Last week, I was arrested at a sit-in to get big money out of politics and protect voting rights in Washington, D.C. With more than 1,300 people arrested on the steps of the Capitol since April 11 — including The Young Turks’ Cenk Uygur, Harvard law professor and former presidential candidate Lawrence Lessig, Ben and Jerry’s cofounders and actress Rosario Dawson — the Democracy Spring campaign has pulled off one of the largest acts of civil disobedience this century.
Learning from shortcomings and other movements
Mobilizing Ideas The 10-year anniversary for the movement that sprung up against the war in Iraq is on the horizon, and it presents an opportune time to reflect on its progress, and more importantly, the lessons that can be learned from its shortcomings. While activists were busy organizing in the fall of 2002, the dramatic … Continue reading Learning from shortcomings and other movements
Participation is everything — a conversation with Erica Chenoweth
Waging Nonviolence Over the last year and a half, an historic wave of uprisings and revolutions has engulfed much of the world and done more to legitimize the power of nonviolence than anything since the fall of the Soviet Union. Just as Tunisians kicked off this global nonviolent upheaval, Erica Chenoweth and Maria Stephan were … Continue reading Participation is everything — a conversation with Erica Chenoweth
Pillars of Support
Beautiful Trouble Conventional wisdom tells us that power resides in the hands of those at the top, and that when push comes to shove, “power grows out of the barrel of a gun,” as Mao famously said. If so, then the only way to defeat a violent opponent is through the use of even greater … Continue reading Pillars of Support
Nonviolence, Muslim Style: From Ghaffar Khan to Tahrir Square
Religion Dispatches “Islam” Means Peace: Understanding the Muslim Principle of Nonviolence Today Amitabh Pal Praeger (2011) When the mass nonviolent movements that brought down longtime U.S.-backed dictators in Tunisia and Egypt this year captured the world’s attention, The Progressive’s managing editor Amitabh Pal joked that it made his new book, “Islam” Means Peace: Understanding the … Continue reading Nonviolence, Muslim Style: From Ghaffar Khan to Tahrir Square
Is there no other way in Libya?
Waging Nonviolence, Common Dreams, The Indypendent One of the arguments that is being forwarded by proponents of military intervention in Libya is that Qaddafi is literally crazy and therefore cannot be reasoned with or expected to step down without force. In an article for Tikkun, entitled "Libya: Acid Test for Nonviolence?," Metta Center for Nonviolence … Continue reading Is there no other way in Libya?
Pro-Democracy Forces in Bahrain Face Unique Challenges
Waging Nonviolence, Sojourners After a month of largely peaceful pro-democracy protests in Bahrain, the situation has taken a dramatic turn for the worse this week. On Monday, 2,000 soldiers from Saudi Arabia and other allies in the region entered Bahrain at the request of King Hamad al-Khalifa. The king then announced a three-month state of … Continue reading Pro-Democracy Forces in Bahrain Face Unique Challenges
Lessons from the election
December 2010 Platypus Review In a strange way, the debate over whether the American left should support the Green Movement in Iran resembles the arguments that took place in progressive circles before the 2008 presidential elections in the United States, and that reemerged in the recent midterm elections. Those in the Obama camp either believed … Continue reading Lessons from the election
Jon Stewart’s Misguided Rally to Restore Sanity
Waging Nonviolence, Sojourners, The Indypendent While I regularly watch The Daily Show and think its political satire is second to none, the Rally to Restore Sanity that will be held on the Mall in Washington D.C. tomorrow is problematic on many levels. Of all the critiques I’ve seen, Daniel Denvir over at Alternet best captured … Continue reading Jon Stewart’s Misguided Rally to Restore Sanity
Bringing down Serbia’s dictator, 10 years later
A conversation with Srdja Popovic by Eric Stoner and Bryan Farrell Waging Nonviolence, Truthout, Yes! Magazine, The Indypendent Ten years ago, on October 5, 2000, hundreds of thousands of Serbian protesters descended on the streets of Belgrade and pushed past the indifferent security forces to seize control of the Parliament building, effectively ending the dictatorship of … Continue reading Bringing down Serbia’s dictator, 10 years later
Eric Stoner 