Nonviolence Timeline

From Peacebuilding

Contents 1 Aims: 2 Time: 3 Materials: 4 Procedure: 5 Source:

Aims:

• To gain an historical perspective of nonviolent struggles in participants’ contexts and abroad

• To reflect on why historians seem to give priority to violence as the only legitimate form of struggle

Time:

At least 30 minutes

Materials:

• A long roll of paper, or several flip charts joined together

• Markers of different colours

Procedure:

I) Introduce the activity:

“During the 20th century nonviolence rose to unprecedented political significance throughout the world and a number of successes were obtained – better wages and working conditions; the abolition of violent traditions and practices; the fall of dictatorships; the repeal of unjust laws; and the rise of democratic governments. However, examples of nonviolence date back almost 2,500 years. Despite the widespread use of nonviolence throughout history, historians and formal education systems seem to give priority to documenting wars and violence. As a result of this reduced attention, nonviolence is still an unrefined, raw and intuitive technique for struggle, whereas attention to and investment in military warfare has significantly increased its destructive power."

Adapted from Sharp, Gene, The Politics of Nonviolent Action: Part One - Power and Struggle, Boston: Porter Sargent, 2000 (1973), p. 75.

II) Place a roll or long strip of paper on the floor. You can decide to have centuries and decades marked out on a timeline.

III) Ask participants to add a particular event that they deem to be nonviolent on the timeline. Help participants focus their ideas. If necessary, give examples of nonviolent struggles from the past in the same or other contexts.

IV) Get participants to help each other in identifying places and events.

V) Encourage participants to reflect on why historians seem to give priority to violence as the only legitimate form of struggle, whilst history provides us with so many examples of nonviolent struggles dating back as long ago as 2,000 years.

Source:

“Trainers’ Resource Manual”, Nonviolence Training Project (Pt’chang Nonviolent Community Safety Group Inc.), 2005, http://www.nonviolence.org.au/manual.html.