Are We Living in an Unprecedented Age of People Power?

Professor Erica Chenoweth, a scholar of international relations says that there has been a dramatic increase in the number of non-violent protests in the world. She knows because she counts them, rigorously; she also counts when they work and why. Her 2011 book Why Civil Resistance Works: The Strategic Logic of Nonviolent Conflict shows the data of violent and non-violent political action and analyzes when civil resistance succeeds in dozens of different countries. This is not a how-to book for revolutionaries, but it won't hurt them to read it. This season of the Tel Aviv Review is made possible by The Van Leer Jerusalem Institute, which promotes humanistic, democratic, and liberal values in the social discourse in Israel. Tel Aviv Review is also supported by the Public Discourse Grant from the Israel Institute, which is dedicated to strengthening the field of Israel Studies in order to promote knowledge and enhance understanding of modern Israel.