From dictatorship to democracy : a conceptual framework for liberation /
Gene Sharp.
- New York : [Jackson, Tenn.] : New Press ; Distributed by Perseus, 2012.
- viii, 138 pages ; 19 cm.
Includes bibliographical references
Facing dictatorships realistically The dangers of negotiations Whence comes the power? Dictatorships have weaknesses Exercising power The need for strategic planning Planning strategy Applying political defiance Disintegrating the dictatorship Groundwork for durable democracy Appendix: The methods of nonviolent action
Twenty-one years ago, at a friend's request, a Massachusetts professor sketched out a blueprint for nonviolent resistance to repressive regimes. It would go on to be translated, photocopied, and handed from one activist to another, traveling from country to country across the globe: from Iran to Venezuela -- where both countries consider Gene Sharp to be an enemy of the state -- to Serbia; Afghanistan; Vietnam; the former Soviet Union; China; Nepal; and, more recently and notably, Tunisia, Egypt, Yemen, Libya, and Syria, where it has served as a guiding light of the Arab Spring. This short guide to overthrowing a dictatorship by nonviolent means lists 198 specific methods to consider, depending on the circumstances: sit-ins, popular nonobedience, selective strikes, withdrawal of bank deposits, revenue refusal, walkouts, silence, and hunger strikes