Gandhi and His Critics

Author(s): Bal R. Nanda

Oxford University Press, Delhi, 1985, pp. 178

Nanda, who has also written a balanced biography of Gandhi and studies of other Indian leaders close to Gandhi (including Gandhi’s early mentor Gokhale), here examines controversial aspects of Gandhi’s life and thought.

Revolution and Equilibrium

Author(s): Barbara Deming

Grossman, New York, 1971, pp. 269

The title essay confronts the case for violence made by Frantz Fanon, in his critique of colonialism (see 1a.iii), and by many US militants in the later 1960s, and argues that radical nonviolent action can be an alternative. Other essays by this feminist nonviolent activist and writer cover a wide range of protests. (The title essay is also available as a separate pamphlet from A.J. Muste Memorial Institute, New York.)

Rethinking the Revolutionary Recipe: 1989 and the Idea of Non-Violent Revolution'

Author(s): Barbara Falk

In: Visegrad Insight, 2020

Falk assesses the nature of the 1989 revolutions, which she delineates as the collapse of communist regimes across Eastern Europe in a context of commitment to nonviolence by key players (with the exception of Romania) and of restraint by both Gorbachev in the USSR and western leaders. Year 1989 appeared to usher in a new concept of peaceful revolution, which could be applied to challenge other repressive regimes. But, Falk argues, these attempts, as in the '2009 Green Revolution' in Iran and the 'Arab Spring' in 2011 in Egypt and elsewhere, have resulted in defeat.  The author also notes other factors, which militate against successful nonviolent revolution. These include the greater ruthlessness (compared with the East European Communist regimes of the 1980s) of many of today's dictatorships, the declining respect for the US and for liberal democracy as an ideal, a rise in barbaric violence (represented by ISIS) and the complex role of today's communication technologies, which can mobilize protest but promote lack of leadership capable of formulating negotiable demands. The article references a number of other interesting recent perspectives on revolution today.   

Available online at:

https://visegradinsight.eu/rethinking-the-revolutionary-recipe-1989/

Listen Up: Voices from the Next Feminist Generation

(expanded edition)

Author(s): Barbara Findlen

Seal, Settle, 2001, pp. 300

Originally published: 1995

Collection featuring writers and activists – including Rebecca Walker, Nomy Lama and Inga Musci – and editors of several women’s periodicals – discussing range of issues.

Pages