In the past quarter century the world has witnessed dramatic social and political transformations, due in part to an upsurge in civil resistance. There have been significant uprisings around the globe, including the toppling of communist regimes in Eastern Europe, the Color Revolutions, the Arab Spring, protests against war and economic inequality, countless struggles against corruption, and demands for more equitable distribution of land. These actions have attracted substantial scholarly attention, reflected in the growth of literature on social movements and revolution as well as literature on nonviolent resistance. Until now, however, the two bodies of literature have largely developed in parallel-with relatively little acknowledgment of the existence of the other.

In this useful collection, an international and interdisciplinary group of scholars takes stock of the current state of the theoretical and empirical literature on civil resistance. Contributors analyze key processes of nonviolent struggle and identify both frictions and points of synthesis between the narrower literature on civil resistance and the broader literature on social movements and revolution. By doing so, Civil Resistance: Comparative Perspectives on Nonviolent Struggle pushes the boundaries of the study of civil resistance and generates social scientific knowledge that will be helpful for all scholars and activists concerned with democracy, human rights, and social justice.

About the Author

Kurt Schock is associate professor of sociology and global affairs at Rutgers University.

Contributors: Sean Chabot, Eastern Washington U; Veronique Dudouet, Berghof Foundation, Germany; Dustin Ells Howes, Louisiana State U; Brian Martin, U of Wollongong, Australia; Sharon Erickson Nepstad, U of New Mexico; Olena Nikolayenko, Fordham U; Julie M. Norman, Queen's U, Belfast; Chaiwat Satha-Anand, Thammasat U, Thailand; Janjira Sombatpoonsiri, Thammasat U, Thailand; Stellan Vinthagen, U West and U of Goeteborg, Sweden

Reviews

"A major contribution to our understanding of nonviolent social change."-Mobilization

"Kurt Schock's edited volume provides an excellent overview of some of the latest research findings and theoretical developments of the rapidly growing subfield of strategic nonviolent action. Civil Resistance reminds us why the study of civil resistance has become mainstream in political science and related fields."-Perspectives on Politics

Book Information
ISBN 9780816694921
Author Kurt Schock
Format Paperback
Page Count 344
Imprint University of Minnesota Press
Publisher University of Minnesota Press
Dimensions(mm) 229mm * 149mm * 38mm