[go: up one dir, main page]
IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/sae/joupea/v58y2021i5p945-961.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The politics of nonviolent mobilization: Campaigns, competition, and social movement resources

Author

Listed:
  • Pearce Edwards

    (Department of Political Science, 1371Emory University)

Abstract
Nonviolent resistance is considered one of the most effective methods of bringing about political change. Yet empirical research on how nonviolent campaigns emerge is limited. This article considers two sets of considerations which influence the strategic decision of a campaign to use nonviolent or violent methods: interactions with the state and campaign resources. Campaigns are concerned about the risk of repression from the state and are more likely to choose nonviolence when they believe the state will accommodate their demands. Open political competition signals likely accommodation. Campaigns’ nonviolent tactics are more effective when they possess social movement resources, though high levels of movement resources threaten the state. The argument implies political competition and social movement resources are associated with a higher likelihood of a campaign using nonviolence, though the relationship with social movement resources diminishes at high levels. Implications of the argument are tested on a sample of contentious campaigns from 1945 to 2006. Political competition and social movement resources are related as expected to the use of nonviolence. However, an extension shows these factors do not account for the advantage of nonviolent methods, particularly in triggering backlash protests, once a campaign is under way. An original ordinal measurement strategy for campaign methods suggests the intensity of violence and nonviolence are likewise unrelated to competition and resources.

Suggested Citation

  • Pearce Edwards, 2021. "The politics of nonviolent mobilization: Campaigns, competition, and social movement resources," Journal of Peace Research, Peace Research Institute Oslo, vol. 58(5), pages 945-961, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:joupea:v:58:y:2021:i:5:p:945-961
    DOI: 10.1177/0022343320958456
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0022343320958456
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1177/0022343320958456?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Kathleen Gallagher Cunningham & Marianne Dahl & Anne Frugé, 2017. "Strategies of Resistance: Diversification and Diffusion," American Journal of Political Science, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 61(3), pages 591-605, July.
    2. Rory Truex, 2019. "Focal Points, Dissident Calendars, and Preemptive Repression," Journal of Conflict Resolution, Peace Science Society (International), vol. 63(4), pages 1032-1052, April.
    3. Ritter, Emily Hencken & Conrad, Courtenay R., 2016. "Preventing and Responding to Dissent: The Observational Challenges of Explaining Strategic Repression," American Political Science Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 110(1), pages 85-99, February.
    4. Pape, Robert A., 2003. "The Strategic Logic of Suicide Terrorism," American Political Science Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 97(3), pages 343-361, August.
    5. Gandhi,Jennifer, 2008. "Political Institutions under Dictatorship," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521897952, September.
    6. Klein, Graig R. & Regan, Patrick M., 2018. "Dynamics of Political Protests," International Organization, Cambridge University Press, vol. 72(2), pages 485-521, April.
    7. Dower, Paul Castañeda & Finkel, Evgeny & Gehlbach, Scott & Nafziger, Steven, 2018. "Collective Action and Representation in Autocracies: Evidence from Russia’s Great Reforms," American Political Science Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 112(1), pages 125-147, February.
    8. Kirssa Cline Ryckman, 2020. "A Turn to Violence: The Escalation of Nonviolent Movements," Journal of Conflict Resolution, Peace Science Society (International), vol. 64(2-3), pages 318-343, February.
    9. Finkel, Evgeny, 2015. "The Phoenix Effect of State Repression: Jewish Resistance during the Holocaust," American Political Science Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 109(2), pages 339-353, May.
    10. Kydd, Andrew & Walter, Barbara F., 2002. "Sabotaging the Peace: The Politics of Extremist Violence," International Organization, Cambridge University Press, vol. 56(2), pages 263-296, April.
    11. Pearlman, Wendy, 2018. "Moral Identity and Protest Cascades in Syria," British Journal of Political Science, Cambridge University Press, vol. 48(4), pages 877-901, October.
    12. Leopoldo Fergusson & James A. Robinson & Ragnar Torvik & Juan F. Vargas, 2016. "The Need for Enemies," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 126(593), pages 1018-1054, June.
    13. Gade, Emily Kalah, 2020. "Social Isolation and Repertoires of Resistance," American Political Science Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 114(2), pages 309-325, May.
    14. Kathleen Gallagher Cunningham, 2013. "Actor Fragmentation and Civil War Bargaining: How Internal Divisions Generate Civil Conflict," American Journal of Political Science, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 57(3), pages 659-672, July.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Chiroleu-Assouline, Mireille & Lambert-Mogiliansky, Ariane, 2023. "Radical activism and self-regulation: An optimal campaign mechanism," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 118(C).
    2. Ammons, Joshua D., 2024. "Institutional effects of nonviolent and violent revolutions," World Development Perspectives, Elsevier, vol. 34(C).
    3. Eric Neumayer & Katharina Gabriela Pfaff & Thomas Plümper, 2024. "Protest against Covid-19 containment policies in European countries," Journal of Peace Research, Peace Research Institute Oslo, vol. 61(3), pages 398-412, May.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Nadav G Shelef & Yael Zeira, 2023. "International recognition and support for violence among nonpartisans," Journal of Peace Research, Peace Research Institute Oslo, vol. 60(4), pages 588-603, July.
    2. Sooyeon Kang, 2023. "Upping the ante without taking up arms: Why mass movements escalate demands," Journal of Peace Research, Peace Research Institute Oslo, vol. 60(1), pages 73-87, January.
    3. Gil Epstein & Ira Gang, 2007. "Who Is The Enemy?," Defence and Peace Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 18(6), pages 469-484.
    4. Sirianne Dahlum, 2023. "Joining forces: Social coalitions and democratic revolutions," Journal of Peace Research, Peace Research Institute Oslo, vol. 60(1), pages 42-57, January.
    5. Kimberly R Frugé, 2019. "Repressive agent defections: How power, costs, and uncertainty influence military behavior and state repression," Conflict Management and Peace Science, Peace Science Society (International), vol. 36(6), pages 591-607, November.
    6. David A. Jaeger & M. Daniele Paserman, 2008. "The Cycle of Violence? An Empirical Analysis of Fatalities in the Palestinian-Israeli Conflict," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 98(4), pages 1591-1604, September.
    7. David Cingranelli & Skip Mark & Mark Gibney & Peter Haschke & Reed Wood & Daniel Arnon, 2019. "Human Rights Violations and Violent Internal Conflict," Social Sciences, MDPI, vol. 8(2), pages 1-33, January.
    8. Apoorva Lal & Mac Lockhart & Yiqing Xu & Ziwen Zu, 2023. "How Much Should We Trust Instrumental Variable Estimates in Political Science? Practical Advice Based on Over 60 Replicated Studies," Papers 2303.11399, arXiv.org, revised Nov 2023.
    9. Jaeger, David A. & Klor, Esteban F. & Miaari, Sami H. & Paserman, M. Daniele, 2012. "The struggle for Palestinian hearts and minds: Violence and public opinion in the Second Intifada," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 96(3), pages 354-368.
    10. Brett L Carter, 2023. "Can Western Donors Constrain Repressive Governments? Evidence from Debt Relief Negotiations in Africa," Journal of Conflict Resolution, Peace Science Society (International), vol. 67(6), pages 1183-1217, July.
    11. David A. Jaeger & M. Daniele Paserman, 2006. "Israel, the Palestinian Factions, and the Cycle of Violence," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 96(2), pages 45-49, May.
    12. Eric D. Gould & Esteban F. Klor, 2010. "Does Terrorism Work?," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 125(4), pages 1459-1510.
    13. Keremoğlu, Eda & Hellmeier, Sebastian & Weidmann, Nils B., 2022. "Thin-skinned leaders: regime legitimation, protest issues, and repression in autocracies," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 10(1), pages 136-152.
    14. Travis B. Curtice & Brandon Behlendorf, 2021. "Street-level Repression: Protest, Policing, and Dissent in Uganda," Journal of Conflict Resolution, Peace Science Society (International), vol. 65(1), pages 166-194, January.
    15. Aaron Clauset & Frederik W. Wiegel, 2010. "A Generalized Aggregation-Disintegration Model for the Frequency of Severe Terrorist Attacks," Journal of Conflict Resolution, Peace Science Society (International), vol. 54(1), pages 179-197, February.
    16. Elster, Yael, 2019. "Rockets and votes," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 166(C), pages 767-784.
    17. M Tahir Kilavuz & Sharan Grewal & Robert Kubinec, 2023. "Ghosts of the Black Decade: How legacies of violence shaped Algeria’s Hirak protests," Journal of Peace Research, Peace Research Institute Oslo, vol. 60(1), pages 9-25, January.
    18. Arturas Rozenas, 2020. "A Theory of Demographically Targeted Repression," Journal of Conflict Resolution, Peace Science Society (International), vol. 64(7-8), pages 1254-1278, August.
    19. Erica Chenoweth & Evan Perkoski & Sooyeon Kang, 2017. "State Repression and Nonviolent Resistance," Journal of Conflict Resolution, Peace Science Society (International), vol. 61(9), pages 1950-1969, October.
    20. Christine S. Mele & David A. Siegel, 2019. "Identifiability, state repression, and the onset of ethnic conflict," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 181(3), pages 399-422, December.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:sae:joupea:v:58:y:2021:i:5:p:945-961. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: SAGE Publications (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.prio.no/ .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.