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NonviolentNonviolent StruggleStruggle News from The Albert Einstein Institution vol. 7, no. 1 Fall 2000 A Force More Powerful to Air September 18 and 25 New Documentary on Nonviolent Struggle ○○○○○○○○○○○○○ ○○○○○○○○○○○ Force More Powerful: A Century of Nonviolent A Conflict, a new two- part documentary, will premier INTHISISSUE on PBS stations on Mondays, NewDocumentary September 18 and 25 at 9:00 P.M. ET (check local listings). ○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○ DalaiLamaWrites The riveting three-hour Forewordto ○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○ documentary—narrated by NewEinsteinInstitution Academy Award winning actor BookinTibetan Ben Kingsley—explores how, during a century of extreme NewEthnicLanguage PamphletsinBurma violence, millions around the world chose to battle the forces EinsteinFellowClark's of oppression and brutality with NewBookon nonviolent weapons—and won. CivilResistancein A co-production for PBS by Kosovo York Zimmerman Inc. and WETA of Washington, DC, A SharpReceivesLifetime AchievementAward Force More Powerful is written and produced by award- SouthAfricaProgram winning filmmaker Steve York. BooksPublished Einstein Institution Board member Peter Ackerman is the NewReporton series editor and its principal Activities content advisor. Jack DuVall is the executive producer for the documentary, Miriam Zim- merman its managing producer, Dalton Delan its executive in charge of production. member Peter Ackerman and ○○○○○○○○○○○○○ archival film research by the Acclaimed filmmaker Steve former Einstein Institution filmmakers. York bypasses the clichés that President Christopher Kruegler The new PBS series is the commonly surround nonviolent developed in their book centerpiece of a global media The movements and skillfully Strategic Nonviolent Conflict and educational project portrays the hard-edged (1994). intended to elevate understand- Albert planning, strategy, and disci- The Einstein Institution is ing of how nonviolent action pline that often determine one of a number of underwrit- can succeed in overturning Einstein success or failure. The film also ers for the television series. In dictators and securing democ- ○○○○○○○○○○○ Institution gives voice to several pioneer- addition, the Institution racy and human rights. St. ing, though lesser known, contributed extensive research Martin’s Press has just pub- 427 Newbury Street leaders of these powerful materials and comments to the lished a companion book of the Boston, MA 02115 USA nonviolent campaigns. filmmakers during the film’s same name by Peter Ackerman voice: 617.247.4882 The idea for the film research phase. In 1997 the and Jack DuVall. fax: 617.247.4035 emerged from several of the Institution received a grant e-mail: [email protected] themes and case studies that from the U.S. Institute of Peace www.aeinstein.org Einstein Institution Board to coordinate preliminary MoreontheFILM,p.2 ○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○ hen A Force More ○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○ project germinated a quarter ○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○ began to wonder about conflicts An Interview Powerful: A Century century ago with my doctoral in which the asymmetry was Wof Nonviolent dissertation: “Strategic Aspects total—that is to say, when one with the Conflict premieres on PBS on of Nonviolent Resistance side fighting for their lives, Mondays September 18 and 25 Movements.” This served as the freedom, or rights had no viable Creators of at 9:00 p.m. (ET, check local starting point for a book I co- military option whatsoever. listings), it will showcase six authored with Christopher What did they do? In many victorious campaigns that Kruegler in 1994, Strategic places, they used nonviolent A Force changed the course of history Nonviolent Conflict. Jack strategies, including strikes, during the 20th century. It will DuVall brought the book to noncooperation, and an infinite More also reflect the passionate Steve York’s attention; Steve variety of protests and even interest and dedicated work of believed these stories would nonviolent sabotage. Powerful series editor, principal content offer gripping material for a In the 1980s, these nonvio- advisor, and Einstein Institution documentary. lent techniques came increas- Board member, Peter As a graduate student at the ingly into play as country after Ackerman, and award-winning Fletcher School of Law and country was transformed into a filmmaker Steve York. In the Diplomacy in the late sixties working democracy, culminat- following interview, they and early seventies, I was ing with the fall of the Berlin discuss the series origin, interested in “asymmetric Wall and the victory over messages, and goals. conflicts,” where one side had apartheid in South Africa. To the preponderance of military my way of thinking there was Q: How did A Force More power but still lost. New factors not enough acknowledgment Powerful get started? were in play that were more by foreign policy elites that psychological and political than these were not isolated events. Ackerman: In a sense, the material. Guerrilla warriors like These were successful “wars,” Ho Chi Minh and Che but the brilliant part was that Striking for free trade unions, workers Guevara were, for many in the winning sides weren’t flash a "victory" sign in Gdansk, liberation movements, the fighting with guns and bombs Poland 1980. heroes then. At that time, I but with innovative nonviolent Photo Credit: Erazm Ciolek A Force More Powerful uses stunning archival footage ♦ ThecourageandenduranceofDenmark’s to present six stories of successful movements around citizensduringtheNazioccupationofWorld WarII.Theirnoncooperationundermined the world. Each includes interviews with witnesses, NaziattemptstoexploitDenmarkforfood survivors and unsung heroes who contributed to andwarmateriel.Inadditiontocommitting these century-changing events. The stories include: sabotageandstaginggeneralstrikes,the Danes’undergroundresistancerescuedall ♦ The1960Nashville,Tennesseecampaignto butafewhundredofDenmark’sseventhou- desegregatethecity'sdowntownbusiness sandJewsfromtheHolocaust. district,whichprofilestheRev.James ♦ LawsonJr.,whostudiedGandhi’stechniques The1980GdanskShipyardstrikethatwon inIndiaandlaterjoinedforceswithMartin Polestherighttoorganizefreetradeunions LutherKingJr.Hisintensiveworkshopson launchedtheSolidaritymovementandcata- nonviolentresistancedrovethesit-insand pultedLechWalesa,ashipyardelectrician, boycottsandbecamewhatKingcalled“the onapathofleadership—andledtothefallof modelofthemovement.” communisminPolandandtheelectionof Walesatothepresidencyofthecountry. ♦ MohandasGandhi’sfamousSaltMarchof ♦ 1930,duringwhichheenjoinedIndiansto ThenationalprotestdaysledbyChilean protesttheBritishsaltmonopoly—aturning copperminersin1983showedthatpublic pointthatpavedthewayforIndia’sinde- oppositiontothedictatorshipofGen. pendencefromBritain.Gandhisteereda AugustoPinochetwaspossible.Brutally shrewdlystrategic,ever-escalatingcourse suppressed,oppositionforcespersistedand of“noncooperation”withBritishrule. eventuallyremovedPinochet’smilitary governmentina1988referendum. ♦ Theconsumerboycottcampaignsagainst apartheidintheEasternCapeProvinceof SouthAfricainthemid1980s,ledbythe youngMkhuseliJack—radicalizedattheage of18bylawsthatkepthimfromenrollingin school.Theseandothercampaignsproved instrumentalindefeatingapartheidand freeingNelsonMandela. 2 NonviolentStruggle methods. Sure there was ○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○ Nonviolent action always ○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○ violence happening all over the has the potential to prevail world in the 20th century, but against ruthless opponents nonviolent power was prevail- because it can be conducted on ing too. a huge scale and involves every citizen who wants to play a Q: How do you put all that part. Its techniques flow from scholarship and strategy on the disruption of the everyday screen and do people want to normalities that the tyrant see that? counts on to maintain power. You see it time and again, in York: What you put on screen India, in Poland, in Chile, in are stories and people. You South Africa—millions of show ideas personified. The people became part of these Danish women publicly celebrate their patriotism in protest drama is in the history. When I movements as much as by what of the German occupation of Denmark during WWII. was in India, I walked along the they refused to do as by what Photo credit: Museum of Danish Resistance dusty road leading to the beach they did. where Gandhi broke the salt That is not to say that law. It looks about the same as nonviolent conflict is easy to and-out tyranny, but rather ○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○ it did in 1930 and it’s nothing wage. It involves willingness to than subduing people, repres- special, but what Gandhi did suffer and to be hurt but not to sion often energizes them. It there is remarkable, and it gives retaliate and cause others to rouses public sentiment from the place a quiet sense of power. hurt. Gandhi often said there the center, the core, that Website I’m not talking about the kind were many things he was moderate middle that won’t act Acomprehensivewebsite of power we associate with willing to die for, but nothing until the extremes are cast into forthefilmwithprogram synopses,timelines,maps, presidents or prime ministers; I he was willing to kill for. In dramatic relief. The tide turned mean the power of moral nonviolent conflict,