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| Campaign Nonviolence | |
|---|---|
| Name | Campaign Nonviolence |
| Founded | 2007 |
| Founder | Elise Boulding |
| Type | Social movement |
| Location | United States |
| Focus | Nonviolent action, peace, social justice |
Campaign Nonviolence is a grassroots movement dedicated to promoting nonviolent action, peacebuilding, social justice, and systemic change through coordinated education, direct action, and solidarity events. Drawing on traditions of civil resistance, religious pacifism, and international peace movements, the initiative connects local organizers, faith communities, labor groups, student activists, and international NGOs to mount annual campaigns and demonstrations. Its public activities often coincide with commemorative dates and draw on historical examples of nonviolent struggle to frame contemporary issues.
The origins of the movement trace to networks influenced by scholars and activists such as Elise Boulding, Gene Sharp, Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr., and Dorothy Day, in parallel with organizations like the Fellowship of Reconciliation, War Resisters' International, and Pax Christi. Early organizing drew inspiration from events including the Salt March, the Montgomery Bus Boycott, the Solidarity movement, and the anti‑nuclear protests at Greenham Common. Growth in the 2000s connected organizers from the Catholic Worker Movement, Quaker meetings, the Fellowship of Reconciliation USA, Veterans for Peace, and Service Civil International to newer groups like Code Pink, United for Peace and Justice, and the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee legacy projects. Campaigns referenced strategies documented by Albert Einstein activists, Bayard Rustin theorists, and Mahatma Gandhi scholars, while engaging with commemorations such as International Day of Non‑Violence and International Peace Day. Historical precedents cited ranged from the Suffragette movement and the Chartist meetings to Solidarity's strikes in Gdańsk and the People Power Revolution in the Philippines.
Campaign aims combine nonviolent direct action, public education, and advocacy for disarmament, economic justice, environmental protection, and human rights. Its stated principles echo tenets associated with the nonviolent philosophies of Gandhi, King, Tolstoy, and Lanza del Vasto, and align with commitments promoted by organizations such as Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, Oxfam, and Greenpeace. The movement frames its objectives within broader struggles that include nuclear abolition efforts connected to the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons and humanitarian initiatives championed by Médecins Sans Frontières, the International Red Cross, and UNICEF. Ethical foundations draw on traditions represented by the Quakers, Mennonites, Buddhist Peace Fellowship, and Soka Gakkai International.
Annual events and mobilizations have included days of nonviolent action, marches, vigils, rallies, teach‑ins, fasts, and civil resistance training, often organized in solidarity with campaigns like the Global Campaign on Military Spending, the Climate Strike movement, Extinction Rebellion, and anti‑war coalitions opposing conflicts such as the Iraq War and the Afghanistan intervention. Campaign activities have been synchronized with international observances promoted by the United Nations General Assembly, including resolutions on disarmament and human security. Local chapters have coordinated with labor unions such as the AFL‑CIO, SEIU, teachers' unions, and student organizations like Students for a Democratic Society and the Sunrise Movement. Cultural partnerships engaged artists and intellectuals from circles related to Noam Chomsky, Arundhati Roy, Naomi Klein, Cornel West, and bell hooks. Tactical training incorporated methodologies from Gene Sharp’s writings and workshops influenced by the International Center on Nonviolent Conflict and practitioners linked to Rosa Parks anniversary events.
The movement operates through decentralized networks comprising local affiliates, campus groups, faith communities, and issue‑based committees rather than a rigid hierarchical board. Leadership models have paralleled structures used by the Highlander Research and Education Center, the Resource Center for Nonviolence, and grassroots coalitions similar to the Indivisible movement. Volunteer coordinators, regional facilitators, and advisory councils often include veterans, clergy, academics, and organizers who have worked with institutions like Columbia University, Harvard Divinity School, Georgetown University, and the London School of Economics through public forums. Decision‑making processes reflect consensus practices found in cooperatives, faith communities, and the organizing methods of the Black Lives Matter network.
Campaign Nonviolence has partnered with a wide array of organizations including the Fellowship of Reconciliation, War Resisters' International, Pax Christi International, Veterans for Peace, CODEPINK, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, Greenpeace, Oxfam, the International Peace Bureau, the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons, the Quaker United Nations Office, and faith networks like the United Methodist Church and the United Church of Christ. Coalitions have overlapped with labor bodies such as the Service Employees International Union, student groups like Students for Justice in Palestine, environmental collectives such as 350.org, and global advocacy networks including CIVICUS, the Global Greens, and the World Council of Churches. Collaborative campaigns linked with peer initiatives including the Climate Justice Alliance, the Poor People's Campaign, the Sunrise Movement, and Extinction Rebellion.
Supporters point to successful mass mobilizations, increased public awareness of nonviolent strategies, and local policy wins in areas like municipal divestment, anti‑war resolutions, and community policing reforms, citing analogous successes by movements such as Solidarity, the U.S. Civil Rights Movement, and the anti‑apartheid campaign. Critics argue that decentralized, consensus‑based organizing can limit strategic coordination and measurable policy outcomes, echoing debates seen in analyses of Occupy Wall Street, Black Lives Matter, and horizontalist movements in Spain and Brazil. Other critiques reference tensions between faith‑based pacifist approaches and secular activist priorities, comparisons made with debates involving the Catholic Worker Movement, Liberation Theology advocates, and secular human rights organizations. Ongoing assessments engage scholars from institutions such as Oxford, Harvard, Stanford, and the University of California system, as well as think tanks like the RAND Corporation and the Carnegie Endowment, who analyze efficacy, sustainability, and scalability of nonviolent campaigns.