Support Conspirituality on Patreon.
Does the word protestor conjure a masked figure in black clothing smashing windows and lighting fires or a weekend liberal ineffectually following rules while sipping on a creamy latte along the state-permitted protest route?
A popular media narrative is that peaceful protest works best, but has the power of nonviolent resistance been debunked?
Julian responds to Matthew’s interview with political sociologist, Benjamin Case.
In the context of anarchist activism, Case points out that successful “nonviolent protest movements” have always featured property damage, street-fighting, and window smashing. His ethnographic research shows that rioting can also be personally transformative and empowering, as the participant experiences “contentious effervescence.”
His interview (and book, Street Rebellion) included a pointed critique of celebrated nonviolence advocate and academic, Erica Chenoweth, and their towering predecessor, Gene Sharp—who, inspired by Mahatma Gandhi, practically created the field of nonviolent resistance studies. Case has some excellent points, especially about how often Chenoweth’s work is misinterpreted.
But was Gene Sharp really a tool of American imperialism? Is Erica Chenoweth a willing lapdog to status quo liberalism and capitalist power? What kinds of protest strategy might serve us best in our terrifying authoritarian moment?
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
What do you picture when I say the word protester?
Do you see a weekend tourist with a latte in one hand and a political sign in the other chanting with the crowd as they meander peacefully along the state-permitted protest route?
Or does your imagination conjure a nimble and defiant character dressed in black getting in the face of the magas, fighting cops, and causing tactically orchestrated mayhem and property damage behind the anonymity of a masked face?
A recent guest on our show, Benjamin S. Case, is the author of a 2022 academic paper titled Contentious Effervescence, which describes being swept away in the heightened state of euphoria, empowerment, and group identification from the experience of participating in riots.
In his book, Street Rebellion, Case presents research interviews on the subjective experience of rioters and concludes that their actions I'm quoting here, can play a nourishing role for radicals' will to resist.
He quotes one subject as saying, Now, we're all left of center on this podcast, and so are most of our guests.
But on the spectrum of political action that runs from smashing shop windows, setting fire to restaurants and cars, and actively fighting counter-protesters and police, to disciplined, peaceful protests based on the principles of nonviolence, I'm much more aligned with the latter.
Now, that's a preference.
And it's based on the kind of idealism that holds up the campaigns of Mohandas Gandhi.
Martin Luther King and Nelson Mandela from my own home country as examples of what some theorists call people power.
And this stance says that when enough people join a movement that protests nonviolently against unjust laws and government actions, they will eventually prevail, due in part to holding a kind of moral high ground that both draws in new participants and succeeds at winning over public opinion at home and in other countries.
by serving as a peaceful foil to repressive state backlash.
For their part, anarchists and revolutionaries label the political attitude I just described as an unrealistic and ineffectual liberal moralism that hypocritically enables and tolerates state violence and oppressive capitalism while finger-wagging at those willing to fight against it on our behalf by putting their bodies on the line.
The idea that any of those 20th century heroes prevailed without the brave participation of armed and unarmed revolutionary militants is a deluded fantasy, they say.
Of course, these are all generalizations.
You could even say, I'm relying on stereotypes and vibes so far.
There's a lot to unpack.
nuanced arguments on both sides and a rich history of research.
So I hope you'll stay with me as I explore some of the central questions about violence and nonviolence that are on my mind and the minds of others who have recently commented on our feed regarding these topics.
Thanks.
you you you Welcome to Conspirituality.
I'm Julian Walker.
Today's episode will be a little different as it is in part a response to my friend and colleague Matthew Remski's double episode from last month.
That was an interview with a political sociologist named Benjamin S. Case, who is deeply critical of a kind of mainstream consensus that nonviolent resistance is not only more virtuous, but more effective at creating positive societal and political change.
For the purposes of my shorthand intro here, I don't think Ben would object to me saying that he is pro-riot.
I dug into the literature, immersing myself in it for the last couple weeks, and I found that Case has some really good points.
But that didn't change how deeply uncomfortable I felt with his arguments.
So I'm here to discuss, disentangle, and think about protest and political activism at a time when so many of us are sickeningly alarmed at the authoritarian direction of our own government and many other governments around the world.
You can also subscribe to our bonus episodes via Apple subscriptions.
