Strategic Effectiveness

The average nonviolent campaign has about 150,000 more active participants than the average violent campaign.

Violent vs. Nonviolent Insurrections

Pillars of Support are the institutions and sections of the society which supply the existing regime (or system) with the needed sources of power to maintain and expand its power capacity.

In his training video, Peter Ackerman talks about “pillars of support” that prop up a regime or power structure. Some examples he gives of such pillars are the military, government bureaucracy, financial institutions, religious and cultural institutions, etc. Other pillars might include, the educational system, the media, police, and security forces. Think about a power structure that impacts your daily life – local or national government, the place where you work, your family, etc. Do you consider yourself to be a part of any of these kinds of pillars or others? If so, which one(s)? How does what you do as part of this pillar support or prop up the existing power structure? We ask this question because reflecting on how you see or understand your own affiliation with certain pillars of support can uncover the kinds of habits, customs, and patterns of behavior that nonviolent movements seek to alter in order to spur social, political, and economic change.

Strategic Advantages of Civil Resistance

Strategic Effectiveness

The average nonviolent campaign has about 150,000 more active participants than the average violent campaign.

Violent vs. Nonviolent Insurrections

Pillars of Support are the institutions and sections of the society which supply the existing regime (or system) with the needed sources of power to maintain and expand its power capacity.