Nick Allison challenges the fatalism that says peaceful protest has “already been tried.” Drawing on data from Erica Chenoweth and Maria Stephan, he argues that disciplined nonviolent movements succeed far more often than violent uprisings—and that no campaign reaching even 3.5 percent of a population’s active participation has ever failed. From Gandhi to King to Havel, history shows the power of organized nonviolence, and Allison contends Americans have yet to test it at scale. His call isn’t for revolution but for civic discipline: fill the streets, stay peaceful, and defend democracy without surrendering the moral high ground. Violence, he warns, only feeds authoritarianism; sustained, visible nonviolence erodes it.
5 Peaceful Protests That Led to Social and Political Changes
Global Citizen, July 8, 2016 — by Meghan Werft and Julie Ngalle
From Gandhi’s Salt March to Rosa Parks’ refusal to give up her seat, history shows how nonviolent action can spark profound political and social change. This piece highlights five landmark movements—the Salt March, the 1913 Suffrage Parade, the Delano Grape Boycott, the Montgomery Bus Boycott, and Estonia’s Singing Revolution—each proving that peaceful resistance can topple unjust systems, expand civil rights, and even win independence. Together, they serve as powerful reminders that sustained, nonviolent protest can achieve what violence cannot: lasting systemic change.
Critical Mass: Three Point Five Percent 