A Force More Powerful : A Century of Non-Violent Conflict — Peter Ackerman

In this tour de force, Peter Ackerman, an authority on nonviolent strategy, and Jack DuVall, a veteran writer, show how popular movements used nonviolent action to overthrow dictators, obstruct military invaders and secure human rights in country after country, over the past century. A gripping cavalcade of far-flung locations and history-changing crises, the book depicts how nonviolent sanctions — such as protests, strikes and boycotts — separate brutal regimes from their means of control. It tells inside stories — how Danes outmanoeuvered the Nazis, Solidarity defeated Polish communism, and mass action removed a Chilean dictator — and also how nonviolent power is changing the world today, from Burma to Serbia. Studded with colorful characters — such as Leo Tolstoy and Mohandas Gandhi, Lech Walesa and the mothers of the disappeared in Argentina — the book is a companion to a new feature-length documentary now at film festivals worldwide.