lang: en
Summary
The canonical taxonomy of nonviolent action — Gene Sharp’s 198 methods, organised into three categories: nonviolent protest & persuasion, noncooperation (social, economic, political), and nonviolent intervention.
Body
The canonical taxonomy of nonviolent action — Gene Sharp’s 198 methods, organised into three categories: nonviolent protest and persuasion (methods 1–54), noncooperation social/economic/political (55–157), and nonviolent intervention (158–198).
First published in 1973 as part of The Politics of Nonviolent Action, Sharp’s list remains the foundational reference for civil resistance. The Commons Library’s adaptation updates each method with worked examples from contemporary campaigns [source: commons-198-methods]. The Albert Einstein Institution — Sharp’s own organisation — publishes the canonical version in dozens of languages and the surrounding literature on nonviolent-conflict dynamics [source: aeinstein]. ICNC’s Civil Resistance Tactics in the 21st Century (Michael Beer) extends the taxonomy with digital, cultural and transnational tactics that did not exist in 1973 [source: civil-resistance-tactics-21c]. Civil Resistance 2.0 (Joyce and Meier) translates each Sharp method into a digital equivalent — printed leaflet to digital pamphlet, physical protest to hashtag campaign, information blockade to DDoS protest [source: civil-resistance-2-0]. The Gandhi Institute’s workshop activity PDF is a teaching tool for working through the list in groups [source: gandhi-institute-198]. Sharp’s core principle: methods must serve a previously chosen strategy — the specific pressure type should determine the tactic, not the other way around. Noncooperation and intervention methods are generally more powerful than protest alone, but carry higher risk.
Use it for
Naming a tactic in a campaign plan; diagnosing why a campaign stalled (often: stayed in the protest tier); designing a workshop on nonviolent methods.
Examples
- African Americans boycott buses for integration in Montgomery, Alabama, US, — On January 30, 1956, opponents of the Montgomery bus boycott bombed the house · north-america
- African-Americans in Birmingham, Alabama, protest segregation [TRUNC] — Between December 26, 1956 and November 1958, Birmingham blacks, led by Fred · north-america
- African Americans march for civil rights in St. Augustine, Florida [TRUNC] — Case Study Details. Database Narrative. As the nationwide struggle for civil · north-america
- African Americans sit-in against segregation at Royal Ice Cream [TRUNC] — Case Study Details. Database Narrative. In the 1950’s, Durham North Carolina · north-america
- Alexandra Commuters Boycott Johannesburg Buses - 1943 — Case Study Details. Database Narrative. Black South Africans suffering under · africa
- Asylum Seekers on Manus Island hunger strike for better conditions [TRUNC] — Dec 23, 2024 [TRUNC] Case Study Details. Database Narrative. The Manus Island · asia
- Atlanta students sit-in for U.S. civil rights, 1960-1961 — The Georgia State Capitol is in Atlanta. As that bill was being considered, · north-america
- Austin, TX, U.S. students sit-in for desegregated lunch counters [TRUNC] — Time period notes. There were scattered sit-in incidents beginning in spring · north-america
Related
- nonviolent-direct-action
- civil-resistance
- escalation
- the-tactic-star
- noncooperation
- boycotts-and-strikes
- aeinstein
- civil-resistance-2-0
- civil-resistance-tactics-21c
- commons-198-methods
- gandhi-institute-198
- thinkers/gene-sharp
- thinkers/mahatma-gandhi
- thinkers/erica-chenoweth
- thinkers/maria-stephan
- bill-moyer
- thinkers/george-lakey
- thinkers/martin-luther-king-jr
Open Questions
None yet.
Sources & verification
- commons-198-methods — grounding: secondary — RAW (12729 chars)
- aeinstein — grounding: secondary — RAW (8630 chars)
- civil-resistance-tactics-21c — grounding: secondary — RAW (2120 chars)
- civil-resistance-2-0 — grounding: secondary — RAW (7172 chars)
- sources/gandhi-institute-198 — grounding: secondary — RAW (PDF)
Verified 2026-06-23 by llm-qc.