CCTS
Review 31

This bibliography was compiled by April Carter, Howard Clark and Michael Randle and was published this spring by Housman’s Bookshop Limited. (Those of us who participate in CCTS meetings have followed its progress from idea to completion.) It has clearly been a painstaking work, backed by commitment and passion. It is also, I now see, a work of great learning and profound understanding.

The reasons why these three scholar-activists undertook it are stated clearly in the introduction:

One reason for bringing out a bibliography on nonviolent action now is to draw attention to the growing number of primarily nonviolent popular campaigns (some much better known in the west than others). The other is to provide an up-to-date guide for those interested in nonviolent action in general, or those who wish to study particular types of campaign or specific movements.
And the next paragraph explains the structure and scope of the book, which goes far beyond what one might expect from a bibliography:

The bibliography is organized to indicate the historical evolution of nonviolent action, the different contexts in which it has been used and the varying types of campaign. Introductory comments elaborate on the reasons for classification, sketch in the background and political context of campaigns and also note some controversial issues.  

The book was written for ‘activists, students and peace researchers’, in the first place those based in Britain, with the hope that it will be of interest and use to those elsewhere. English language texts are, for practical reasons, its focus.

This is not, of course, the kind of book one simply sits down and reads from start to finish. It is rather a mine of information, scholarship and insight. After the General Introduction, it is organised into nine different sections. The first is an Introduction to Nonviolent Action and is subdivided by topic. Then follow several sections whose subdivisions are made according to what was done, in terms of nonviolent action, in different places. These include Elements of Nonviolent Resistance to Colonialism After 1945, Campaigns for Rights and Democracy in Communist Regimes, and Resisting Rigged Elections, Oppression, Dictatorship, or Military Rule. Each section has a general introduction and the subsections have their own – so that a reading of these introductions alone gives a ‘story line’ and a wide view of nonviolent action around the world. The many items in the bibliographical lists that follow have a line or two of explanation – sometimes more – so that potential readers can see what they can expect to find in the work cited.

The sections on Campaigns for Cultural, Civil and Political Rights and Campaigns for Social and Economic Justice are organised thematically, and then by specific examples. Then follows a substantial section on Nonviolent Action in Social Movements, which give both an excellent overview and many helpfully classified and fully introduced subsections.
At the end of a book there is a list of Bibliographies, Websites and Libraries, a brief introduction and bibliography on Preparation and Training for Nonviolent Action, and both an author and a subject index.

Doubtless, the coverage of different topics and examples that can be found in this book will be open to criticism. Some are no doubt treated more thoroughly than others; gaps will be identified. But I find this to be a work of extraordinary thoroughness, cogency and elegance. I believe it will be a powerful instrument for the scholarship of others and, even more importantly, for me, for making known the extent and power of nonviolent action in recent history. We need this to be recognised, since we so sorely need to maximise its potential now.

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