handbook_2014.qxp 17/06/2014 19:40 Page 1 Handbook for Nonviolent Campaigns Second Edition Published by War Resisters’ International Second Edition June 2014 ISBN 978-0-903517-28-7 Except where otherwise noted, this work is licensed under Attribution-Non-Commercial-Share Alike 2.0 UK: England & Wales. See http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/uk/) 1 handbook_2014.qxp 17/06/2014 19:40 Page 2 2 handbook_2014.qxp 17/06/2014 19:40 Page 3 CREDITS The process of writing this Handbook was a collective effort, with people from across the world (more than 20 countries) contributing their time, skills, knowledge and resources. The first edition was translated into 10 languages. The second edition was expanded on by a range of writers and contributors. All of the content and translations are available for free online at http://wri-irg.org/pubs/NonviolenceHandbook Coordinator: Andrew Dey Editorial Committee: Javier Gárate, Subhash Kattel, Christine Schweitzer and Joanne Sheehan Editorial consultant: Mitzi Bales Layout: Contributors to both editions of the handbook include: Ahmadullah Archiwal, Eric Bachman, Roberta Bacic, Jagat Basnet, April Carter, Janet Cherry, Jungmin Choi, Howard Clark, Jake Coleman, Lavinia Crossley, Jagat Deuja, Denise Drake, Hilal Demir, Luke Finn, Abraham Gebreyesus Mehreteab, Dan Glass, Symon Hill, Ruth Hiller, Ippy, Yeo Jeewoo, Jørgen Johansen, Sian Jones, Randy Kehler, Adele Kirsten, Boro Kitanoski, Hans Lammerant, Cattis Laska, Tali Lerner, Benard Lisamadi Agona, Dieter Lünse, Brian Martin, Jason MacLeod, Shannon McManimon, Rosa Moiwend, Michael Randle, Andrew Rigby, Vicki Rovere, Chesterfield Samba, Ruben Dario Santamaria, Vivien Sharples, Martin Smedjeback, Majken Sorensen, Andreas Speck, Jill Sternberg, Roel Stynen, Miles Tanhira, Katja Tempel, Cecil Barbeito Thonon, Ferda Ûlker, Sahar Vardi, Stellan Vinthagen, Steve Whiting, Dorie Wilsnack. This handbook is dedicated to Howard Clark (1950-2013), who died unexpectedly while this second edition of the handbook was being produced; Howard had contributed extensively to the first and second edition with his knowledge of the history and practice of nonviolence. Howard was the WRI Chair from 2006 until his death. 3 handbook_2014.qxp 17/06/2014 19:40 Page 4 CONTENTS ABOUT . .7 INTRODUCTION TO NONVIOLENCE . .9 What is nonviolence, and why use it? . .9 Historical uses of nonviolent action . .13 Nonviolence training . .18 Gender and nonviolence . .22 Violence . .27 Conflict . .32 Nonviolence and power . .34 DEVELOPING STRATEGIC CAMPAIGNS . Why things don't ‘just happen’ . .39 Planning nonviolent campaigns . .46 Constructive programme . .56 Theories of change . .61 Stages of escalation in a nonviolent campaign . .64 The movement action plan . .67 Education is freedom: popular education . .73 Mobilising for change: building power in Nepal . .79 ORGANISING EFFECTIVE ACTIONS . Sending the protest message . .84 Working in groups . .89 Consensus decision-making . .98 Maintaining nonviolence during an action . .102 Fear . .104 Coping with the stress and strain of taking a stand . .108 Activism in oppressive regimes: some lessons from South Africa . .113 Humour and nonviolent campaigns . .119 Tactic star . .127 Roles before, during, and after an action . .128 Dilemma actions . .129 Media . .131 Legal support . .136 Jail support (MOC-Spain experience) . .140 Action evaluation . .142 4 handbook_2014.qxp 17/06/2014 19:40 Page 5 CASE STUDIES: STORIES AND EXPERIENCES . International solidarity campaign with South Africa . .145 Seabrook—Wyhl—Marckolsheim: transnational links in a chain of campaigns 147 Chile: Gandhi’s insights gave people courage to defy Chile’s dictatorship .149 South Korea: the power of international solidarity 151 South Korea: the use of social media in nonviolent campaigns . .154 Colombia: Peace Community of San Jose de Apartadó . .156 Turkey: building a nonviolent culture . .160 ANFEM (antimilitarist feminists) . .164 Castor — how we mobilised people for civil disobedience . .166 Freedom Flotilla to Gaza — a dilemma action case study . .170 Israel: New Profile learns from the experience of others . .172 Nonviolent intervention in Kenya: empowering community action for social justice . .176 West Papua: “We will be free” . .179 Afghan nonviolence handbook . .184 Diaspora solidarity for Eritrea: the Arbi Harnet campaign . .186 TRAINING AND EXERCISES . Tasks and tools for organising a training . .189 Parallel lines . .193 Brainstorming . .194 River of Life — gender lens . .195 Imagine the future: setting goals . .197 10/10 strategies . .198 The problem tree/healthy tree . .199 The pillars of power . .203 Power flower . .201 Letter from a Birmingham jail . .205 Risky situation . .206 Spectrum of allies . .208 Tree and wind . .210 Decision making . .211 I could do that if . .213 Role playing . .214 Spectrum and cross spectrum . .215 “Is it newsworthy?” . .217 Forum theatre . .218 Who Has power in a school? . .220 Tools for grounding, protecting and blockading . .221 DOING YOUR OWN HANDBOOK . .223 GLOSSARY . .225 RESOURCES . .228 5 handbook_2014.qxp 17/06/2014 19:40 Page 6 About 6 handbook_2014.qxp 17/06/2014 19:40 Page 7 About ABOUT ar Resisters’ International (WRI) is a network of mutual support, where we learn and support each other. Our Handbook for Nonviolent Campaigns is Wa vivid example of the strength and depth of the WRI network. In 2009, WRI published the first edition of this handbook, as a response to a need for a resource on nonviolent campaigning that could be used by grassroots groups in lots of different contexts. The content was based on the experience of many activists in different countries and across generations. After being published, some of the best responses to it came from local groups and people who took on translating the handbook into their own languages. When producing the first edition we thought people might use or translate specific sections; to our sur- prise, in the coming months and years, translations of its full content were completed in more than 10 languages. Some of them were only being finished as we went to press with this second edition. By sharing experiences and providing mutual support in WRI, we learn of the power of nonviolent action. There are many dramatic images of nonviolent action; indeed, the ability to dramatise an issue is one of the strengths of non- violence. Nonviolence allows people to see and act on what often passes unno- ticed. However, this drama doesn’t just happen. It gestates — in groups or cells of activists, in discussions, in training sessions, in reflecting on previous expe- riences, in planning, in experimenting, in making contacts. That is why this handbook is grounded in what groups have done and how they have done it. We are not attempting to present a definitive model, but to suggest methods that have worked in various contexts, that can be adapted by creative nonviolent activists in their own situations. The work of this handbook has been an ongoing project for WRI. We don’t see this version as an end in itself. This second edition reflects the thinking and experiences of using and translating the first edition as well as the develop- ment of nonviolent campaigning within the network at the time it was written. The printed version of the Handbook is what you have in your hands, but the ongoing process of sharing resources on nonviolent campaigns continues on our website. You will see that this second edition is very much based on the first one. While some of the content remains the same, there is also a lot of new and revised material. The first clear change is that in an effort to simplify and make 7 handbook_2014.qxp 17/06/2014 19:40 Page 8 About the handbook easier to use, we have a new structure based on five main sec- tions. The first section, ‘introduction to nonviolence’ introduces what we mean by nonviolence and incorporates new content on what we understand by vio- lence, conflict and the role of power when dealing with conflict. Power and conflict are not negative words on their own, it is how you engage and deal with conflict and power that matters. The gender piece in this section is complete- ly new and reflects WRI’s decision to form a Queer Working Group as well as having a Women Working Group, to challenge a binary approach of men and women; it also looks at how to engender our practices at all levels as nonvio- lent activists.The second section is called ‘developing strategic campaigns’ — the key word here being strategic — and includes new pieces on what makes a campaign or group strategic, the experiences learned from mobilisation in Nepal, and a piece on popular education. The third section, ‘organising effec- tive nonviolent action’, is a rich range of resources on organising effective non- violent action. The content includes a piece on how to deal with fear in actions and a text introducing the concept of dilemma actions. ‘Case studies: stories and experiences’ is the fourth section, with new and updated cases that show the strength and diversity of nonviolent action. Finally, the fifth section, ‘train- ing and exercises’ gives examples of exercises and advice on running training sessions for working with nonviolence. These groups exercises aim to deepen a group’s understanding of an issue and each other, or to.