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Ali, Zahra, Iraqis Demand a Country, 292 3 2019 , pp. 1-10

A detailed account and analysis of the 'spontaneous and leaderless protest movement' that was strongest in Shia-dominated provinces, but spread across Iraq.  Ali notes how protests in Baghdad in early October 2019 against the removal of a popular general, who had led the fight-back against ISIS, were also fuelled by anger at failures of basic services, such as water and electricity, and the pervasive political corruption. These demonstrations developed into a demand for a new political system to replace the US- imposed regime based on ethnicity and religious divides. The article then sets the 2019 movement in the context of earlier waves of protest, starting with the 2009 protests in Iraqi Kurdistan and the Sunni-majority protests in 2012-13 against their exclusion from political power.  It also emphasizes the role of a new generation of protesters since 2015. 

Sémelin, Jacques, Unarmed Against Hitler: Civilian Resistance in Europe, 1939-43, 1989 in French Westport CT, Praeger, 1993 , pp. 198

Examines the main traits of Nazi occupation of Europe, the complexities of non-cooperation, and the role of social cohesion and public opinion in mounting effective opposition. Chapter on civilian resistance to genocide considers why the Final Solution was hampered, or even prevented, in certain countries.

Translations: French | German
, The Tiananmen Papers, ed. Liang, Zhang; Nathan, Andrew; Link, Perry, compiled by Zhang Liang and edited by Andrew J. Nathan and Perry Link London, Little Brown and Abacus, 2001 , pp. 679

Secret Party papers leaked to the west provide details of the meetings, negotiations and communications between the top leaders about how to deal with the protests, and the triumph of the hardliners over Zhao Ziyang, General Secretary of the Party, who wished to be conciliatory. Western scholars generally accepted the papers as authentic.

Suttner, Raymond; Cronin, Jeremy, 30 Years of the Freedom Charter, Johannesburg, Ravan Press, 1986 , pp. 266

Cortright, David; Watts, Max, Left Face: Soldier Unions and Resistance Movements in Modern Armies, Westport CT, Greenwood Press, 1991 , pp. 296

The chapter ‘The Philippines: another Portugal?’, pp. 220-28, challenges the view that the Reformed Armed Forces Movement was ever a revolutionary movement, concluding ‘The primary thrust for the overthrow of Marcos and the installation of Cory Aquino came from the people themselves, notably the church and the middle classes’.

Denham, Diana, Teaching Rebellion: Stories from tbe Grassroots Mobilization in Oaxaca, Oakland CA, PM Press, 2008 , pp. 381

Compiles testimonies from protest organisers, teachers, unionists, religious leaders, indigenous community activists, housewives and others represented at the Popular Assembly of the Peoples of Oaxaca which emerged from the 2006 movement.

Taylor, Ronald, Chavez and the Farm Workers, Boston, Beacon Press, 1975 , pp. 342

Includes assessment of impact of grape pickers’ strike on immigrant labour in other industries.

Walker, Ranginui, Ka Whawhai Tonu Motu: Struggle Without End, 1990 Auckland N.Z., Penguin Books, 2004 , pp. 334

History of the Maori, including resistance to white occupation in 19th century: chapters 11-12 cover recent political protest, for example to protect land and fishing rights, and other forms of political activism.

Sandford, John, The Sword and the Ploughshare: Autonomous Peace Initiatives in East Germany, London, Merlin Press jointly with END, 1983 , pp. 111

Bayer, Ronald, Homosexuality and American Psychiatry: The Politics of Diagnosis, Princeton NJ, Princeton University Press, 1987 , pp. 244

Account of 1973 decision by American Psychiatric Association to stop listing homosexuality as a mental disorder and attempts by some psychiatrists to overturn this decision.

Ormazabal, Sabino, 500 ejemplos de noviolencia. Otra forma de contar la historia, Bilbao, Fundación Manu Robles-Arangiz, 2009

This book is a compendium of many examples of nonviolent action, mainly in the Basque country, but also from the rest of the world. The examples are presented individually, without a connecting link, so this is not a history, but a compendium of cases.

Bloomer, Fiona; Pierson, Claire; Estrada, Sylvia, Reimagining Global Abortion Politics: A Social Justice Perspective, Bristol and Chicago, Policy Press, 2020 , pp. 176

This book uses case studies from a range of countries to provide a transnational and interdisciplinary analysis of trends in abortion politics, and considers how religion, nationalism, and culture impact on abortion law and access. It also explores the impact of international human rights norms and the role of activists on law reform and access to abortion. Finally the authors examine the future of abortion politics through the more holistic lens of ‘reproductive justice’. The countries included are: Argentina, Egypt, Northern Ireland, Republic of Ireland, South Africa, Uruguay and the US.

Montgomery, Anne, Swords into Plowshares: Nonviolent Direct Action for Disarmament, ed. Laffin, Arthur, San Francisco , Harper and Row/Perennial Library, 1987 , pp. 243 pb

This is an account of the origin and early years of the US Plowshares movement launched in 1980 by radical Catholics, and edited by two of the leading figures in this new form of personal ‘witness’ against nuclear weapons. Plowshares took inspiration from the biblical phrase ‘beat your swords into ploughshares’ and physically attacked missiles and associated targets, before publicizing their actions and accepting arrest and often subsequent imprisonment. This book explains their motivation, wider social beliefs, and provides details of early protests.

Sierokowski, Slawomir, Belarus Uprising, 31 4 2020 , pp. 5-16

A journalist's eyewitness account of  the uprising in Belarus from 4 August to 2 September, covering major demonstrations, strikes and the brutal regime response in Minsk and other parts of the country.

See also: Way, Lucan Ahmad, 'Belarus Uprising: How a Dictator Became Vulnerable', Journal of Democracy, vol. 31 no. 4. (October 2020), pp.17-27.

The author examines the mass popular response to the fraudulent presidential election, and  clarifies how the protests differ from earlier 'colour revolutions', with leaders stressing  not changes in foreign policy but free and democratic elections and constitutional government.  He suggests that even if the uprising fails it shows that Lukashenko is vulnerable to popular challenge.

Hewison, Kevin, A Book, the King and the 2006 Coup, 38 1 2008 , pp. 190-211

Hewison assesses a biography of King Bhumibol Adulyadej, which the palace tried to suppress, and which examines the king's role in Thai politics and in the moves to suppress Thaksin.

See also: Handley, Paul, The King Never Smiles: A Biography of Thailand's Bhumibal Adulyade, New Haven Conn, Yale University Press, 2006.

Sharp, Gene, Gandhi Wields the Weapon of Moral Power: Three Case Histories, Ahmedabad, Navajivan, 1960 , pp. 316

Main focus on 1930-31 independence campaign, but also covers peasant struggle in Chamaparan 1917-18, and Gandhi’s 1948 fast in Delhi against inter-communal killings linked to partition.

Ascherson, Neal, The Polish August: The Self-Limiting Revolution, Harmondsworth, Penguin, 1981 , pp. 320

Account up to mid-1981 by British journalist familiar with Eastern Europe, with text of Gdansk and Szeczecin Agreements between strikers and government and postscript on December 1981.

Thompson, Mark; Kuntz, Phillipp, Stolen elections: The Case of the Serbian October, 15 4 (October) 2003 , pp. 159-172

(see also Mark R. Thompson, Democratic Revolutions: Asia and Eastern Europe (A. 1.b. Strategic Theory, Dynamics, Methods and Movements) , pp. 84-97).

Analysis of Milosevic regime and reasons for the October 2000 uprising, plus brief reflections on links between stolen elections and the democratic revolutions in the Philippines 1986, Madagascar 2002 and Georgia 2003. Useful references to other literature.

Drexler, Elizabeth, Aceh, Indonesia: Securing the Insecure State, Philadelphia PA, University of Pennsylvania Press, 2008 , pp. 296

Kohl, Benjamin; Farthing, Linda, Impasse in Bolivia. Neoliberal hegemony and popular resistance, London, Zed Books, 2006 , pp. 224

Hilsum, Lindsey, Sandstorm: Libya in the Time of Revolution, London, Faber and Faber, 2012 , pp. 287

by Channel Four foreign editor.

Bove, Jose, A Farmers’ International?, 12 (Nov/Dec) , , pp. 89-101

Discusses the Confederation Paysanne and the farmers’ international Via Campesina, but also gives account of French farmer resistance to McDonald’s.

Femen, ; Ackerman, Galia, Femen, Cambridge, Polity Press, 2014 , pp. 240

Femen was founded in the Ukraine in 2008 by four women to protest against patriarchy embodied in dictatorship, religion and the sex industry. Their well publicised bare-breasted protests have included a dangerous demonstration in Belarus and opposition to President Putin. They have moved to France and this book was first published in French. A film ‘Ukraine is not a Brothel’ claimed that Femen’s protests were orchestrated and the women controlled by a male svengali. This claim is addressed in an addendum to the English version of the book.

Murgatroyd, Richard, The Popular Politics of the Poll Tax: An Active Citizenship of the Left, London, Brunel University (published PhD thesis), 2000 , pp. 338

Detailed case study of poll tax protest in the London Borough of Ealing.

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