Learn about civil resistance. Understand what civil resistance is, identify the main resistance movements in the U.S., and see how civil disobedience works.
Updated: 11/21/2023
Civil Resistance Definition & Movements
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is meant by civil resistance?
Civil resistance is a process through which civilians use various avenues to fight injustices. It is a nonviolent method that does not aim to cause harm.
What is the function of civil resistance?
Civil resistance works to wage non-physical war on the negative social, political and economic aspects of certain people or parties. The main aim is to communicate on important issues without being physically violent.
What is the difference between civil disobedience and civil resistance?
Civil disobedience is the intentional failure to obey laws as a form of political protest. Civil resistance, on the other hand, is a general way for people to fight for their rights without breaking the law or using violence.
Table of Contents
ShowCivil resistance is a form of protest where civilians use various methods such as strikes, demonstrations, and boycotts, among others, to prosecute some conflict while unarmed or without any threat of harm to the perpetrators of the cause of the conflict. There are several features of civil resistance, including unity, planning, taking action, and non-violence.
Civil resistance has existed for a long time in history and has led to various changes, even against the most prominent opponents. These forms of resistance have disrupted businesses and changed behaviors and other members of the movements. In line with non-violence and defiance, civil resistance focuses on all social, political, and economic aspects. An example of civil resistance would be the 1989 public demonstrations by students in Tiananmen Square, China, to demand democracy.
Political resistance is a movement that is organized by the civil population in any country to change the established forms of government or take over power and interfere with civil stability. Political resistance is a form of civil disobedience since it requires solidarity and physical presence and focuses on moral and human rights. It is also non-violent.
Resistance Movements
The United States has grown from a foundation of resistance movements and protests for systemic change to occur. Ever since the 19th century, Americans have been keen on organized activities for a better society. Some important resistance movements include;
- Women's suffrage, which fought for the rights of women to vote. Some women had been trying to get the right to vote as early as 1820, but the movement mainly took root after the civil war. The National Suffrage Association, founded by Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony, led the suffrage movement. Consequently, women got their right to vote in 1920.
- The civil rights movement, which was another major civil resistance movement addressing systemic oppression and inequality. Black Americans did not have the same access to resources and rights as white Americans, and the laws restricted their essential opportunities and freedoms. The Black Americans organized peaceful protests to get access to resources and better rights. The most significant change brought about by this movement came when President Eisenhower signed the 1957 law which made it a federal crime to forbid anyone from voting.
Civil Disobedience
Civil disobedience is also known as passive resistance, which is defined as the intentional refusal to follow the rules and obey commands in a non-violent manner. Its purpose is to demand concession from the power the people are defying.
Civil disobedience works as a symbolic violation of the law, as opposed to rejecting the existing system. Therefore, civil disobedience also finds the best and most viable avenues to propel change, always believing in a higher principle that surpasses the law being defied.
There is a significant difference between civil disobedience and civil resistance. Civil disobedience is the intentional breaking of the law. The main aim of civil disobedience is to refuse to cooperate with rules and policies that seem unjust, usually protesting.
Boycotts
A boycott is a massive effort by a large number of people to cease engaging with or promoting a person, organization, or government. In the business sector, for example, consumers will stop purchasing products from a company they are boycotting.
There are two main features of boycotts: first, the creation of negative publicity against the person, the organization, or the country that is being boycotted. The second feature is that the company or individual being boycotted needs to feel that their profits or source of income are threatened. Successful boycotts aim at initiating change in the person or organization.
Boycotts happen in two forms, known as primary and secondary boycotts. Primary boycotts involve disengaging directly from the organization or the country one disagrees with. Secondary boycotts mean avoiding any people or companies affiliated with the offending party. Boycotts have been an effective form of civil resistance for years, and have proven to work, especially when profits are threatened.
Occupations
Civil resistance also manifests in the form of occupations. As opposed to demonstrations and rallies, occupations are described as an extended temporary holding of public spaces and buildings for a period of time. Occupations usually occur in spaces such as buildings and entrances of infrastructure such as train stations, among other areas. In most cases, occupations do not work well, since they can be declared illegal when protesters take over a space for extended periods.
Demonstrations
Public demonstrations are another form of civil resistance. This activism happens in the form of public gatherings, where people typically walk or rally in marches to protest or pass a specific message. The primary role of these demonstrations is to gather a group of like-minded people and march for the sake of a similar purpose.
There are three main features of successful demonstrations:
- These gatherings need a large number of people to make them successful.
- The groups need to cause some form of non-violent disruption.
- They need people to witness the whole process to effect change.
These three features lead to the movement being newsworthy enough to attract the right kind of attention. Media attention can lead to political attention, which can result in the demonstrators' goals being met.
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Civil resistance is about resisting a policy or government, and is therefore an act of protest. It aims to indicate a significant degree of popular unity, express an opinion, specifically as a citizen, and demonstrate opposition against a political policy or leader. The most crucial point is that civil resistance is lawful and does not look to break any laws. Civil resistance is defined by its attachment to non-violent tactics, even in the face of a violent response.
Civil resistance requires actual action. In public demonstrations, for instance, large groups of people cause a non-violent disruption in order to draw public attention to an issue. The protests of Tiananmen Square are an example of civil resistance in terms of tactics and goals. Boycotts, which involve refusing to do something such as buying a product or joining a ceremony, are also a form of civil resistance. Through refusal to participate, people communicate their discontent.
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Civil Resistance
Can something be civil without being...civil? The United States fought a Civil War that was anything but polite. And when Gandhi called for civil resistance against oppressive British colonialism, he wasn't exactly being courteous. When we talk about the word ''civil'' in this sense, we're talking about something that revolves around the people. It is a civil matter if it is related to the citizenry.
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This is an important concept to define. Throughout history, we'll often hear about people (like Gandhi) who are encouraging civil resistance. This doesn't necessarily mean that they are protesting politely, but that the people, the citizens, are protesting something relevant to their lives. Civil resistance is a form of action that relies on popular support as a way to demonstrate opposition.
Concept of Civil Resistance
Civil resistance is a broad category that includes various acts of protest where the people are united against a specific law, policy, or government. They are, through their actions, resisting by demonstrating popular support against it.
It's important to note immediately that civil resistance is seen as an act of legal or lawful protest. Civil resistance is not generally understood as intentional lawbreaking, even if the resisters are violating municipal or legal codes. The logic here is that their resistance is justified by higher laws. For example, a protestor may occupy public space, but their protest is justified by the constitutional right to protest. If this protest is occurring in a country that does not guarantee the freedom of speech, we can say that they are protected by international treaties of human rights or the codes of ethics that we have agreed upon as a global community. So, civil resistance is about resisting a law, policy, or government and demanding change, but is not an action of intentionally breaking the law.
That's an important distinction to make, particularly within the American legal system. There have been numerous cases throughout the years in which protestors were arrested for trespassing, loitering, or blocking traffic, and then they used the concept of civil resistance as a defense. In many of these cases, the protestors were fully acquitted.
Methods
Civil resistance is partly defined by its goals of modifying government behavior by demonstrating against a law, policy, or leader. However, it is also defined by its methods. Specifically, civil resistance is inextricably associated with the concept of nonviolence.
Nonviolent protestors refuse to use aggressive, threatening, or harmful tactics, even if those same tactics would be used against them. This is one of the most important concepts associated with civil resistance. While the people are resisting, they are generally doing so within legal and ethical boundaries. There are both moral and ethical reasons for this.
Morally, people who practice nonviolent civil resistance tend to live in cultures where violence is seen as unjust. In practical terms, nonviolence helps make the protestors look better. Civil resistance often relies on the ability of protestors to gain the sympathy of the public, and violent tactics generally undermine this goal. Violence also breaks the law, which is not the point of civil resistance. So, what does this look like in practice? There are countless forms of civil resistance, but some methods are particularly popular.
Boycotts
Let's start with boycotts, specifically economic boycotts. The basic idea here is that consumers have power through their purchasing decisions. This is actually one of the oldest forms of protest in the USA. Back in the colonial period, the British imposed taxes upon the colonists without giving them representation in Parliament, which they needed in order to fight the loss of self-governance. The colonists responded by boycotting British products. Rather than purchase the taxed goods, they went without. No laws were being broken, but through this nonviolent action, the colonists demonstrated their unified support against the policy.
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Protestors can also boycott by refusing to attend or participate in something. When Americans refuse to celebrate the Fourth of July, vote, or attend a presidential inauguration, it tends to be an act of civil resistance, meant to demonstrate discontent or dissatisfaction. It's not a law to participate in something like this, but choosing not to can communicate a strong message.
Occupations
Another common type of civil resistance is occupation, or the refusal to leave a space in protest. Occupations like this became very popular in the student movements of the 1960s, embodied through something called a sit-in. During a sit-in, people would occupy a space until forcibly removed. Students often did this in libraries, classrooms, and auditoriums, and would pass time with lecturers who talked about their rights and the goals of their protest.
Demonstrations
Perhaps the most common form of civil resistance, however, is simply the demonstration, or a massive gathering of people. This can take the form of a march, as was a common tactic of Martin Luther King, Jr. during the Civil Rights Movement, as well as stationary rallies. In modern times, the Black Lives Matter and Women's March movements are examples of this form of civil resistance, as were several demonstrations of the Arab Spring that ultimately toppled regimes in the Arabic-speaking world.
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Other Examples
Civil resistance can include thousands of people, or very few. Some artists will paint murals in public art spaces with a political message as an act of civil resistance. Someone may choose not to stand during a national anthem. Someone else may stand on a street corner holding a sign that protests an unfair law. All these people are resisting nonviolently and legally in their own way.
Lesson Summary
Civil resistance is a nonviolent action of protest. The point is to resist a law, policy, or government, as a people. Civil resistance is not generally associated with the concept of lawbreaking, and when municipal or state laws are violated, it is justified as upholding a higher law. Forms of nonviolent civil resistance include boycotts (refusing to buy, attend, or participate in something) occupations (refusal to leave a protest space, like a sit-in), and demonstrations (massive gatherings of the citizens). It's all very civil, but that doesn't always mean it's polite.
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