8c. Contemporary Resistance Movements 

The world has witnessed nonviolent resistance movements to dictatorships in many other countries in more recent history.  Some of these have drawn on the movements of the Second World War as an example and looked to the ideas of Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr. Others have followed directly the action plans proposed by Gene Sharp, as we’ve discussed earlier in the course.

Here is a brief summary of just several examples. There are many more, which you can find on the website of the International Center for Nonviolent Conflict: Nonviolent Conflict Summaries. Note how some of these movements were identified by simple symbols – words or images or colours. 

  • Czechoslovakia. In 1989, as the Soviet Union was on the verge of disintegration, pro-democracy groups in this country began a movement of mass protest against the regime in power. They used music, theatre, strikes, and boycotts, and in particular mass collective gatherings to oppose the regime. The movement was called the ‘Velvet Revolution’ because of the smooth, nonviolent way that spurred transformation.
  • Serbia. In 1998 a group of students formed a movement called Otpor (‘Resistance’) to oppose the dictatorship of Slobodan Milosevic. Responding to his suppression of freedom of speech at universities, and also wider violent crackdown on democracy in Serbia, the students initially engaged in street theatre as a tactic. They used humour to mock Milosevic’s regime and empower people to see the dictatorship as vulnerable and possible to get rid of.1 He was ousted from power in just two years. Here is a list of the creative nonviolent strategies used by Otpor: Otpor and the Struggle for Democracy in Serbia (1998-2000).
  • Myanmar. In 2007, the country also known as Burma (the label of the British occupation government), experienced the ‘Saffron Revolution’ that opposed the military regime in this nation. Buddhist monks who avowed nonviolence held marches to protest government suppression of human rights.
  • Egypt. The 2011 movement (although it began earlier), referred to as the ‘Arab Spring,’ began in Egypt, as resistance to the decades-long dictatorship of Hosni Mubarak. The key tactic of this resistance movement was the use of internet technology to gather support and spread the word. Your reading “Egypt: The First Internet Revolt?”, provides insight into how important social media was for spreading information and generating support during this resistance movement.
  • Hong Kong. In 2014, Hong Kong citizens took to the streets in mass numbers to protest policies of the ruling Chinese government that reduced voting rights. The pro-democracy movement became known as the Umbrella Revolution because umbrellas were used as nonviolent tools of resistance against police aggression including the use of pepper spray. A new wave of protests emerged in 2019.
Velvet revolution protestors in Prague
"Velvet Revolution" protestors in Prague
Saffron revolution with Buddhist monks protesting in Burma
"Saffron Revolution" monks protesting in Burma
Crowd of protestors gather with yellow umbrellas
"Umbrella Revolution" protestors in Hong Kong

Before you leave this module, take a few minutes to look at what happened this week in  The Year in Peace and Justice History’. Are there any events profiled that link directly or indirectly to any of the themes and information in this module? Reviewing this site may also provide you with ideas for a topic for your Research Essay for the course.

 

Stop and Ask

What are the aims/goals, methods/tactics, ideology/philosophy, and symbols of these movements?

Illustration of peace symbol as a pie chart with four sections: aims/goals, methods/tactics, ideology/philosophy, and symbols
 

Text References

  1. Lester Kurtz, “Otpor and the Struggle for Democracy in Serbia (1998-2000),” International Center for Nonviolent Conflict, 2010, accessed December 27, 2019, https://www.nonviolent-conflict.org/otpor-struggle-democracy-serbia-1998-2000/.

Image References

ŠJů, "Prague during the Velvet Revolution," Wikimedia Commons, November 25, 1989, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Praha_1989-11-25,_Letn%C3%A1,_dav_(01).jpg and licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

racoles, "Monks Protesting in Burma," Wikimedia Commons, September 24, 2007, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:2007_Myanmar_protests_11.jpg and licensed under CC BY 2.0.

Lily Kuo, "Hong Kong 'umbrella movement': nine convicted over protests," The Guardian, April 9, 2019, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/apr/09/hong-kong-umbrella-movement-protesters-guilty-over-pro-democracy-rallies-jail#img-3.

Please return to Module 8 to complete this module.