Mightier than the sword: The unexpected effectiveness of nonviolent resistance

Activists from around the world reach out to Harvard Kennedy School Professor Erica Chenoweth on an almost daily basis. And they mostly ask the same question: How can we fight authoritarianism — and the often-brutal repression that comes with it — without resorting to violence ourselves? They turn to her because her groundbreaking research has shown that, when done the right way, nonviolent civil resistance is actually more effective at driving political change than taking up arms.

Chenoweth is the Berthold Beitz Professor in Human Rights and International Affairs at Harvard Kennedy School Susan S. and Kenneth L. Wallach Professor at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study. She is the author of the forthcoming book: “Civil Resistance: What Everyone Needs to Know.”

To read more about Professor Chenoweth and her work, check out the latest issue of Harvard Kennedy School Magazine.

https://www.hks.harvard.edu/faculty-research/policy-topics/advocacy-social-movements/paths-resistance-erica-chenoweths-research