Erica Chenoweth Writes Article for CNN on Why Civil Resistance Trumps Violent Uprisings 

September 19, 2012—In an op-ed for CNN, Dr. Erica Chenoweth, Assistant Professor at the Josef Korbel School of International Studies and Director of the Program on Terrorism and Insurgency Research at the Sié Chéou-Kang Center, discusses why nonviolent resistance can often be more than twice as successful as its violent counterpart, even in the face of brutal regime repression.  

In the article, Dr. Chenoweth discusses the details of the first systematic, empirical study, conducted with Maria J. Stephan, on whether nonviolent or violent resistance methods are better at producing short-and long-term political change. The results can be found in their book, Why Civil Resistance Works: the Strategic Logic of Nonviolent Conflict.  Setting aside the moral question of which type of method of resistance is right and wrong, they assess which type is strategically superior. Dr. Chenoweth notes that one reason for why nonviolent civil resistance appears to be the better choice in most instances is because they have a major participation advantage over violent ones. She adds that nonviolent campaigns tend to be approximately four times the size of the average violent insurgency. On the other hand, when nonviolent campaigns fail, it is usually because they do not achieve mass participation or they over-rely on a single method, such as protests or sit-ins. 

Click here to read Dr. Erica Chenoweth’s full CNN article on Why Civil Resistance Trumps Violent Uprisings.