Contemporary Icons Of Nonviolence

2019 marked notable anniversaries for two of the most widely recognised icons of the philosophy of nonviolence, representing seventy years since the birth of Dr Martin Luther King Jr and the 150th anniversary of the birth of Mahatma Gandhi. Both brought significant, constructive, and far-reaching social and political change to the world. This volume offers an innovative perspective, placing them, their beliefs and theories within the chronology of the tradition of nonviolence, beginning with Lev Nikolaevicz Tolstoy and encompassing the likes of Óscar Romero, Nelson Mandela, Abdul Ghaffar Khan, and Highness Prince Karim Aga Khan. This collection of essays explores diverse understandings of the concepts of nonviolence in a philosophical and religious context. It also highlights the application of the techniques of nonviolence in the 21st century.

This innovative collection emphasises the contribution of women to the resolution of conflicts through the creative means of nonviolent tools. It discusses their achievements and their tactics, drawing on Relational Cultural Theory as an important methodological tool in analysis of the work of many outstanding women from diverse countries such as Egypt, Bolivia, Palestine, Turkey, Colombia, Indonesia, Kashmir, Lebanon, and the USA. The focus of this volume is the impact of women successfully building peace though creative nonviolent means. It also provides a study of how, and why, gender matters in the contemporary world. As such, the book will serve the needs of students and scholars of peace and conflict resolution studies, women's studies, international development, political science, history, and sociology.

This innovative collection emphasises the contribution of women to the resolution of conflicts through the means of nonviolent tools. It discusses their achievements and their tactics, bringing together international scholars to draw on intersectionality as an important methodological tool in the analysis of the work of many outstanding women from diverse countries such as Yemen, Nigeria, El Salvador, India and the USA. The focus of this volume is the impact of women successfully building peace though nonviolent means. It also provides a study of how, and why, gender matters in the contemporary world, and will serve the needs of students and scholars in peace and conflict resolution studies, womenâ (TM)s studies, international development, political science, history and sociology.

Interest in pacifism—an idea with a long history in philosophical thought and in several religious traditions—is growing. The Routledge Handbook of Pacifism and Nonviolence is the first comprehensive reference designed to introduce newcomers and researchers to the many varieties of pacifism and nonviolence, to their history and philosophy, and to pacifism’s most serious critiques. The volume offers 32 brand new chapters from the world’s leading experts across a diverse range of fields, who together provide a broad discussion of pacifism and nonviolence in connection with virtue ethics, capital punishment, animal ethics, ecology, queer theory, and feminism, among other areas. This Handbook is divided into four sections: (1) Historical and Tradition-Specific Considerations, (2) Conceptual and Moral Considerations, (3) Social and Political Considerations, and (4) Applications. It concludes with an Afterword by James Lawson, one of the icons of the nonviolent American Civil Rights movement. The text will be invaluable to scholars and students, as well as to activists and general readers interested in peace, nonviolence, and critical perspectives on war and violence.

In this timely, highly original, and controversial narrative, New York Times bestselling author Mark Kurlansky discusses nonviolence as a distinct entity, a course of action, rather than a mere state of mind. Nonviolence can and should be a technique for overcoming social injustice and ending wars, he asserts, which is why it is the preferred method of those who speak truth to power. Nonviolence is a sweeping yet concise history that moves from ancient Hindu times to present-day conflicts raging in the Middle East and elsewhere. Kurlansky also brings into focus just why nonviolence is a “dangerous” idea, and asks such provocative questions as: Is there such a thing as a “just war”? Could nonviolence have worked against even the most evil regimes in history? Kurlansky draws from history twenty-five provocative lessons on the subject that we can use to effect change today. He shows how, time and again, violence is used to suppress nonviolence and its practitioners–Gandhi and Martin Luther King, for example; that the stated deterrence value of standing national armies and huge weapons arsenals is, at best, negligible; and, encouragingly, that much of the hard work necessary to begin a movement to end war is already complete. It simply needs to be embraced and accelerated. Engaging, scholarly, and brilliantly reasoned, Nonviolence is a work that compels readers to look at history in an entirely new way. This is not just a manifesto for our times but a trailblazing book whose time has come.

This innovative collection emphasises the contribution of women to the resolution of conflicts through the means of nonviolent tools. It discusses their achievements and their tactics, bringing together international scholars to draw on intersectionality as an important methodological tool in the analysis of the work of many outstanding women from diverse countries such as Yemen, Nigeria, Russia, India and the USA. The focus of this volume is the impact of women successfully building peace though nonviolent means. It also provides a study of how, and why, gender matters in the contemporary world, and will serve the needs of students and scholars in peace and conflict resolution studies, women’s studies, international development, political science, history and sociology.

What is the basis for choosing a nonviolent response to conflict and violence? By presenting and analyzing some of the most significant answers that have been given to this question throughout history, this anthology of writings from both Western and nonwestern traditions proposes principled and strategic nonviolence as a realistic alternative. It includes a selection of historical sources on nonviolence—ranging from the Bhagavad-Gita to the Bible—as well as a wide range of writings by authors such as Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Nelson Mandela, who have contributed to both the theory and the practice of nonviolence. Besides tracing the historical development of the concept, this volume also suggests ways of applying nonviolence to our everyday lives in the first decade of the 21st century, which the United Nations General Assembly has declared to be the Decade for Education for a Culture of Peace and Nonviolence.

This collection brings together accomplished and emerging scholars who are researching and working for grassroots social change throughout Africa and Asia. The essays within are sourced from a series of seminars held during the founding African Peace Research and Education Association Conference at the Economic Community of West African States Parliament in Abuja, Nigeria. The book draws strategic lines of connection between diverse peoples on the two most populous continents. Looking at contemporary Gandhian, Chinese, armed guerrilla, insurrectionist, state-supported, and civil resistance movements, each essay reviews recent attempts at peace-building, while also placing modern efforts in traditional, historic, indigenous contexts.