The Nonviolence Handbook

A Guide for Practical Action

Michael N. Nagler

• Publisher: Berrett-Koehler Publishers
• Year: 2014
• ISBN:
  9781626561472
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Social Sciences
• Subtopic: Violence in Society
• Index: Social Sciences

"Nonviolence is not the recourse of the weak but actually calls for an uncommon kind of strength; it is not a refraining from something but the engaging of a positive force, " renowned peace activist Michael Nagler writes. Here he offers a step-by-step guide to creatively using nonviolence to confront any problem and to build change movements capable of restructuring the very bedrock of society. Nagler identifies some specific tactical mistakes made by unsuccessful nonviolent actions such as the Tiananmen Square demonstrations and the Occupy protests and includes stories of successful nonviolent resistance from around the world, including an example from Nazi Germany. And he shows that nonviolence is more than a tactic—it is a way of living that will enrich every area of our lives.

Index

agriculture, 37

ahimsa, 9, 68n1

Alabama, 10–11, 12, 45–46

alay dangal (to offer dignity), 15. See also dignity of the person

Albanians, 54

Amritsar Massacre, 57

anger, 9, 17, 58–61, 66, 67. See also hatred

apartheid, 43. See also South Africa

Arab Spring, 64

arbitration, 22–23

asatya (untruth), 10

Aung San Suu Kyi, 13

Auschwitz. See concentration camps

“Bengal famine” (1943), 57

Bhave, Vinoba, 49

Birmingham, Ala., 10–11, 12

black churches, 29–30

Boulding, Kenneth, 59

Brazil, 64

Britain. See also India

and “Bengal famine” (1943) in India, 57

and independence for India, 1, 42, 46, 67

loss of Empire by, 38

and Salt Satyagraha in India, 34, 38, 41–42, 51

in World War II, 31, 49

Buddhism, 21

Bush, George W., 28

California, 52

Center for Advanced Nonviolent Actions and Strategies, 63

Chile, 9

China, 43, 50–51

Citizens United, 37

civil disobedience, 24, 49, 52, 57

Civil Rights Movement, U.S., 1, 10–11, 12, 25–26, 45–46, 57, 58–60

civilian-based defense, 17

“color revolutions,” 63–64

community development. See constructive program

compassion, 20–21

competition, 15

compromise, 27, 29–32, 39

concentration camps, 44–45, 53

conflict escalation, 22–25

conflict resolution, 22–23

confrontational nonviolence, 35

constructive program, 33–38, 39, 47, 64, 67

cooperation, 5, 64

courage, viii, 16–17, 25, 26, 41–42, 44, 48, 56, 61. See also suffering; ultimate sacrifice

Czechoslovakia, 16–17

Dharsana Salt Works, 41–42

death. See ultimate sacrifice

dehumanization, 17–18, 22, 28

Dellinger,...