A BOOK REVIEW
FROM DICTATORSHIP TO DEMOCRACY:
A CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK FOR LIBERATION
FOURTH US EDITION
GENE SHARP
THE ALBERT EINSTEIN INSTITUTION
MAY 2010
93pp
BOOK REVIEWER: WISDOM IYEKEKPOLO
A SEMINAR PAPER PRESENTED IN THE DEPARTMENT OF
POLITICAL SCIENCE AND PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION,
UNIVERSITY OF BENIN, BENIN CITY, NIGERIA
IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF REQUIREMENTS FOR
POL. 861 (STUDIES IN STRATEGY AND SECURITY)
Lecturer- Dr. Musa Abutudu
September, 2011
INTRODUCTION
The term dictator was originally not negative in meaning. Its present negative connotation started in the days of Julius Caesar of Rome. Even at these earliest times, dictatorships always had to contend with resistance struggles of which much has been violent in nature. While some have been victorious, others have not; even in victorious cases, there were higher likelihood of transition to another dictatorship. The book, “from dictatorship to democracy: A conceptual framework for liberation” by Gene Sharp has tried to x-ray liberation struggle from the two points of either Violence action or Non–violence action. Based on his analysis he prescribed a non-violence action as the better form of liberation struggle.
Sharp dwells extensively on how to embark on a nonviolent struggle. He analyzes different possible means of engaging a dictatorship from violent face-off with the dictator through coups to elections under the dictatorship, foreign intervention or foreign saviours as he termed it to negotiating with the dictators. He highlighted the impracticability of these measures and its inherent limitation. After dealing with these options in liberation struggles, he went ahead to propose a nonviolent struggle option which he carefully provided guidelines for achieving.
Sharp probed the sources of the political power of a dictatorship with an analysis of the “Monkey Master” fable and subsequently the identification of dictatorships weaknesses or Achilles’ heel and how best to attack the dictatorship through these weaknesses. He emphasized the importance of strategic planning and applying political defiance in its workings and as a weapon of nonviolence struggle. He believes that with the application of these nonviolent weapons, the disintegration of a dictatorship with less casualty was certain. Sharp went further to propose strategic plans and groundwork for durable democracy after the collapse of a dictatorship and how to avert the threats of a new dictatorship and coups. On a final note, he advised on constitution drafting, democratic defense policy and meritorious responsibility.
Sharp expressed his very clear purpose of writing this essay. He wants to outline guides on how to destroy a dictatorship and to prevent the rise of a new one for people who face the realities of dictatorial rule. The guide probes the most effective ways dictatorships could be successfully destroyed with the least possible cost in suffering and lives. His desire was born out of the belief that human being should not be subjected to and destroyed by dictatorship. He genuinely believes that these dictatorial regimes could be brought down by struggles waged without mass mutual slaughters, this form of liberation struggle is termed nonviolent struggle.
Sharp has focused this essay on the advantages inherent in nonviolence actions over the commonly applied violence actions and further provides a guide on how to executive a nonviolence action. This essay has undeniable strengths but it is important to carefully think of the practicability of his well laid out plan of action. These plans are very beautiful in essay but it is worthy of note that the implementation is much more complex than the essay has provided. With Sharps envisaged level of planning, there may never again be a nonviolent struggle. As much as this guide looks well thought-out, a successful nonviolence action may have not take so much intense planning and such a step by step manner of execution.
Sharp has shown the merits of nonviolence action over the violence driven ones and proposes nonviolence struggles as the most cost effective and less destructive way to overthrown dictators. However, it may be unrealistic to assume that all dictatorship could be overthrown through nonviolence actions. In reality, a mindless dictator is ready to crush all those who revolt against its regime no matter the number. This is a well thought-out theoretical plan on engaging a dictatorship and disintegrating it to allow for democracy but in practical terms a careful adherence to these plans means that there may never be a revolution. Sincerely, sometimes violence works and may remains the most viable option.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
The essay, “from dictatorship to democracy: A conceptual framework for liberation”, was initially published in Bangkok in 1993 by the committee for the Restoration of Democracy in Burma in association with Khit Pyaing (The New Era Journal). It has since been translated into about thirty-one other languages and has been published in many countries including the United States where it currently has four editions.
The essay has basically focused on how to overthrow a dictatorship. This method of overthrow was categorized into two: the violence and the nonviolence means. This work has no doubt been influenced by literatures on the subject of resistance from the Greeks through the Romans and the Christian philosophers such as Thomas Aquinas and William of Ockham who endorsed a limited form of resistance against dictatorships and then the classical authors of Italian Renaissance who believed in the right of resistance against unjust government. These authors equated resistance with violence but later authors like Etienne de la Boetie who appeared promoting the efficacy of nonviolence resistance. He saw that the rule of a tiny minority over society was possible only if the maqjority voluntarily accepted it. He argued that the social consensus theory implied that it could overthrow dictatorship peaceably if the majority withdrew its consent. Though the 17th century theorist like Locke, Sidney and Milton did not follow these thoughts of nonviolent resistance, the 19th century produced two significant theorist of nonviolence resistance, Henry David Thoreau and Count Leo Tolstoy. Tolstoy’s thoughts significantly influenced the 20th century preeminent exponents of nonviolence, Mahatma Gandhi (Caplan, 1994). Gene Sharp has been able to draw from these thinkers on resistance struggle and pitched with the long tradition of thinkers who argue that the source of a dictatorship political power is the consent it receives from the majority of it people and not necessary its intimidating force.
The review of this book therefore will be based on its ability to convince its readers on the effectiveness of nonviolence action over violence action in liberation struggles, the liberation struggles it has influenced since it was published, and the practicability of its guide towards a nonviolence action.
BOOK SUMMARY
Gene Sharp’s essay been driven by his quest for how people could prevent and destroy dictatorships as he believes that human beings should not be dominated and destroyed by such regimes. This desire to destroy dictatorships has been fueled by this reading on freedom and dictatorships, contact with those people who suffered under dictatorial regimes like the Nazi rule and the calm heroism of brave people who under great danger remain defiant to dictatorships. He expresses himself thus:
“Out of these concerns and experiences grew a determined hope that prevention of tyranny might be possible, that successful struggles against dictatorships could be waged without mass mutual slaughter, that dictatorships could be destroyed and new one, prevented from rising out of the ashes.”
Sharp’s point, belief and focus are simple. He has expressed them clearly as
1. Dictatorships can be destroyed and should be destroyed.
2. The disintegration of dictatorship must not and should not be violence driven instead nonviolence means should be employed.
3. Nonviolent action is more effective and less costly especially in terms of human lives lost.
4. Nonviolence action should be carried out by the withdrawal of support for the regime. This he argues is the main source of power of any dictatorship.
He hoped that his analysis will be useful to people who find themselves under dictatorial regime in their struggle to liberate themselves from the shackles of dictatorship.
Sharp proves his point that nonviolent disintegration of dictatorship is possible by given examples of dictatorships hitherto perceived as firmly entrenched and impregnable which have collapsed or stumbled under the concerted defiance of the people. Countries like Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, Poland, East Germany, Czechoslovakia and Slovenia, Madagascar, Mali, Bolivia, and the Philippines etc.
In Sharp’s critique of violent actions aimed at destroying a dictatorial regime, he argues that these have mostly failed and have shown no evidence that its level of success will improve. He ascertains that by placing confidence in violent means, one has chosen the very type of struggle which the oppressors nearly always have superiority. The dictator nearly always has the superior military hardware. Even in guerilla warfare, there is hardly any benefit for the oppressed as even in rare cases of success; the new regime may be a worse dictatorship.
Sharp considers the three liberation options of coups, elections and foreign saviours. He concludes that military coups leave in place the existing misdistribution of power between the population and the elite in control of the government and its military forces. The new clique of military rulers may even turn out to be more ruthless and more ambitious than the old one after consolidating its position. On the conduct of election under dictatorship, he argues that dictators are not in the business of allowing elections that will remove them from power. Sharp also had his views on foreign intervention as a means of political change. He pointed out the realist opinion that foreign states will tolerate or even positively assist a dictatorship in order to advance their own economic or political interest and will only act against it to gain economic, political, or military control over the country. He adds that the factors that fuel dictatorships are mainly internal; so, foreign pressure can only be useful if it is supporting a powerful internal resistance movement.
Sharp reviews the negotiation option in effecting political change. He argues that negotiation may be very useful when non-fundamental issues are at stake but not to be applied when the issued at stake are fundamental. Issue of human freedom is fundamental so negotiation is not an option. He argues that in a firmly entrenched dictatorship, the negotiators lives are in danger. In a negotiation, both parties give up some objectives and accept some other objectives. He then asked some questions which is fundamental in a negotiation. What objectives of the dictators are pro-democracy forces to accept? Are the democrats to give the dictators a constitutionally-established permanent role in the future government? Where is the democracy in that? Pro-democracy forces must also be aware that negotiation with a dictator may just be a form of legitimization of the regime. When issues are fundamental, negotiation should only occur at the end of a decisive struggle in which the power of the dictator has been effectively destroyed and they seek personal safe passage to an international airport.
Gene Sharp, after analyzing his views on how not to engage a dictator, he proposed an option of how to embark on a freedom struggle which is basically non-violent in nature. He built the analysis/understanding of a nonviolence action on a 14th century Chinese parable by Liu-Ji, the “Monkey Master” Fable and a myth from classical Greece “Achilles’ heel”. The Monkey Master fable was to analyze the source of political power for a dictatorship while Achilles’ heel myth was to prove that even a dictatorship has weaknesses and the struggle must identify the weakness and attack it from that point. The monkey master fable proved that the cooperation and obedience of the people is the source of a dictator’s political power. When there is a withdrawal of popular and institutional co-operation with the aggressors or dictators, the availability of the source of power on which an authority relies diminishes or is totally eroded. This was the case when the monkeys became enlightened and withdrew their support for the monkey master. The master eventually died of starvation. Sharp’s point is that the dictatorship can also die if starved of political power or if the source of supply to political power is cut-off. Using the myth of Achilles’ heel, Sharp elucidated the importance of acknowledging that the dictatorship has weaknesses; so the identification of these weaknesses and subsequent attack from the weakest point and not the strongest point. The warrior Achilles who appeared invulnerable to the enemy’s weapons was fatally attacked through his heel which was identified by the enemies as his weakest point. With the knowledge of such inherent weaknesses, the democratic opposition can seek to aggravate these “Achilles’ heel” deliberately in order to alter the system drastically or to disintegrate it.
From chapter 5 of this essay, Gene Sharp began to analyze the practicability of the nonviolence means of political change; he analyzed the techniques available in the withdrawal of the dictator’s political power and what action will tend to aggravate the identified weaknesses of dictatorship. He specified political defiance as a major weapon in the struggle, he however did not limit political defiance to just strikes and mass demonstrations as was always the case but he specified one hundred and ninety-eight methods. These he classified under three broad categories: protest and persuasion, non cooperation, and intervention
Sharp stressed the importance of nonviolent discipline in the process of what he called political jiu-jitsu. By political jiu-jitsu he means the political rebound of a dictator’s violence against nonviolent actions of activists. It can cause dissention in their ranks as well as foment support for the resisters among the general population, the regime’s usual supporters, and third parties. The maintenance of nonviolence discipline against violent opponents he stressed facilitates the workings of the four mechanisms of change in nonviolence struggle. They are:
1. CONVERSION: when members of the opponent group are emotionally moved by the suffering of repression imposed on courageous nonviolent resisters or is rationally persuaded that the resister’s cause is just, they may come to accept the resister’s aims.
2. ACCOMMODATION: when the issues are not fundamental ones, the immediate conflict may be ended by reaching an agreement, a splitting of differences or compromise.
3. NONVIOLENT COERCION: when a mass noncooperation and defiance has changed social and political situation, especially power relationship, that the dictator’s ability to control governmental processes and the society is in fact taken away.
4. DISINTEGRATION: when the dictatorial system collapse to the extent that they do not even have sufficient power surrender.
In the execution of nonviolence action, Sharp emphasized the need for strategic planning. He hinged the failures of nonviolent struggle on lack or insufficient strategic planning. Bright ideas on toppling dictatorship are good but strategic planning in needed in reality. In planning a strategy however, it should be remembered that against a dictatorship the objective of the grand strategy is not simply to bring down the dictator but to install a democratic system and make the rise of a new dictatorship impossible.
Sharp summarizes that success against an entrenched dictatorship requires that non cooperation and defiance reduce and remove the sources of the regime’s power. Without constant replenishment of the necessary sources of power the dictatorship will weaken and finally disintegrate. Competent strategic planners of political defiance against dictatorship therefore needs; to target the dictator’s most important sources of power. In the advent of the disintegration of a dictatorship, the groundwork for a durable democracy must be put in place by the drafting of a constitution.
EVALUATION
Achievements
This essay has aimed at spurring resistance leaders to consider strategies that may increase their effective power while reducing the relative level of casualties; in other words, the most effective way in which dictatorships could be successfully disintegrated with the least possible cost in sufferings and lives. In doing this, Sharp has highlighted the merits of nonviolent actions over violent ones. In my view this has been a success as the book repetitively reinforced the idea many times over that violence is the strongest point of a dictatorship and any violent challenge will almost likely meet with great loss of lives and failed liberation struggle but an attack on the dictators weakest point through weapons of non violent action will be more effective. As intended by Sharp, I submit that the essay has been really influential and has prompted a lot of those under the yoke of dictatorship to adopt a nonviolence stance. The essay which was originally intended for use by Burmese democrats and various ethnic groups in Burma that wanted independence from the Burma-dominated central government in Rangoon has become potentially relevant in any country with a dictatorial government due to its generic focus. It has since been translated into at least thirty-one other languages. In capturing the influence of “from dictatorship to democracy” Oleh Kyriyenko said in a 2004 interview with Radio Netherlands that
“The Bible of Pora has been the book of Gene Sharp, also used by Otpor… Pora activists have translated it by themselves.... The institution provided funding to print over 12,000 copies of this book for free”. (Kyriyenko, 2004)
The institution refers to the Albert Einstein institution. Writing in the same vein, the Tehran Times, in the aftermath of the Tehran 2009 post election protest, writes that
“According to the indictment, a number of the accused confessed that the plan was following the timetable of the Velvet revolution to the extent that over 100 stages of the 198 steps of Gene Sharp were implemented in the foiled Velvet revolution.”
In comparing the Orange revolution in Ukraine and the recent scenes on the Arab streets, Carol Off remarked that
“Indeed, the remarkable discipline of the young leaders, their tactics and strategies, their slogans and posters are all torn from the same handbook – a guide to nonviolence revolution called – From Dictatorship to Democracy. And they’ve all been inspired by the same guru. An 83-year-old American activist named Gene Sharp”. (Off, 2011)
A Belgrade Student by name Srdjan Popovic in an interview with CBC News said he first heard of the Professor and his “198 methods of non violent action” in late 1999 when a movement in Serbia known as Otpor, managed to oust the bad-man of the Balkans – Slobadan Milosovic. He further explained that he and his young friends went into training a year in advance and spent many weeks honing the skills outlined in Gene Sharp’s handbook before they took to the streets. Ruaridh Arrow analyzed that the handbooks
“help in bringing down Milosovic in Serbia in 2000 propelled it into use across Eastern Europe, South America and the Middle East. When it reached Russia, the intelligence services raised the print-shop and the shops selling it mysteriously burned to the ground. The Iranians became so worried they broadcast an animated propaganda film on state TV – of gene Sharp plotting the overthrows of Iran from the White House”. (Arrow, 2011)
With this huge impact on dictatorial countries around the world, one cannot but accept that the goals of the essay have to a very high degree been achieved.
Criticisms
This essay no doubt has been a great addition to the cause of the liberation struggles against dictatorial regimes around the world but there are some perceived gaps in its analysis. These gaps have been itemized for clarity and further cause of study.
1. To analyze the source of political power for a dictatorship and how to cut-off its supply channels, Professor Sharp employed the use of a Chinese fable, the “Monkey Master”. The fable was not appropriate for this level of analysis. A more analytical review of the fable reveals that the old man in the fable as it were, was not equipped with the coerciveness of the real world dictator. A dictator has the military command with which it could unleash colossal violence even in the face of nonviolence posture of the activists. An example can be found in the 2011 Arab uprising were counties like Libya and Syria to a great extent applied enormous force to suppress the non-violent revolts in their countries. The point being made is simple, in the fable, the Monkeys simply became enlighten and withdrew their support for the old man and that was all needed for their liberation but in a real dictatorial world, the monkeys could be chained and flogged and the leaders of the revolt killed to instill fear in those still alive. A tyrannical government system is not as simple as it has been portrayed with the fable. In a repressive system, there are still those members of the population who benefit and will want the status quo to be maintained, the population will most likely not support a revolt en-mass. For example in Egypt, Libya, etc. there were pro-government protesters. The monkey master fable is too simplistic.
2. Gene Sharp in his analysis has emphasized the importance of strategic planning in the execution of a non-violent action. He provided 198 specific tools which were categorized into three but he was not explicit in the choices of which of these to use at different stages of the struggle. The usage of these tactics needs some form of training but can these training be done effectively under an entrenched dictatorship? Generally speaking, extensive strategic planning may not be realistic in a well policed state as is mostly the case in a dictatorship. Spontaneous actions had driven a lot of revolutionary moves. Yes, they have mostly failed but there is no guaranteed success even in the best planned action. In fact, an extensive planning stage also provides the dictator an ample planning time for a counter action. My argument is thus, while a strategic plan may be useful an extensive one cum training may be counter-productive.
3. Sharp harps on the use of nonviolence action to overthrow a dictator but never considered the use of the same nonviolence measure by a dictatorship to counter a nonviolence action by activists. For example, the police in India during the 1930 Salt Satyagraha blocked protesters by sitting down on their way. The Abacha Regime in Nigeria also organized a one million man match under the auspices of Youth Earnestly Ask for Abacha to counter nonviolent pro-democratic forces. The Babangida Regime in Nigeria also built democratic institutions and renamed his position as that of a President. These are dictatorial styles and antics not covered by essay.
4. Sharp has been able to prove the important and undeniable advantages of non violence actions but he did not sufficiently consider conscienceless dictators. It is evident that nonviolence action can work successfully against “civilized” dictatorship more than those regimes completely lacking moral and very prepared to kill as much people as necessary to cement their rule. For example, the case of Libya under Ghaddafi. Clearly more studies have to be done in this area.
5. Sharp’s analysis fell short of a proper guide on how the activists should conduct themselves after the disintegration of the dictatorship. The new found “people power” can become a problem to forming a new government and also the proper running of the society. Some extremist could capitalize on this and ferment enough trouble to keep the society unsettled and ungovernable until they have their way. Even some other elite groups can take advantage of the situation as is the case of Egyptian 2011 revolt.
CONCLUSION
There is hardly any doubt that Gene Sharp is the foremost thinker sympathetic to nonviolent resistance today. His essay “From Dictatorship to Democracy” has been a great influence on a lot of people around the world. The essay has made great attempts at moving nonviolence resistance from just a philosophy toward practical strategy of dictatorship disintegration. The essay to a great extent has proven that the people normally seen as politically powerless can prove to be the source of political power. This is an important insight into the study and practice of nonviolence resistance though some short-comings, the essay is apt, incisive and a success. It is important however to raise a fundamental question in this concluding remarks. That is, is a genuine people-led sociopolitical process is possible; wouldn’t the overthrow of a dictatorship always lead to another group of elite control? In other words, is a successful liberation struggle not simply a transfer of political power from one elite group to another? This calls for further study.
REFEERRES:
Arrow, R (2011) Gene Sharp: Author of the Non violent revolution rulebook
Retrieved on September 4, 2011 from
www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east
Caplan, B (1994) The literature of nonviolent resistance and Civilian-Based
Defense Retrieved on September 3, 2011 from
http://www.carolmoore.net/articles/nv-action-article
Kyriyenko, O (2004) Radio Netherland Retrieved on September 7, 2011 from
http://www.rnw.nl/english
Off, C (2011) Middle East uprisings take cue from Gene Sharp’s guide to non-
Violent revolution Retrieved on September 4, 2011 from
http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/story/2011/02
Tehran Times, August 2, 2009 Retrieved on September 3, 2011 from
http://www.tehrantimes.com/index_view.asp?code=200033
FROM DICTATORSHIP TO DEMOCRACY:
A CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK FOR LIBERATION
FOURTH US EDITION
GENE SHARP
THE ALBERT EINSTEIN INSTITUTION
MAY 2010
93pp
BOOK REVIEWER: WISDOM IYEKEKPOLO
A SEMINAR PAPER PRESENTED IN THE DEPARTMENT OF
POLITICAL SCIENCE AND PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION,
UNIVERSITY OF BENIN, BENIN CITY, NIGERIA
IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF REQUIREMENTS FOR
POL. 861 (STUDIES IN STRATEGY AND SECURITY)
Lecturer- Dr. Musa Abutudu
September, 2011
INTRODUCTION
The term dictator was originally not negative in meaning. Its present negative connotation started in the days of Julius Caesar of Rome. Even at these earliest times, dictatorships always had to contend with resistance struggles of which much has been violent in nature. While some have been victorious, others have not; even in victorious cases, there were higher likelihood of transition to another dictatorship. The book, “from dictatorship to democracy: A conceptual framework for liberation” by Gene Sharp has tried to x-ray liberation struggle from the two points of either Violence action or Non–violence action. Based on his analysis he prescribed a non-violence action as the better form of liberation struggle.
Sharp dwells extensively on how to embark on a nonviolent struggle. He analyzes different possible means of engaging a dictatorship from violent face-off with the dictator through coups to elections under the dictatorship, foreign intervention or foreign saviours as he termed it to negotiating with the dictators. He highlighted the impracticability of these measures and its inherent limitation. After dealing with these options in liberation struggles, he went ahead to propose a nonviolent struggle option which he carefully provided guidelines for achieving.
Sharp probed the sources of the political power of a dictatorship with an analysis of the “Monkey Master” fable and subsequently the identification of dictatorships weaknesses or Achilles’ heel and how best to attack the dictatorship through these weaknesses. He emphasized the importance of strategic planning and applying political defiance in its workings and as a weapon of nonviolence struggle. He believes that with the application of these nonviolent weapons, the disintegration of a dictatorship with less casualty was certain. Sharp went further to propose strategic plans and groundwork for durable democracy after the collapse of a dictatorship and how to avert the threats of a new dictatorship and coups. On a final note, he advised on constitution drafting, democratic defense policy and meritorious responsibility.
Sharp expressed his very clear purpose of writing this essay. He wants to outline guides on how to destroy a dictatorship and to prevent the rise of a new one for people who face the realities of dictatorial rule. The guide probes the most effective ways dictatorships could be successfully destroyed with the least possible cost in suffering and lives. His desire was born out of the belief that human being should not be subjected to and destroyed by dictatorship. He genuinely believes that these dictatorial regimes could be brought down by struggles waged without mass mutual slaughters, this form of liberation struggle is termed nonviolent struggle.
Sharp has focused this essay on the advantages inherent in nonviolence actions over the commonly applied violence actions and further provides a guide on how to executive a nonviolence action. This essay has undeniable strengths but it is important to carefully think of the practicability of his well laid out plan of action. These plans are very beautiful in essay but it is worthy of note that the implementation is much more complex than the essay has provided. With Sharps envisaged level of planning, there may never again be a nonviolent struggle. As much as this guide looks well thought-out, a successful nonviolence action may have not take so much intense planning and such a step by step manner of execution.
Sharp has shown the merits of nonviolence action over the violence driven ones and proposes nonviolence struggles as the most cost effective and less destructive way to overthrown dictators. However, it may be unrealistic to assume that all dictatorship could be overthrown through nonviolence actions. In reality, a mindless dictator is ready to crush all those who revolt against its regime no matter the number. This is a well thought-out theoretical plan on engaging a dictatorship and disintegrating it to allow for democracy but in practical terms a careful adherence to these plans means that there may never be a revolution. Sincerely, sometimes violence works and may remains the most viable option.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
The essay, “from dictatorship to democracy: A conceptual framework for liberation”, was initially published in Bangkok in 1993 by the committee for the Restoration of Democracy in Burma in association with Khit Pyaing (The New Era Journal). It has since been translated into about thirty-one other languages and has been published in many countries including the United States where it currently has four editions.
The essay has basically focused on how to overthrow a dictatorship. This method of overthrow was categorized into two: the violence and the nonviolence means. This work has no doubt been influenced by literatures on the subject of resistance from the Greeks through the Romans and the Christian philosophers such as Thomas Aquinas and William of Ockham who endorsed a limited form of resistance against dictatorships and then the classical authors of Italian Renaissance who believed in the right of resistance against unjust government. These authors equated resistance with violence but later authors like Etienne de la Boetie who appeared promoting the efficacy of nonviolence resistance. He saw that the rule of a tiny minority over society was possible only if the maqjority voluntarily accepted it. He argued that the social consensus theory implied that it could overthrow dictatorship peaceably if the majority withdrew its consent. Though the 17th century theorist like Locke, Sidney and Milton did not follow these thoughts of nonviolent resistance, the 19th century produced two significant theorist of nonviolence resistance, Henry David Thoreau and Count Leo Tolstoy. Tolstoy’s thoughts significantly influenced the 20th century preeminent exponents of nonviolence, Mahatma Gandhi (Caplan, 1994). Gene Sharp has been able to draw from these thinkers on resistance struggle and pitched with the long tradition of thinkers who argue that the source of a dictatorship political power is the consent it receives from the majority of it people and not necessary its intimidating force.
The review of this book therefore will be based on its ability to convince its readers on the effectiveness of nonviolence action over violence action in liberation struggles, the liberation struggles it has influenced since it was published, and the practicability of its guide towards a nonviolence action.
BOOK SUMMARY
Gene Sharp’s essay been driven by his quest for how people could prevent and destroy dictatorships as he believes that human beings should not be dominated and destroyed by such regimes. This desire to destroy dictatorships has been fueled by this reading on freedom and dictatorships, contact with those people who suffered under dictatorial regimes like the Nazi rule and the calm heroism of brave people who under great danger remain defiant to dictatorships. He expresses himself thus:
“Out of these concerns and experiences grew a determined hope that prevention of tyranny might be possible, that successful struggles against dictatorships could be waged without mass mutual slaughter, that dictatorships could be destroyed and new one, prevented from rising out of the ashes.”
Sharp’s point, belief and focus are simple. He has expressed them clearly as
1. Dictatorships can be destroyed and should be destroyed.
2. The disintegration of dictatorship must not and should not be violence driven instead nonviolence means should be employed.
3. Nonviolent action is more effective and less costly especially in terms of human lives lost.
4. Nonviolence action should be carried out by the withdrawal of support for the regime. This he argues is the main source of power of any dictatorship.
He hoped that his analysis will be useful to people who find themselves under dictatorial regime in their struggle to liberate themselves from the shackles of dictatorship.
Sharp proves his point that nonviolent disintegration of dictatorship is possible by given examples of dictatorships hitherto perceived as firmly entrenched and impregnable which have collapsed or stumbled under the concerted defiance of the people. Countries like Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, Poland, East Germany, Czechoslovakia and Slovenia, Madagascar, Mali, Bolivia, and the Philippines etc.
In Sharp’s critique of violent actions aimed at destroying a dictatorial regime, he argues that these have mostly failed and have shown no evidence that its level of success will improve. He ascertains that by placing confidence in violent means, one has chosen the very type of struggle which the oppressors nearly always have superiority. The dictator nearly always has the superior military hardware. Even in guerilla warfare, there is hardly any benefit for the oppressed as even in rare cases of success; the new regime may be a worse dictatorship.
Sharp considers the three liberation options of coups, elections and foreign saviours. He concludes that military coups leave in place the existing misdistribution of power between the population and the elite in control of the government and its military forces. The new clique of military rulers may even turn out to be more ruthless and more ambitious than the old one after consolidating its position. On the conduct of election under dictatorship, he argues that dictators are not in the business of allowing elections that will remove them from power. Sharp also had his views on foreign intervention as a means of political change. He pointed out the realist opinion that foreign states will tolerate or even positively assist a dictatorship in order to advance their own economic or political interest and will only act against it to gain economic, political, or military control over the country. He adds that the factors that fuel dictatorships are mainly internal; so, foreign pressure can only be useful if it is supporting a powerful internal resistance movement.
Sharp reviews the negotiation option in effecting political change. He argues that negotiation may be very useful when non-fundamental issues are at stake but not to be applied when the issued at stake are fundamental. Issue of human freedom is fundamental so negotiation is not an option. He argues that in a firmly entrenched dictatorship, the negotiators lives are in danger. In a negotiation, both parties give up some objectives and accept some other objectives. He then asked some questions which is fundamental in a negotiation. What objectives of the dictators are pro-democracy forces to accept? Are the democrats to give the dictators a constitutionally-established permanent role in the future government? Where is the democracy in that? Pro-democracy forces must also be aware that negotiation with a dictator may just be a form of legitimization of the regime. When issues are fundamental, negotiation should only occur at the end of a decisive struggle in which the power of the dictator has been effectively destroyed and they seek personal safe passage to an international airport.
Gene Sharp, after analyzing his views on how not to engage a dictator, he proposed an option of how to embark on a freedom struggle which is basically non-violent in nature. He built the analysis/understanding of a nonviolence action on a 14th century Chinese parable by Liu-Ji, the “Monkey Master” Fable and a myth from classical Greece “Achilles’ heel”. The Monkey Master fable was to analyze the source of political power for a dictatorship while Achilles’ heel myth was to prove that even a dictatorship has weaknesses and the struggle must identify the weakness and attack it from that point. The monkey master fable proved that the cooperation and obedience of the people is the source of a dictator’s political power. When there is a withdrawal of popular and institutional co-operation with the aggressors or dictators, the availability of the source of power on which an authority relies diminishes or is totally eroded. This was the case when the monkeys became enlightened and withdrew their support for the monkey master. The master eventually died of starvation. Sharp’s point is that the dictatorship can also die if starved of political power or if the source of supply to political power is cut-off. Using the myth of Achilles’ heel, Sharp elucidated the importance of acknowledging that the dictatorship has weaknesses; so the identification of these weaknesses and subsequent attack from the weakest point and not the strongest point. The warrior Achilles who appeared invulnerable to the enemy’s weapons was fatally attacked through his heel which was identified by the enemies as his weakest point. With the knowledge of such inherent weaknesses, the democratic opposition can seek to aggravate these “Achilles’ heel” deliberately in order to alter the system drastically or to disintegrate it.
From chapter 5 of this essay, Gene Sharp began to analyze the practicability of the nonviolence means of political change; he analyzed the techniques available in the withdrawal of the dictator’s political power and what action will tend to aggravate the identified weaknesses of dictatorship. He specified political defiance as a major weapon in the struggle, he however did not limit political defiance to just strikes and mass demonstrations as was always the case but he specified one hundred and ninety-eight methods. These he classified under three broad categories: protest and persuasion, non cooperation, and intervention
Sharp stressed the importance of nonviolent discipline in the process of what he called political jiu-jitsu. By political jiu-jitsu he means the political rebound of a dictator’s violence against nonviolent actions of activists. It can cause dissention in their ranks as well as foment support for the resisters among the general population, the regime’s usual supporters, and third parties. The maintenance of nonviolence discipline against violent opponents he stressed facilitates the workings of the four mechanisms of change in nonviolence struggle. They are:
1. CONVERSION: when members of the opponent group are emotionally moved by the suffering of repression imposed on courageous nonviolent resisters or is rationally persuaded that the resister’s cause is just, they may come to accept the resister’s aims.
2. ACCOMMODATION: when the issues are not fundamental ones, the immediate conflict may be ended by reaching an agreement, a splitting of differences or compromise.
3. NONVIOLENT COERCION: when a mass noncooperation and defiance has changed social and political situation, especially power relationship, that the dictator’s ability to control governmental processes and the society is in fact taken away.
4. DISINTEGRATION: when the dictatorial system collapse to the extent that they do not even have sufficient power surrender.
In the execution of nonviolence action, Sharp emphasized the need for strategic planning. He hinged the failures of nonviolent struggle on lack or insufficient strategic planning. Bright ideas on toppling dictatorship are good but strategic planning in needed in reality. In planning a strategy however, it should be remembered that against a dictatorship the objective of the grand strategy is not simply to bring down the dictator but to install a democratic system and make the rise of a new dictatorship impossible.
Sharp summarizes that success against an entrenched dictatorship requires that non cooperation and defiance reduce and remove the sources of the regime’s power. Without constant replenishment of the necessary sources of power the dictatorship will weaken and finally disintegrate. Competent strategic planners of political defiance against dictatorship therefore needs; to target the dictator’s most important sources of power. In the advent of the disintegration of a dictatorship, the groundwork for a durable democracy must be put in place by the drafting of a constitution.
EVALUATION
Achievements
This essay has aimed at spurring resistance leaders to consider strategies that may increase their effective power while reducing the relative level of casualties; in other words, the most effective way in which dictatorships could be successfully disintegrated with the least possible cost in sufferings and lives. In doing this, Sharp has highlighted the merits of nonviolent actions over violent ones. In my view this has been a success as the book repetitively reinforced the idea many times over that violence is the strongest point of a dictatorship and any violent challenge will almost likely meet with great loss of lives and failed liberation struggle but an attack on the dictators weakest point through weapons of non violent action will be more effective. As intended by Sharp, I submit that the essay has been really influential and has prompted a lot of those under the yoke of dictatorship to adopt a nonviolence stance. The essay which was originally intended for use by Burmese democrats and various ethnic groups in Burma that wanted independence from the Burma-dominated central government in Rangoon has become potentially relevant in any country with a dictatorial government due to its generic focus. It has since been translated into at least thirty-one other languages. In capturing the influence of “from dictatorship to democracy” Oleh Kyriyenko said in a 2004 interview with Radio Netherlands that
“The Bible of Pora has been the book of Gene Sharp, also used by Otpor… Pora activists have translated it by themselves.... The institution provided funding to print over 12,000 copies of this book for free”. (Kyriyenko, 2004)
The institution refers to the Albert Einstein institution. Writing in the same vein, the Tehran Times, in the aftermath of the Tehran 2009 post election protest, writes that
“According to the indictment, a number of the accused confessed that the plan was following the timetable of the Velvet revolution to the extent that over 100 stages of the 198 steps of Gene Sharp were implemented in the foiled Velvet revolution.”
In comparing the Orange revolution in Ukraine and the recent scenes on the Arab streets, Carol Off remarked that
“Indeed, the remarkable discipline of the young leaders, their tactics and strategies, their slogans and posters are all torn from the same handbook – a guide to nonviolence revolution called – From Dictatorship to Democracy. And they’ve all been inspired by the same guru. An 83-year-old American activist named Gene Sharp”. (Off, 2011)
A Belgrade Student by name Srdjan Popovic in an interview with CBC News said he first heard of the Professor and his “198 methods of non violent action” in late 1999 when a movement in Serbia known as Otpor, managed to oust the bad-man of the Balkans – Slobadan Milosovic. He further explained that he and his young friends went into training a year in advance and spent many weeks honing the skills outlined in Gene Sharp’s handbook before they took to the streets. Ruaridh Arrow analyzed that the handbooks
“help in bringing down Milosovic in Serbia in 2000 propelled it into use across Eastern Europe, South America and the Middle East. When it reached Russia, the intelligence services raised the print-shop and the shops selling it mysteriously burned to the ground. The Iranians became so worried they broadcast an animated propaganda film on state TV – of gene Sharp plotting the overthrows of Iran from the White House”. (Arrow, 2011)
With this huge impact on dictatorial countries around the world, one cannot but accept that the goals of the essay have to a very high degree been achieved.
Criticisms
This essay no doubt has been a great addition to the cause of the liberation struggles against dictatorial regimes around the world but there are some perceived gaps in its analysis. These gaps have been itemized for clarity and further cause of study.
1. To analyze the source of political power for a dictatorship and how to cut-off its supply channels, Professor Sharp employed the use of a Chinese fable, the “Monkey Master”. The fable was not appropriate for this level of analysis. A more analytical review of the fable reveals that the old man in the fable as it were, was not equipped with the coerciveness of the real world dictator. A dictator has the military command with which it could unleash colossal violence even in the face of nonviolence posture of the activists. An example can be found in the 2011 Arab uprising were counties like Libya and Syria to a great extent applied enormous force to suppress the non-violent revolts in their countries. The point being made is simple, in the fable, the Monkeys simply became enlighten and withdrew their support for the old man and that was all needed for their liberation but in a real dictatorial world, the monkeys could be chained and flogged and the leaders of the revolt killed to instill fear in those still alive. A tyrannical government system is not as simple as it has been portrayed with the fable. In a repressive system, there are still those members of the population who benefit and will want the status quo to be maintained, the population will most likely not support a revolt en-mass. For example in Egypt, Libya, etc. there were pro-government protesters. The monkey master fable is too simplistic.
2. Gene Sharp in his analysis has emphasized the importance of strategic planning in the execution of a non-violent action. He provided 198 specific tools which were categorized into three but he was not explicit in the choices of which of these to use at different stages of the struggle. The usage of these tactics needs some form of training but can these training be done effectively under an entrenched dictatorship? Generally speaking, extensive strategic planning may not be realistic in a well policed state as is mostly the case in a dictatorship. Spontaneous actions had driven a lot of revolutionary moves. Yes, they have mostly failed but there is no guaranteed success even in the best planned action. In fact, an extensive planning stage also provides the dictator an ample planning time for a counter action. My argument is thus, while a strategic plan may be useful an extensive one cum training may be counter-productive.
3. Sharp harps on the use of nonviolence action to overthrow a dictator but never considered the use of the same nonviolence measure by a dictatorship to counter a nonviolence action by activists. For example, the police in India during the 1930 Salt Satyagraha blocked protesters by sitting down on their way. The Abacha Regime in Nigeria also organized a one million man match under the auspices of Youth Earnestly Ask for Abacha to counter nonviolent pro-democratic forces. The Babangida Regime in Nigeria also built democratic institutions and renamed his position as that of a President. These are dictatorial styles and antics not covered by essay.
4. Sharp has been able to prove the important and undeniable advantages of non violence actions but he did not sufficiently consider conscienceless dictators. It is evident that nonviolence action can work successfully against “civilized” dictatorship more than those regimes completely lacking moral and very prepared to kill as much people as necessary to cement their rule. For example, the case of Libya under Ghaddafi. Clearly more studies have to be done in this area.
5. Sharp’s analysis fell short of a proper guide on how the activists should conduct themselves after the disintegration of the dictatorship. The new found “people power” can become a problem to forming a new government and also the proper running of the society. Some extremist could capitalize on this and ferment enough trouble to keep the society unsettled and ungovernable until they have their way. Even some other elite groups can take advantage of the situation as is the case of Egyptian 2011 revolt.
CONCLUSION
There is hardly any doubt that Gene Sharp is the foremost thinker sympathetic to nonviolent resistance today. His essay “From Dictatorship to Democracy” has been a great influence on a lot of people around the world. The essay has made great attempts at moving nonviolence resistance from just a philosophy toward practical strategy of dictatorship disintegration. The essay to a great extent has proven that the people normally seen as politically powerless can prove to be the source of political power. This is an important insight into the study and practice of nonviolence resistance though some short-comings, the essay is apt, incisive and a success. It is important however to raise a fundamental question in this concluding remarks. That is, is a genuine people-led sociopolitical process is possible; wouldn’t the overthrow of a dictatorship always lead to another group of elite control? In other words, is a successful liberation struggle not simply a transfer of political power from one elite group to another? This calls for further study.
REFEERRES:
Arrow, R (2011) Gene Sharp: Author of the Non violent revolution rulebook
Retrieved on September 4, 2011 from
www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east
Caplan, B (1994) The literature of nonviolent resistance and Civilian-Based
Defense Retrieved on September 3, 2011 from
http://www.carolmoore.net/articles/nv-action-article
Kyriyenko, O (2004) Radio Netherland Retrieved on September 7, 2011 from
http://www.rnw.nl/english
Off, C (2011) Middle East uprisings take cue from Gene Sharp’s guide to non-
Violent revolution Retrieved on September 4, 2011 from
http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/story/2011/02
Tehran Times, August 2, 2009 Retrieved on September 3, 2011 from
http://www.tehrantimes.com/index_view.asp?code=200033
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