Major point Major point
Nonviolent national defense has been applied successfully in various international situations with different types of aggressors. 
to remember. to remember.

By now we hope you have looked at the glossary of terms under the resources tab. Knowing the definition of something is one step to better communication. This course attempts to explain complex terms. 
The following reading from an article by John Looney is key to this session. 

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Here are two case studies from World War II

Case studies:

KING CHRISTIAN PROVES
intrepid nonviolence can check militance.

Contrary to the occupation agreement in 1940, the Nazis displayed the swastika flag on a public building in Denmark. The Danish king, King Christian, demanded the removal. The German military officials refused. The king said he would send a soldier to remove the flag. The reply was that they would shoot him. “I am that soldier” said the king. The flag came down.

King Christian and the Danish people, without previous preparation or nonviolence training, were able to keep up this kind of defense quite effectively against the Nazis for two and a half years, until the British government persuaded them to use violence.

See The Power of Nonviolence (Gregg), pp. 29-30; and Nonviolence (Miller), p. 252.

King Christian and his people used various civilian-based national defense tactics in this case study. The power of nonviolence was used when the king did not make violence threats against the Nazis. He took a position and chose to stand with it, which also demonstrated the power of resistance and non-cooperation. In addition, the king had the power of the people behind him; the case study mentions the Danish people. The power of mass involvement is therefore used. 

NONVIOLENT HEROISM
King Christian defies Nazis.

At one time during the occupation of Denmark, the Nazis ordered all Jews to wear the Star of David to identify them for future deportation to the dreaded concentration camps and gas chambers. When this happened, who appeared in public with the Star of David ostentatiously displayed on his chest? None other than King Christian himself, the Danish king. Others soon took the cue: all Danes began wearing the Star of David, and the Nazis were forced to give up their plans. The king stated publicly that if a Jewish ghetto were established, he would move from his palace into such a place. He ceremoniously attended a special celebration in a Copenhagen synagogue to show his love and support for Jewish Danes. The Danish people protected and hid Jews from the Nazis. It is in fact claimed by some that not a single Danish Jew was killed by the Nazis. Could violent resistance have been so effective?

See The Power of Nonviolence (Gregg), p. 29; and Nonviolence (Miller), p. 252.

This is truly an example of the power of mass involvement. The Danish people, under the leadership of King Christian, banned together to stand against the Nazis and to protect the Danish Jews. They also defied the enemy and dramatized public disapproval, as is used in the power of resistance and non-cooperation.

The Albert Einstein Institution, a nonprofit organization, focuses on advancing freedom through nonviolent action. For decades Gene Sharp, its founder and director, has studied the uses of strategic nonviolent action in conflicts throughout the world. In May 1976, he was interviewed by Fellowship Magazine for the Bicentennial about our "founding fathers" use of nonviolence.

Disregarded History
The power of Nonviolent Action

In North America, the European settlers conducted major campaigns of nonviolent struggle against English controls, particularly for the ten-year period from 1765 to 1775. This was on a scale and significance, which may require when it is more fully researched, a major reinterpretation of American history.

Daniel Dulany, in the pamphlet he wrote on resistance to the Stamp Act in October of 1765, describes certain basic characteristics of political nonviolent struggle. Dulany said, "Instead of moping and whining to excite compassion, in such a situation we ought with spirit and vigor and alacrity to bid defiance to tyranny by exposing its impotence, by making it as contemptible as it would be detestable.” 

George Washington, Nonviolent Strategist

Did you ever think of George Washington as a nonviolent strategist? During this Stamp Act struggle, courts were required to use stamps on official documents. The colonists had decided not to use the stamps. So the question became: “Do the courts remain open without using the stamps, or do the courts close? This was in the context of colonists conducting a massive campaign to refuse to pay debts they owed to the English merchants from whom the colonial merchants had purchased their products on credit. Walpole regarded this as the most effective weapon, which the colonists wielded. So George Washington advised that they should close down the courts, of course. Obeying the law was impossible. You close the courts, Washington reasoned, because if you close the courts, the courts cannot be used in an effort to collect the money, which the colonists were refusing to pay to the English merchants. Therefore, the English merchants would put pressure on their government to repeal the Stamp Act. Very sophisticated nonviolent strategy, calculating effects and counter-effects of specific types of noncooperation.

Thomas Jefferson, Advocate of Fasting

Did you know that Thomas Jefferson, with his colleagues, introduced fasting in the colonial struggle? When the spirit of the resistance was weakening at certain points and people were getting bored, he and his friends (who were known rather as playboys, always going out and dancing) got the very respected and staid chaplain of the Virginia House of Burgesses to propose as his own idea a day of fasting and prayer-for political resistance. It was passed by the House of Burgesses and all of Virginia had a day of fasting and prayer-for political resistance. It wasn’t Gandhi who introduced fasting as a political weapon at all.

Later during 1765, Governor Bernard of Massachusetts Bay said: “At this time I have no real authority in this place.” And Lieutenant Governor Thomas Hutchinson of Massachusetts Bay said: “in the capital towns of several of the colonies and of this in particular, the authority is in the populace. No law can he carried into execution against their minds.” There were cases-significant cases-of the burning of buildings and destruction of property during the Stamp Act resistance. Men who had accepted appointments as stamp distributors were threatened with physical attack and even death and run out of town. But not one person was killed.
Dr. Sharp, Research Fellow of Harvard University’s Program for Science and International Affairs, is the author of THE POLITICS OF NONVIOLENT ACTION (Porter Sargent), a massive study of the nature of nonviolent struggle as a social and political technique.

Other books by Dr. Sharp include SOCIAL POWER AND POLITICAL FREEDOM, which outlines 20 steps for developing and evaluating nonviolent alternatives and GANDHI AS A POLITICAL STRATEGIST. The latter two are available from Porter Sargent, l 1 Beacon Street, Boston, MA 02108.

This article was written by Gene Sharp. Excerpted from an essay by Dr. Sharp in Fellowship (May 1976) by Susan D. Hadley, Nyack, NY.  
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Next are two videos, each with an expert in strategic nonviolence.
Peter Newman - Violent vs. Nonviolent Resistance
Gene Sharp: How to carry out a revolution

The following are headings and subheadings from a list of 198 nonviolent actions

Far too often people struggling for democratic rights and justice are not aware of the full range of methods of nonviolent action. Wise strategy, attention to the dynamics of nonviolent struggle and careful selection of methods can increase a group's chances of success.
Gene Sharp researched and catalogued these 198 methods and provided a rich selection of historical examples in his seminal work, The politics of Nonviolent Action (3 Vols.) Boston: Porter Sargent, 1973
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Review and Reflect

Major Point to Remember:

Nonviolent national defense has been applied successfully in various international situations with different types of aggressors. 

To Reflect: Optional Activities
Materials located on the "Extra" page for applications #1 & #2

#1: Analyze at least two Case Studies: 15A, 15B, 15C, 15D
#2: Movie Assignment: View "How to Start a Revolution" and answer the corresponding questions
#3: Application:

In this session about nonviolent national defense, we have referred to the Albert Einstein Institute (www.aeinstein.org). If you have not examined their homepage you might find it interesting in its history and available reference materials.

Near the bottom of our “About Us” page you will find download of our Index of Organizations, well over 100 listed. These organizations have websites about community, national and global issues. Knowing there are groups committing time and talent to alternative approaches in dealing with problems can give us hope. 

Joining a group of your choice is taking action. Tell us about your decision on our Discussion Forum.

    Session 9 Survey
Please remember to participate in the forum.
Reviewed April 2022