Why Civil Resistance Works

In today's society, there is an assumption that violent political struggle is the most effective form of protest. However, from 2000 to 2006 many organised civilian populations successfully employed nonviolent methods of protests to challenge entrenched power and exact political concessions.
The study explores the strategic effectiveness of violent and nonviolent campaigns in conflicts between state and non-state actors from 1900 to 2006. The findings in the studies show that nonviolent campaigns have achieved success 53% of the time, compared to 26% for violent resistance. The two reasons why they are more successful are:
- Nonviolence enhances its domestic and international legitimacy and encourages broader participation in the resistance, which increases pressure on the target. Recognition of the group's grievances can translate into greater internal and external support and alienation of the target regime, undermining the regime's main sources of political, economic, and military power.
- Second, regime violence against nonviolent movements is more likely to backfire, the public perceive violent militants as having extremist goals but perceive nonviolent groups as less extreme, enhancing their appeal and facilitating concessions through bargaining.