Presented by: Dr. Joseph Bock, Director of Global Health Training at the Eck Institute for Global Health, University of Notre Dame, and Author of “The Technology of Nonviolence”
Wednesday, December 5, 2012
This webinar is transcribed into Chinese
Engaging in nonviolent resistance for political transformation during Gandhi’s struggles in South Africa and British India has many similarities to more modern approaches. Some people claim that social media is the main ingredient. Is that correct? What technologies are most important? What else is needed for the success of nonviolent movements that social media cannot provide? Can’t technology also be used by oppressive governments and troublemakers? Can’t they use the information on digital maps that everyone else can see on the internet? And what happens when cell phone and internet services are interrupted or shut down completely?
Additional Resources
- Bock, Joseph G. The Technology of Nonviolence: Social Media and Violence Prevention. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2012. Learn more
- Chenoweth, Erica. “Why Civil Resistance Works.” ICNC Webinar, delivered April 8, 2010. Available online
- Johansen, Robert C. “Radical Islam and Nonviolence: A Case Study of Religious Empowerment and Constraint Among Pashtuns,” Journal of Peace Research, Vol. 34, No. 1, 1997, p. 64. Available online
- Just Peace International, Inc.
- Leson, Heather. “Re-Imagining Citizen Engagement.” Slideshare, February 24, 2012. Available online
Review of Why Civilian Resistance Works: The Strategic Logic of Nonviolent Conflict, by Erica Chenoweth and Maria J. Stephan. New York: Columbia University Press, 2011, in Dynamics of Asymmetric Conflict: Pathways toward terrorism and genocide, Vol. 5, Issue 1, 2012: 74-76. Available online