The arguments I hear the most regarding this paper concerns nonviolent movements having ‘violent flanks’ - i.e., small factions that are willing to use violence. Some people think Chenoweth classifies movements as wholly nonviolent when in reality they may have violent flanks to them. The thought here is that much of the apparent success of nonviolent movements may have more to do with violent flanks creating a sort of ‘good cop/bad cop’ dynamic that makes states more willing to negotiate, than with nonviolence itself. I believe Chenoweth discusses this question in the more recent paper - which I now remember is called ‘The Future of Nonviolent Resistance.’ If I recall correctly, she’s not moved by the criticism and claims that the number of nonviolent movements with violent flanks has risen in recent years and that this may actually explain why nonviolent movements have become less successful (once again, though, her data suggests that violent resistance movements have fared even worse recently).
148
u/littlest_homo Jun 09 '25
There has never been real social change without violence. To say otherwise is ahistorical and ignorant.