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<p><img alt="Review: The Failure of Nonviolence: from the Arab
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<p style="text-align:left;">Review by Zig Zag, <i>Warrior
Publications</i>, August 11, 2013</p>
<p>The basic premise of this book is that advocates of pacifism have
lost the debate over tactics and strategies used by social
movements, and only those that have used a diversity of tactics
have been successful. A promising premise and even more promising
title, considering the recent manifestations of revolt and protest
that characterized the Arab Spring and Occupy movements, and the
“official” pacifist narrative that portrays these as victorious
examples of nonviolence. Since these two movements are both recent
and have served as inspiring examples for a new generation
(including, it could be argued, the Idle No More wave of
protests), the task of unraveling the false narratives pushed by
pacifists seems both timely and highly relevant.<span
id="more-2531"></span></p>
<p>Unfortunately, of the 306 pages that comprise this book, only
about a dozen or so actually focus on the Arab Spring and Occupy.
Instead, Gelderloos includes these mobilizations in a list of
others, ranging from the 1990 Oka Crisis to the 2012 Quebec
Student Strike, in the third chapter, “Revolutions of Today.” This
list includes struggles that used a diversity of tactics
(including violence), as well as those that imposed strict
nonviolence, such as the so-called “Colour Revolutions” in the
Ukraine, Georgia, and Serbia, during the early 2000’s.</p>
<p>On the other hand, an entire separate chapter is devoted to these
“Colour Revolutions,” and another one for the Real Democracy Now
movement in Spain during 2011-12 (the <i>indignados</i>, which
inspired the Occupy Wall Street protests across the US). While
these examples have lessons about the failures of nonviolence, the
authoritarian nature of pacifist organizers, and the importance of
elite support for pacifist “revolutions,” etc., I don’t think they
are particularly strong examples, especially for a North American
audience.</p>
<p>While it may be important to be aware of the “Colour Revolutions”
and the Real Democracy Now in countering pacifist myths, I would
have preferred to see a larger focus on the Arab Spring and Occupy
as examples of pacifist failures. The Arab Spring, because it was
an inspiring catalyst for other social movements (including
Occupy), and because it saw such high levels of self-organization
and violence directed against the state and its police forces, and
Occupy because many of the readers of this book are most likely to
have been involved to one extent or another and would therefore be
able to intimately relate to the material being discussed.</p>
<p>In fact, Occupy gets only the briefest examination, a total of 1
and a half pages. There’s no factual information presented, not
even the date that Occupy Wall Street began, how many people were
involved, or how many were arrested. Nor is there any narrative of
how Occupy spread from Wall Street across North America a month
later, and how it was quickly dismantled by the slightest state
repression. There’s no documentation of call outs, discussions or
debates that occurred within the movement. Occupy Oakland, the
most militant and probably one of the longest lasting, is
mentioned in just one sentence. By not investigating Occupy more
closely, Gelderloos misses a prime opportunity to show the
failings of nonviolence in a movement many potential readers
participated in, and for whom his critiques would have had far
more relevance.</p>
<p>Aside from a minimal analysis of the Arab Spring and Occupy,
perhaps the weakest chapter is “Who are the pacifists?” Here,
Gelderloos focuses on advocates of pacifism who, presumably, have
had a major role in spreading pacifist doctrine. There is no
mention of Gandhi or Martin Luther King, the two greatest
figureheads of pacifism and from whom all current pacifist
doctrine originates. Instead there is a list most people would not
be familiar with. These include intellectual Gene Sharp (founder
of The Albert Einstein Institution, a “non-profit organisation
dedicated to advancing the</p>
<div data-shortcode="caption" id="attachment_2534" style="width:
310px" class="wp-caption alignright"><a
href="https://warriorpublications.files.wordpress.com/2013/08/pacifist-gene-sharp-1.jpg"><img
aria-describedby="caption-attachment-2534"
data-attachment-id="2534"
data-permalink="https://warriorpublications.wordpress.com/2013/08/11/review-the-failure-of-nonviolence-from-the-arab-spring-to-occupy/pacifist-gene-sharp-1/"
data-orig-file="https://warriorpublications.files.wordpress.com/2013/08/pacifist-gene-sharp-1.jpg"
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data-large-file="https://warriorpublications.files.wordpress.com/2013/08/pacifist-gene-sharp-1.jpg?w=597"
class="size-medium wp-image-2534" alt="Gene Sharp, university
professor and professional pacifist; could he fight his way
out of a wet paper bag?"
src="https://warriorpublications.files.wordpress.com/2013/08/pacifist-gene-sharp-1.jpg?w=300&h=168"
width="300" height="168"></a>
<p id="caption-attachment-2534" class="wp-caption-text">Gene
Sharp, university professor and professional pacifist; couldn’t
fight his way out of a wet paper bag and recommends you don’t
either.</p>
</div>
<p>study of nonviolent action”), the US military, the Dalai Lama,
multi-millionaire George Soros, pop stars Bono and Bob Geldof,
journalist Chris Hedges, pacifist activist Rebecca Solnit, unnamed
“movement musicians,” US Judge Ann Aiken (who sentenced Daniel
MacGowan to seven years in prison for ecological sabotage), author
and journalist Mark Kurlanksy (<i>Nonviolence: The History of a
Dangerous Idea</i>) , and Christian pacifists that Gelderloos
lumps together as “The Old School.”</p>
<p>It’s an odd list, to be sure. And while intellectuals such as
Sharp, Kurlansky and Hedges should be highlighted, “movement
musicians” is a dubious choice (3 pages focusing on folk punks who
have a very limited audience) , as is Judge Aiken (after all, how
much influence did her sentencing statement referring to Gandhi
have in promoting pacifism in social movements?). Just one page is
dedicated to the US military advocating, organizing and funding
pacifist campaigns, and this is mostly in passing, with little
documentation or investigation.</p>
<p>Despite these shortcomings, in my opinion, <i>The Failure of
Nonviolence</i> is an important book. The title itself is a
powerful statement, even if the subheading (“from the Arab Spring
to Occupy”) is somewhat misleading. For while the pacifist
doctrine lost the debate nearly from its inception with Gandhi,
and later King, many advocates and adherents of nonviolence
continue to rely on a mythological history of pacifist victories.
And this mythology, of course, is perpetuated by the ruling class
through the corporate media and entertainment industries,
educational institutions, and official histories. All in all,
Gelderloos does a good job in providing an overview of the
failures of nonviolence over the last 25 years or so, while
highlighting the successes of movements that used a broader
diversity of tactics. Now, as social tension and conflict continue
to deepen, and as more and more people begin to question the
legitimacy of the system itself, books such as <i>The Failure of
Nonviolence</i> are more important than ever in exposing the
truth about pacifist doctrine and the necessity for real
resistance movements to embrace a diversity of tactics. I would
also recommend another Gelderloos book, <em>How Nonviolence
Protects the State</em> (South End Press, 2007).</p>
<p> </p>
<p>* You can also check out the PDF zine <em>Smash Pacifism</em>,
produced by Warrior Publications, at this link:</p>
<p><a
href="https://warriorpublications.wordpress.com/2012/11/13/smash-pacifism-a-critical-analysis-of-gandhi-and-king/">https://warriorpublications.wordpress.com/2012/11/13/smash-pacifism-a-critical-analysis-of-gandhi-and-king/</a></p>
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