Voices from the Edge on 08/18/11

The case for nonviolent resistance: an interview with Erica Chenoweth

At a time when our government, with the support of many Americans, increasingly turns to drones and other long-range violence to "keep America safe", making the case for nonviolent alternatives becomes difficult if not impossible. But Erica Chenoweth, Assistant Professor of Government at Wesleyan University says the facts are with the doves not the hawks. In reviewing over a century of campaigns of resistance, Chenoweth found that nonviolent campaigns were more than twice as effective as their violent counterparts. Nonviolence proved far more able to build broad-based support necessary to end oppressive regimes.

This week on Voices from the Edge, we talk with Chenoweth about these and other findings found in her new book Why Civil Resistance Works: The Strategic Logic of Nonviolent Conflict, co-authored with Maria J. Stephan. We'll look at how this findings apply to the Arab Spring, the Obama administration's foreign policy and to building social justice movements at home. Join us in this important conversation about how to build lasting change.