lang: en
Summary
The two most-used economic noncooperation methods — consumer/worker withdrawal of participation or purchase, in support of a demand.
Body
The two most-used economic noncooperation methods — consumer/worker withdrawal of participation or purchase, in support of a demand.
A boycott is a collective refusal to purchase from, work for, or interact with a target. A strike is a collective withdrawal of labour. Sharp catalogues many variants in the 198 methods — quickie walkouts, slowdowns, general strikes, hartal, consumer boycotts, traders’ boycotts [source: commons-198-methods]. The Rosa-Luxemburg-Stiftung publishes German-language material on strike strategy in the labour context, including the difference between wildcat strikes, warning strikes, and unlimited strikes [source: rosa-luxemburg]. Both methods rely on the same principles: clear demand, visible participation threshold, communication to the public about the dispute, and a built-off-ramp for the target. The Commons Library treats economic noncooperation as the most-underused lever in social-movement campaigns, where most organisers default to petition-and-march [source: commons-library]. Sortir du nucléaire’s boîte à outils militante publishes the practical mechanics of running a French boycott — signage, communication, escalation — that translate to most European contexts [source: sortir-du-nucleaire].
Examples
Examples
- Ahmedabad textile laborers win strike for economic justice, 1918 — During the period of intense plague outbreak from August 1917 to January 1918 · Asia
- Alabama Inmates in the U.S. Strike for Better Prison Conditions, 2022 — Dec 23, 2024 [TRUNC] [TRUNC] campaign’s leaders. Case Study Details. Database 2022 · Transnational
- Australian Aboriginal workers strike for fair wages and equality [TRUNC] — Case Study Details. Database Narrative. In 20th century Australia indigenous 1946 · Asia
- Austrian Social Democrats general strike to prevent civil war, 1927 — Case Study Details. Database Narrative. In Vienna in the summer of 1927, [TRUNC] 1927 · Europe
- Barcelona citizens general strike for democracy and economic [TRUNC] — Barcelona citizens general strike for democracy and economic justice, 1951 1951 · Europe
- Bhutanese refugees hunger strike for repatriation, 2003 — Case Study Details. Database Narrative. In the 1980’s the Bhutanese government 2003 · Asia
- Brazilian laborers (ganhadores) strike against ID tag and tax … — They eliminated the tax on ganhadores but were still required to wear an 1857 · Latin America
- British workers general strike to support mine workers, 1926 — Case Study Details. Database Narrative. The general strike of 1926 in Britain 1926 · Europe
See all 57 case studies using this method → examples-by-tactic
Use it for
Designing a consumer boycott; planning a labour strike; choosing between economic and political noncooperation in a campaign.
Worked examples
- case-studies/montgomery-bus-boycott
- sindicato-inquilinas
Related
- noncooperation
- methods-of-nonviolent-action
- escalation
- affinity-groups
- commons-198-methods
- rosa-luxemburg
Open Questions
None yet.
Sources & verification
- commons-198-methods — grounding: secondary — RAW (12729 chars)
- rosa-luxemburg — grounding: secondary — RAW (6048 chars)
- commons-library — grounding: secondary — RAW (5257 chars)
- sortir-du-nucleaire — grounding: secondary — RAW (7851 chars)
Verified 2026-06-23 by llm-qc.