Harvard professor Erica Chenoweth, a leading authority on political resistance, discusses the alarming state of democracy in the U.S. She explains the '3.5% rule', showing how a small, engaged population can drive monumental change. Listeners learn about the power of nonviolent resistance as an underutilized tool against authoritarianism. Chenoweth underscores the importance of civic engagement, analyzing historical protests and their role in influencing public opinion and election dynamics. She inspires hope for reclaiming democratic practices.
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The 3.5% Rule: How Small Numbers Spark Huge Social Change
Erica Chenoweth's research shows that nonviolent protests involving just 3.5% of the population can achieve their goals within a year. This threshold is crucial because large, diverse movements activate key social networks among business, security forces, and others, leading to defections that weaken authoritarian regimes.
Nonviolent resistance works because it is inclusive and accessible, allowing people from many walks of life to participate, building mass participation without requiring radical lifestyle changes. Movements that maintain discipline during repression and can impose material costs, like boycotts or strikes, create more pressure for change.
Chenoweth highlights examples such as Serbia's 2000 Bulldozer Revolution, where police refused to fire on protesters due to personal connections, illustrating how defections occur when social ties shift. The key is sustaining organizational discipline, strategic planning, and mobilizing broad support to shift loyalty away from authoritarian power.
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How Democracies Backslide
Democracy relies on institutions like rule of law, checks and balances, and respect for rights to constrain power.
Authoritarian backsliding occurs when leaders disregard these constraints and apply laws arbitrarily against opposition.
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U.S. Authoritarian Breakthrough
The U.S. is currently undergoing an authoritarian breakthrough at the national level.
Some experts plan to downgrade the U.S. from democracy to non-democracy in upcoming studies.
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Erica Chenoweth's 'Civil Resistance: What Everyone Needs to Know' provides a comprehensive introduction to the theory and practice of nonviolent resistance as a means of achieving political and social change. The book draws on historical examples and empirical research to demonstrate the effectiveness of civil resistance movements in challenging authoritarian regimes and promoting democracy. Chenoweth examines the key factors that contribute to the success or failure of these movements, including the size and diversity of participation, the strategies employed, and the responses of the state. It offers insights into how ordinary people can mobilize and organize to bring about meaningful change in their societies. This book serves as a valuable resource for activists, scholars, and anyone interested in understanding the power of nonviolent action.
Why Civil Resistance Works
Maria Stephan
Erica Chenoweth
This book presents a comprehensive analysis of nonviolent resistance, demonstrating its strategic advantages over violent insurgency. Through statistical analysis and case studies, Chenoweth and Stephan show that nonviolent campaigns are more successful in achieving regime change and territorial independence. They highlight factors such as higher participation, tactical innovation, and shifts in loyalty among regime supporters as key to their success.
426. Why Protest Works—The 3.5% Rule with Erica Chenoweth
Harvard professor and leading expert on political resistance, Erica Chenoweth, joins us to answer a critical question: Is the United States still a democracy, or have we already slipped into authoritarianism? Professor Chenoweth lays out where we stand—and shares a powerful, evidence-based strategy for reclaiming our collective power while we still can.
-The warning signs of democratic decline—and how they’re unfolding in America right now
-How just 3.5% of the population can spark unstoppable, long-term change
-Why nonviolent resistance works—and why it’s our most underused superpower
-What it really means to defect—and how to reclaim power from authoritarian forces
Erica Chenoweth is professor at Harvard University who studies political violence and its alternatives. Erica directs the Nonviolent Action Lab, an innovation hub that provides empirical evidence in support of movement-led political transformation. Erica has authored nine books including, with Maria Stephen, Why Civil Resistance Works and Civil Resistance: What Everyone Needs to Know. Erica maintains the NAVCO Data Project, one of the world’s leading datasets on historical and contemporary mass mobilizations around the globe.
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