Why Civil Resistance Works:

The Strategic Logic of Nonviolent Conflict

pub December 11, 2012 / C.Mill 303.61 CHENOWETH

by Erica Chenoweth, Maria Stephan

In a very prolix and disjointed way, this book seems to say that broad-based nonviolent "revolution" is more successful and lasting than militarized attacks on the state.

I wanted to like this, but the jargon, inline citations, and unexplained sociological wonk-speak defeated me. Is a number N.N logged the same as 10^N.N? I'm sure this is an important contribution to the academic literature, but it isn't designed for me, much less for the innumerate folk I hope to convince that violence/vandalism/threat is counterproductive. I don't mind numbers, in an explanatory context. I prefer them to be arranged into sequential narratives, not strings of citations.

Plenty of books being written; perhaps other authors have "dumbed down" the Chenoweth/Stephan book into a "Science News" level of jargon.