ancient Rome, colonial United States, Tsarist Russia, Soviet Russia, Nazi Germany, Latin America, India, Czeschoslavakia, and the Southern United States.