Module 5: [Oct 26-31] Collective action for political protest: origins, strategies, and effectiveness. Group project proposal due Fri Oct 28, 6p.

Oct 26 (W): 17. Why strategic nonviolent civil resistance might be more effective than violent revolt.

- - Erica Chenoweth, “Civil Resistance and the ‘3.5% Rule,’” [video lecture] TEDxBoulder (Nov 4, 2013) [read annotated transcript with citations here], Chenoweth TEDx.pdf or https://youtu.be/YJSehRlU34w
  - Charles E. Cobb, Jr., This Nonviolent Stuff’ll Get You Killed (New York: Basic Books, 2014), 1-7, 38-44, Cobb.pdf
  - Optional: Erica Chenoweth and Maria J. Stephan, “Drop Your Weapons: When and Why Civil Resistance Works,” Foreign Affairs 93 (Jul/Aug 2014), 94-106, Chenoweth Stephan FA 2014.pdf
  - Optional: Killian Clarke and Mai Hassan, “This is How to Stop the Coup in Sudan,” New York Times (Oct 29, 2021), and an Apr 2022 update, Clarke Hassan NYT 2021.pdf, Al Jazeera 2022.pdf
  - Resource for discussion: the "Battle of Hayes Pond" in Maxton, NC, Jan 1958 (see WP Oct 5, 2021)
  - Resource for discussion: why Nelson Mandela & the African National Congress adopted a strategy of violent resistance in 1961
  - Resource for discussion: how do 'extreme protest' tactics affect mobilization of others or support from public? one research paper on this, but opposed by the findings of this paper; as well as this one; and what about this recent case?
  - Resource for discussion: manual of civil resistance tactics (see esp. p. 83+)
  - Resource for discussion: Iran's current 2022 protests & their tactics; nature of the protester organization (source) -
  - Resource for discussion: NAVCO case list in Excel format; NAVCO crosstab

Oct 31 (M): 18. Collective action and protest in authoritarian settings. Case studies: Egypt & Hong Kong.

- - Emad El-Din Shahin, “The Egyptian Revolution: The Power of Mass Mobilization and the Spirit of Tahrir Square,” Journal of the Middle East and Africa 3 (2012), 46-69, Shahin.pdf
  - Marina Ottaway and Haleh Esfandiari, "When Do Protests Succeed? The Case of Iran and the Arab World," Wilson Center Viewpoints [blog] (Oct 17, 2022), Ottaway Esfandiari WC 2022.pdf

Resources & Links for this Module

Recordings: Session 17 (Oct 26); Session 18 (Oct 31)
Discussion: Module 5 Discussion
Assignment: Group Project Proposal

Your workflow for any upcoming session:

Look at the learning objectives and discussion questions for the next upcoming session
Do the readings for the upcoming session before it meets
Revisit the learning objectives & discussion questions - can you meet or answer them?
Check in on the module discussion thread: post questions, or comments
Attend class and participate
Check back in on the same module discussion thread: post about your 'muddiest point,' the issue or idea you were most confused about from the past session, or a follow-up comment you want to make in response to something that came up in discussion

Session 17 Learning Objectives

Define 'civil resistance'
Analyze & evaluate Chenoweth et al.'s argument about why (nonviolent) civil resistance can be more effective than violent revolt

Session 17 Discussion Questions

Session 18 Learning Objectives

Describe, explain, and evaluate the role of collective action in the 2011 Egyptian Revolution
Compare that to other mass protest situations, e.g., Hong Kong protests in 2020, Iran protests in 2022, etc.

Session 18 Discussion Questions

What distinguished the Egyptian 2011 revolution, as Shahin characterizes it, pps. 48+?
Why did the revolution happen in Jan 2011 and not earlier? Role of structural causes? How uniquely sufficient to explain this outcome are they? What conditions propagated by the regime and its prior policies and practices gave rise to this protest and to this form of protest? (role of mass unorganized groups due to party repression, newness of mass groups meaning that regime didn’t have intelligence on their members, etc.)
How did this leaderless revolution arise? How did it successfully coordinate on one single message and demand?
1. Contrast with the carefully orchestrated, pre-planned, well-trained & -recruited, US civil rights movement typified by John Lewis & Freedom Summer
2. Contrast with ‘Occupy’ movement in US in last decade…
3. US Jan 6 Capitol protest/insurrection?
4. Compare to the Hong Kong case or the Iran 2022 protests discussed in the other reading
Why did individual people join the Egyptian protests?
The role of information. What are protesters and potential protesters learning from each other, from the situation, from the reaction of the government & military?
The role of social media. What role did it play in helping protesters coordinate?
The role of nonviolence. How did the group discipline itself to adhere to this principle? Did this strategy make it more effective? Compare to US civil rights movement…
What does it do to this spirit of Tahrir Square that the military took the government over after only 2 years, in 2013? [Scene from Hulu show “Ramy” with Ramy talking with his cousin Shadi… ‘Dude, where’s my country?’]
Compare this movement and its result to protests occurring today around the world, in Hong Kong, Iraq, Ecuador, Catalonia, Venezuela, Gaza, Myanmar

Additional Resources

Vox video explainer of Hong Kong protests: https://youtu.be/6_RdnVtfZPY