Gene Sharp

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Gene Sharp (born 1928) is a political scientist, author and founder of the Albert Einstein Institution, a non-profit organisation which studies and promotes the use of nonviolent action.

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Theory of nonviolent resistance

Sharp's best known book, The Politics of Nonviolent Action (1973), provides a pragmatic political analysis of nonviolent action as a method for applying power in a conflict.

Sharp's key insight is that he revived the idea earlier stated by the 18th century philosopher David Hume, that power is not monolithic, that is, it does not derive from some intrinsic quality of those who are in power. For Sharp, political power, the power of any state - regardless of its particular structural organization - is derived from the subjects of the state. His fundamental belief is that any power structure is based on the subjects' obedience to the orders of the ruler(s). Therefore, if subjects do not obey, leaders have no power.

David Hume's statement of the idea in his Essay 4 : Of The First Principles of Government, using the word submission rather than obedience, was:

Nothing appears more surprising to those, who consider human affairs with a philosophical eye, than the easiness with which the many are governed by the few; and the implicit submission, with which men resign their own sentiments and passions to those of their rulers. When we enquire by what means this wonder is effected, we shall find, that, as Force is always on the side of the governed, the governors have nothing to support them but opinion. It is therefore, on opinion only that government is founded; and this maxim extends to the most despotic and most military governments, as well as to the most free and most popular.

In Sharp's view all effective power structures have systems by which they encourage or extract obedience from their subjects. States have particularly complex systems for keeping subjects obedient. These systems include specific institutions (police, courts, regulatory bodies) but may also involve cultural dimensions that inspire obedience by implying that power is monolithic (the god cult of the Egyptian pharaohs, the dignity of the office of the President, moral or ethical norms and taboos). Through these systems, subjects are presented with a system of sanctions (imprisonment, fines, ostracization) and rewards (titles, wealth, fame) which influence the extent of their obedience.

This is ultimately related to nonviolent resistance because it is supposed to provide subjects with a window of opportunity for affecting change within a state. Sharp argues that if the subjects of a particular state recognize that they are the source of the state's power they can refuse their obedience and their leader(s) will be left without power.

Noam Chomsky refers to this point of view as Hume's paradox [1].

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Sharp's influence

Sharp's scholarship has influenced the strategy of resistance organizations around the world, most recently and notably in youth movements in Eastern Europe, including Otpor in Serbia, Kmara in the republic of Georgia, Pora in Ukraine, KelKel in Kyrgyzstan, and Zubr in Belarus. These five groups used Sharp's handbook From Dictatorship to Democracy as a basis for their campaigns. Sharp may also have influenced the Orange Alternative movement fighting communism in the People's Republic of Poland (founded 1983), since it used methods mentioned by Sharp, though it's not clear whether its founders knew of his work. Sharp's book Civilian-based Defense, was used by the Lithuanian, Latvian, and Estonian governments during their separation from the Soviet Union in 1991.

The Albert Einstein Institution's web site contains many works by Gene Sharp, in English and in over sixty translations.

Some people see Sharp's work as primarily anti-Communist, claiming that the majority of his effort has been spent helping topple Communist or left-leaning governments. For instance, it is said that the Albert Einstein Institution recently advised opposition forces in Venezuela as how they should proceed in the effort to recall Hugo Chavez[2]. Critics also complain that the Albert Einstein Institution has received funding from the National Endowment for Democracy -- an organization of which one of its founders, Allen Weinstein, said "...a lot of what we do today was done covertly by the CIA 25 years ago." Thus, some critics assert that the AEI is an organization devoted to promoting American overthrow of sovereign governments under the cover of promoting "democracy" and encouraging what the UK's Guardian called "the postmodern coup d'etat" [3].

Gene Sharp's latest work, Waging Nonviolent Struggle: 20th Century Practice and 21st Century Potentialwas published in June, 2005. It builds on his earlier written works by documenting case studies where non violent action has been applied, and the lessons learned from those applications, and contains unprecedented information on strategically planning nonviolent struggle to make it more effective.

Some of Sharp's books are available from Extending Horizons Books, an imprint of Porter Sargent Publishers Inc.

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External links

{{Persondata |NAME=Sharp, Gene |ALTERNATIVE NAMES= |SHORT DESCRIPTION=American political scientist |DATE OF BIRTH=1928 |PLACE OF BIRTH= |DATE OF DEATH= |PLACE OF DEATH= }}

de:Gene Sharp zh:吉恩·夏普

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