The wars of the 20th century and, thus far, of the 21st century, have been “total wars,” exhausting huge amounts of resources, killing more civilians than soldiers and devastating the environment. The challenge of how to replace violent with nonviolent means of dispute resolution has become immensely urgent.
Community activists worldwide have employed nonviolent struggle as an effective strategy for fighting authoritarianism and militarism, pursuing democracy and justice, as well as resolving domestic and global conflicts. It is still debatable whether one can defeat mighty dictators and radical terrorists through civic disobedience and other peaceful means in the early 21st century, but nonviolent protest is still an irresistible attraction to people in conflict-prone societies.
Notable examples include Mohandas Gandhi in British India, the 14th Dalai Lama, Aung San Suu Kyi in Myanmar, the Sunflower movement activists in Taiwan and the Umbrella movement protesters in Hong Kong.
Two lessons can be learned from these nonviolent uprisings. The first concerns the growth of popular awareness toward human rights and participatory democracy. Instead of seeing Taiwan, India, Tibet, Burma and Hong Kong as separate political entities as they are portrayed in many history textbooks and newspapers, one should acknowledge that the force of nonviolent protest has awakened and empowered different generations of Asian activists to fight for their rights and take control of their destiny. This inter-Asian dimension of civic engagement has challenged us to contextualize the democratization of these places within the wider contexts of domestic and global changes from the past to the present.
The second lesson is a cross-cultural one. The ideas and tactics of grassroots activists give us a conceptual tool to deal with conflicts that we might encounter on both a personal and global level. Empirical findings and theoretical insights gained from these examples also contribute to East-West dialogue over the pursuit of peace and justice. One can see that the core values of Hindu, Buddhist and Confucian civilizations — decency, civility, concern for public good, idealism and critical thinking — are integral parts of a new democratic culture in these modernizing Asian nations.
Seen from this comparative perspective, a better understanding of nonviolent activism in the modern era reveals that the interactions among different civilizations do not constitute a “clash,” as US academic Samuel Huntington said, but a dynamic entanglement whose inspirations are worth exploring and whose mutual developments are worth promoting. On the whole, the narratives of nonviolent struggles not only foster an outlook of cultural sensitivity and global interdependence, but also enable us to develop a sophisticated appreciation of the world as opposed to a simplistic division of the globe into mutually hostile civilizations. Besides rejecting the dehumanization of the “enemy” in contemporary political rhetoric, the most effective way to create a culture of peace is to internalize the values of justice, compassion and respect.
It is a valuable intellectual exercise to explore the question of “what might have been” rather than taking history for granted. The question of “what if” in history has created a sharper understanding of what actually happened.
History without controversy is dead history. Controversies sometimes challenge our received opinions and raise questions about human experience in other temporal and spatial settings. If these nonviolent visions and initiatives are widely embraced and implemented, the early 21st century will become more stable.
Joseph Tse-Hei Lee is professor of history and codirector of the bachelors’ degree program in global Asia studies at Pace University in New York City.
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