Category: non-violent direct action

17 Feb

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On Finkelstein, the BDS, one-state solutions & the problem with Gandhi’s strategy

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Palestinians cross over the Syrian-Israeli border, May 2011

I’ve had a chance to look at Norman Finkelstein’s recent controversial statements about Left strategy over the question of the BDS. Finkelstein, a brilliant critic of Israel’s treatment of the Palestinians, has for some time been highly critical of the international BDS campaign, in particular because he believes it implicitly calls for the end of Israel (a “one-state solution” in the parlance).

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Filed Under: Featured, imperialism, Left strategy, non-violent direct action, Palestine

30 Apr

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The moral incoherence of non-violent philosophy and strategy

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The Egyptian state responds to peaceful prayers in Cairo

One of the most stunning results of the Arab revolutions has been the exposure of the mechanisms of coercive control endured by the ordinary people of the region for decades. Far from the West’s backing of authoritarian regimes leading to a benign order, it was always predicated on the most horrific apparatuses of repressive violence.

It is no wonder, then, that the rapid removal through street protests of two entrenched dictators (in Tunisia and Egypt) has led to a celebration of the success of “peaceful revolution” and non-violent direct action. It has also led some supporters of the revolutions to feel despair as regimes have narrowed the space for such protest by cracking down with increasing brutality, including a bloody civil war and NATO intervention in Libya.

But how much have events really reflected the success or failure of non-violent strategy, and how useful is it as a guide for the Left?

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Filed Under: Egypt, non-violent direct action, revolution

22 Feb

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The changing face of activism (or not)

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Members of the April 6 Movement in Egypt

Recent events in the Middle East and North Africa have revealed new and surprising forms of political activism and reinforced long standing ones. The mass uprising in Egypt has sparked a wave of protest across the region as populations held down for decades under oppressive regimes have openly rebelled. Country after country has seen mass demonstrations met by varying degrees of bafflement combined with brute force from regimes unable to cope with the speed and visceral intensity of dissent from their deeply wounded but now fearless peoples. The use of state sanctioned violence against peaceful crowds has played very badly in the international media and brought great pressure to bear on Western powers that have sponsored the oligarchs and tyrants of the Arab world. Al Jazeera’s informed coverage has almost single-handedly provided a credible, sober antidote to the hysterical whining of the Fox News clowns and lesser species of nuts.

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Filed Under: democracy, Egypt, non-violent direct action, revolution, state