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Anonviolent revolution is arevolution conducted primarily by unarmed civilians using tactics ofcivil resistance, including various forms ofnonviolent protest, to bring about the departure of governments seen as entrenched andauthoritarian without the use or threat of violence.[1] While many campaigns of civil resistance are intended for much more limited goals than revolution, generally a nonviolent revolution is characterized by simultaneous advocacy ofdemocracy,human rights, andnational independence in the country concerned.
An effective campaign of civil resistance, and even the achievement of a nonviolent revolution, may be possible in a particular case despite the government in power taking brutal measures againstprotesters.[2] The commonly held belief that most revolutions that have happened indictatorial regimes were bloody or violent uprisings is not borne out by historical analysis. Nonviolent Revolutions came to the international forefront in the 20th century by theindependence movement of India under the leadership of Gandhi with civil disobedience being the tool of nonviolent resistance. An important non-violent revolution was in Sudan in October 1964 which overthrew a military dictatorship. Later it became more successful and more common in the 1980s asCold Warpolitical alliances which supportedstatus quo governance waned.[3]
In the 1970s and 1980s, intellectuals in theSoviet Union and otherCommunist states, and in some other countries, began to focus oncivil resistance as the most promising means of opposing entrenched authoritarian regimes. The use of various forms of unofficial exchange of information, including bysamizdat, expanded. Two major revolutions during the 1980s strongly influencedpolitical movements that followed. The first was the 1986People Power Revolution in thePhilippines, from which the term 'people power' came to be widely used, especially inHispanic andAsian nations.[4] Three years later, theRevolutions of 1989 that oustedcommunist regimes in theEastern Bloc reinforced the concept (with the notable exception of the notoriously bloodyRomanian Revolution), beginning with the victory ofSolidarity inthat year's Polish legislative elections. The Revolutions of 1989 provided the template for the so-calledcolor revolutions in mainlypost-communist states, which tended to use acolor orflower as asymbol, somewhat in the manner of theVelvet Revolution inCzechoslovakia.
In December 1989, inspired by the anti-communist revolutions in Eastern Europe, theMongolian Democratic Union (MDU) organized popular street protests and hunger strikesagainst the communist regime. In 1990, dissidents in theAzerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic started civil resistance against the government, but were initially crushed by theSoviet Armed Forces in theBlack January massacre.
Recent nonviolent revolutions include theOrange Revolution in Ukraine, which was highlighted by a series of acts ofcivil disobedience,sit-ins, andgeneral strikes organized by the opposition movement.
Historical examples ofnonviolent resistance for significant political change go back as far as Ancient Rome.[5] The majorityplebeian class of Rome held general strikes andabandoned the city to force changes in the written constitution of the Republic.
Nonviolent revolution was popularized in the 20th century by thesatyagraha philosophy ofMahatma Gandhi, who guided the people ofIndia toindependence fromBritain. Despite the violence of thePartition of India following independence, and numerous revolutionary uprisings which were not under Gandhi's control, India's independence was achieved through legal processes after a period of nationalresistance rather than through a military revolution.[citation needed]
According to thesocialistFourth International,Karl Marx acknowledged a theoretical possibility of "peaceful" revolutions, but the Fourth International articles also say "The development and preservation of good relations with the military forces is one of the absolute priorities of preparatory revolutionary work". Some have argued that a nonviolent revolution would require fraternisation with military forces, like in the relatively nonviolentPortugueseCarnation Revolution.[6]
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Apeaceful revolution or bloodless coup is an overthrow of a government that occurs without violence. If therevolutionists refuse to use violence, it is known as a nonviolent revolution. If the revolutionists are willing to use force, but theloyalists (government)negotiate orsurrender to divert armed conflict, it is called abloodless war.
Peaceful revolutions that have occurred are theCarnation Revolution of 1974 inPortugal,[7] thePeople Power Revolution of 1986 in thePhilippines, and thePeaceful Revolution of 1989 inGermany.[8][9]
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One theory of democracy is that its main purpose is to allow peaceful revolutions. The idea is that majorities voting in elections approximate the result of a coup. In 1962,John F. Kennedy famously said, "Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable."[10][11]
George Lakey in his 1973 book[12] and in his 1976 "A Manifesto for Nonviolent Revolution",[13] laid out a five-stage strategy for nonviolent revolution:[14]
Gene Sharp, who influenced many in theArab Spring revolutions, has documented and described over 198 different methods of nonviolent action that nonviolent revolutionaries might use in struggle. He argues that no government or institution can rule without theconsent of the governed or oppressed as that is the source of nonviolent power.Mahatma Gandhi andMartin Luther King Jr. argued this as well.[15]
| Dates | Nonviolent revolution | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1918 | Egyptian revolution | An attempt to overthrowBritish colonial rule.[16] |
| 1919 | March 1st Movement | Korea in an attempt to annul theJapan-Korea Treaty of 1910 and declare independence. |
| 1930 | Salt Satyagraha inIndia | An attempt to overthrowBritish colonial rule. |
| 1942 | Quit India movement | Movement dedicated to Indian independence from British rule. |
| Dates | Nonviolent revolution | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1968 | ThePrague Spring | a period of political liberalization inCzechoslovakia. |
| 1989 | TheRevolutions of 1989 | Even though many of these revolutions did not take place entirely in 1989, they are usually grouped together as such. |
| 1980–1989 | TheSolidarity movement | popular resistance to communist rule, though progress is halted by the imposition ofmartial law. |
| 1987–1989/1991 | TheSinging Revolution | a cycle of singing mass demonstrations, followed by aliving chain across theBaltic states (Estonia,Lithuania,Latvia), known as theBaltic Way. |
| 1989 | ThePeaceful Revolution | in theGerman Democratic Republic leading to thefall of the Berlin Wall |
| 1989 | TheVelvet Revolution | – the bloodless revolution inCzechoslovakia leading to the downfall of the communist government there. |
| 1989 | The bloodless revolution inBulgaria | led to the resulted in the downfall of the communist government. |
| 1990 | TheGolaniad | a protest inRomania in April byBucharest students who demanded a non-communist government. The protests ended in bloodshed after an intervention of miners called in by PresidentIon Iliescu (June 1990 Mineriad). |
| 1991 | 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt | led to the effect of a revolution, was mostly non-violent. |
| Dates | Nonviolent revolution | Country |
|---|---|---|
| 1964 | The October Revolution |  Sudan |
| 1952 | TheEgyptian Revolution |  Egypt |
| 1969 | Theal-Fateh Revolution |  Libya |
| 1973 | The1973 Afghan coup d'état |  Afghanistan |
| 1974 | TheCarnation Revolution |  Portugal |
| 1985 | The April Intifada |  Sudan |
| 1986 | ThePeople Power Revolution |  Philippines |
| 1990 | TheMongolian Revolution of 1990 |  Mongolia |
These are revolutions inpost-communistauthoritarian Europe and other new countries that were part of the formerSoviet Union orWarsaw Pact. Each of these had massive street protests and/or followed disputed elections and led to the resignation or overthrow of leaders considered by their opponents to beauthoritarian. Almost all of them used a particular colour or a flower to be their symbol of unity.
The media attention given to thecolor revolutions has inspired movements in theMiddle East, and their supporters, to adopt similar symbology.
Drawing inspiration from thePeople Power Revolution of 1986 in thePhilippines, as well as other succeedingcolor revolution movements, severalSouth American countries experienced what were effectively non-violent revolutions.
