Does nonviolent power work only against humane opponents or only in a society that allows some degree of political space for organizing?
Not at all. Some of the 20th century’s harshest oppressors were removed through nonviolent conflicts. There was little that was humane about General Pinochet’s practice of torturing and killing dissidents, but a nonviolent strategy toppled him. The apartheid regime in South Africa forbade public assemblies in black townships and tried to silence or even assassinate nonviolent organizers, but those who resisted were still able to drain away its internal and international support. And Solidarity opened up political space in Poland where little existed before, both before and after the communist regime imposed martial law. Those who do not understand nonviolent conflict tend to dismiss its achievements, but millions — who no longer live under communism, under military dictators, or under other oppressive systems destroyed by nonviolent strategies — would not agree.
