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The Politics of Nonviolent Action

Parts 2 ‘The Methods of Nonviolent Action’ and Part 3 ‘Strategy and Dynamics of Nonviolent Action’

Author: Gene Sharp

Vol 2 & 3, 3 volumes, Porter Sargent, Boston, 1973, pp. 902

Part 1 of this now classic analysis explores the political and sociological theories underlying nonviolent resistance to develop a 'consent theory of power'; this has since been much debated. Part 1 also discusses nonviolent action as an 'active technique of struggle' and contextualizes Gandhi's contribution within a much wider historical context of major resistance movements dating from the later 18th century to 1968. Part 2 categorises and illustrates the now famous list of 198 methods, while the longest volume, Part 3, elaborates Sharp’s strategic approach.