Nonviolent resistance
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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Nonviolent resistance (or nonviolent action) is the practice of applying power to achieve socio-political goals through symbolic protests, economic or political noncooperation, civil disobedience and other methods, without using violence. It can be summed up in the words of Mahathma Gandhi, "An Eye for an Eye makes the whole world blind".
Passive resistance is a variety of nonviolent resistance, and is a term sometimes used imprecisely as a synonym. It implies resistance by inertia or non-energetic compliance, as opposed to resistance by active antagonism. Satyagraha is a refined variety of nonviolent resistance developed by Mohandas Gandhi.
Like other strategies for social change, nonviolent action can appear in various forms and degrees. It may include, for example, such varied forms as information warfare, protest art, protest music and poetry, community education and consiousness raising lobbying, tax resistance, boycotts or sanctions, legal/diplomatic wrestling, material sabotage, underground railroads, principled refusal of awards/honours, picketing, vigiling, leafletting, and/or general strikes.
Some scholars of nonviolence, arguing that many movements have pragmatically adopted the methods of nonviolent action as an effective way to achieve social or political goals, distinguish the methods of nonviolent action from the moral stance of nonviolence or non-harm towards others.
