An analysis of civil protests around the world over the last 70 years has determined that non-violent protests have been much more effective in achieving their goals than protests which have involved violence. Harvard University has launched a new interactive map which plots where mass uprisings have taken place across the globe between 1945 and 2014. The map seems to prove that nonviolent campaigns have been much more successful in achieving their political aims than violent campaigns.
The Nonviolent and Violent Campaigns and Outcomes (NAVCO) map documents where both violent insurgencies and nonviolent protests have occurred over a 70 year period. The protests which have been mapped only include 'maximalist' campaigns. These are protests which seek "to overthrow an incumbent government, expel a foreign military occupation, or claim territorial independence".
The NAVCO map includes a number of filter controls which allow you to visualize protests around the world by location, date, by type of conflict, by outcome and by length. These filter controls allow the user to explore trends in mass protests over time and how successful different forms of protest have proved to be in achieving their political goals.
The Harvard Gazaette has interviewed Professor Erica Chenoweth, one of the authors of the NAVCO map and database, about why and how nonviolent civil resistance has been more effective in achieving change. In Why Nonviolent Resistance Beats Violent Force the professor uses examples of successful nonviolent campaigns which have achieved their political aims to explain how non-violent protest can sometimes overcome even very repressive regimes.
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