How to Change the World

Creative Tactics

Nonviolent movements have demonstrated remarkable success in achieving political change, as exemplified by the Serbian organization Otpor. They creatively used humor and theatrics, such as the "dinar for change" campaign, where people could hit a barrel painted with Slobodan Milosevic's face, to challenge authority and engage the public 1. This approach, known as a dilemma action, forces authorities into a lose-lose situation, either ignoring the protest or reacting in a way that appears absurd or oppressive 2.

Humor is really important as a way to really poke at the invincibility kind of myth or narrative that exists among many different autocrats or autocratic movements.

--- Erica Chenoweth

Such tactics have inspired similar movements worldwide, highlighting the power of nonviolent resistance to undermine authoritarian regimes.

   

3.5% Rule

The effectiveness of nonviolent campaigns is further supported by the "3.5% rule," which suggests that mobilizing just 3.5% of a population can lead to successful political change 3. This was evident in Sudan, where mass non-cooperation and strikes pressured the military to negotiate a transition to democracy after the ousting of al-Bashir 4.

The ruler does depend on so many people to stay in power like they're not doing it themselves. And when very large numbers of people refuse to continue supporting them, things collapse rather quickly.

--- Erica Chenoweth

These examples illustrate how strategic nonviolent actions can effectively challenge and dismantle oppressive regimes.

   

Challenges

Not all nonviolent movements succeed, as seen in the Tiananmen Square protests and the Syrian revolution, where extreme government brutality suppressed peaceful efforts 5. In Spain, the 15M movement's brief turn to violence led to a significant drop in public support, demonstrating the risks of deviating from nonviolent principles 6.

The episode of violence tended to have very little effect on base solidarity, but it had a pretty big effect on alienating potential third party supporters of the movement.

--- Erica Chenoweth

These cases underscore the challenges nonviolent campaigns face and the importance of maintaining peaceful strategies to expand their support base.