A New Era of Nonviolence

This book is an exploration of nonviolent strategies and tactics that have been used to prevent and end civil wars, invasions, and occupations. The problem of war is examined in light of efforts to transform destructive conflict into constructive conflict. Research into alternatives has produced a corpus of knowledge that enables civil society increasingly to expect success when it engages decision-makers in peaceful conflict resolution. The book asks the reader to consider the questions of social conflict using a cost-benefit analysis—which can reveal the advisability of strategic nonviolence. Research into the causes and correlates of war is robust, and when that research is applied to comparisons of conflict management methods, numerous conclusions about potential strategies for ending war emerge.

Tom H. Hastings teaches in the graduate program of Conflict Resolution at Portland State University.

Tom H. Hastings

Foreword by Laura Finley

Format: softcover (6 x 9)
Pages: 200
Bibliographic Info: notes, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2014
pISBN: 978-0-7864-9431-6
eISBN: 978-1-4766-1561-5
Imprint: McFarland

Acknowledgments  vi
Foreword by Laura Finley  1
Preface: War Is Over  5

Section I: Ending Civil Wars 15
Part 1: Reduce Grievances 18
Stop the Violence 21
Leadership Styles  29
Corruption 31
Resource Conflict  35
Poverty  44
Democratic Aspirations 49
Secession  51
Identity Conflict  54
Cross-Border Spillover War  62
Failed States  67
Conflict Early Warning 68
Post-Conflict Is ­Pre-Conflict  69
Media 73

Part 2: Promote Nonviolent Conflict Management 78
Strategic Nonviolence  84
Truth and Reconciliation Processes  94
Transform Conflict Industry  96
Sanctions 101
Peace and Conflict Education  102
Law 103

Section II: Ending Invasions and Occupations 107
Part 3: Nonviolent Resistance: Invaded and Invading Nations 110
Nonviolent Resistance from Within the Invading Nation 111
Nonviolent Resistance from Within the Invaded and Occupied Nations 124
Part 4: Nonviolent Resistance by the World 135
Citizen-Based Direct Diplomacy  139
Civil Society Prompting International Action  143
Civil Society–Initiated Corporation Action  145
The Ultimate Challenge: How About Those Nazis?  148
Perduring Problems, Hypothetical Solutions: Ballots, Bullets, or Bodies  149
Transnational Forces for Nonviolence  151

Conclusion: Nonviolence Is the Better Mousetrap  160
Notes  163
References  169
Index  185

“Recommended”—Huntington News