Diaspora support for militant groups is associated with a 7% increased probability that the militant group will shift towards nonviolent tactics.
nonviolence
Limiting both state violence and activist violence in the context of a civil resistance struggle is important to movement success.
In Barcelona, a four-day-long riot associated with 15-M led to an overall 12-point decline in public support for the movement.
Nearly all nonviolent resistance movements face a common challenge—the temptation to turn to violence, whether among those within the movement or on the part of the government whose policies or behaviors may be the target of the resistance movement.
Reformists in Iran were more willing to support and join a hypothetical Green Movement in the future if it were to use nonviolent rather than violent strategies.
The focus of civil resistance movements on ousting rightwing populist leaders is counterproductive because it plays into narratives of “us vs. them” and hampers efforts to gain broad-based support by polarizing supporters and detractors of rightwing populism.
The following analysis is from Volume 3, Issue 4 of the Peace Science Digest Citation: Cunningham, K. G., Dahl, M. & Frugé, A. (2017). Strategies of resistance: Diversification and diffusion. American Journal of Political Science, 6, 591-605. This study is
Before the internet, protesters lacked social media's networking capabilities that allow movements to coordinate and share information in real time. But now, movements have the ability to grow so rapidly that they skip preparation stages that are often vital to movement success.
During resistance movements, repression can backfire. Rather than crippling the resistance, repression often fuels resistance and undercuts the legitimacy of a power elite.
A student-led movement in Bosnia and Herzegovina successfully defeated a government plan to segregate their school. The contagious nature of nonviolent movements may have contributed to their success.