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We Need to Talk: Voices of Nonviolent Resistance

We need to talk

News from around the world has been unsettling. Recent attacks on Ukraine have led to a renewed call for greater military spending, and more weaponry.

Despite all the focus on violence, significant nonviolent resistance is flourishing in Ukraine, in Russia, and around the world.

Here you will learn about nonviolent resistance and find stories of the movement for peace. You'll also find ways that you can help ensure that nonviolence does not get drowned out by the drums of war.

The We Need to Talk: Voices of Nonviolent Resistance project is a collaboration of CMU faculty from both the Shaftesbury and Menno Simons College campuses, as well as alumni and current students.

 

Quick Links

Join the conversationDoes nonviolent resistance work?Examples of nonviolent resistanceHow can I help?Stories
 

Join the conversation

Do you have questions about nonviolent resistance?

Join CMU faculty Karen Ridd (Teaching Associate Professor, Conflict Resolution Studies, International Development Studies, Menno Simons College), Wendy Kroeker (Associate Professor, Peace and Conflict Transformation Studies; Academic Director, Canadian School of Peacebuilding, CMU), and Valerie Smith (Associate Registrar for Grad Studies, CMU) in conversation on Zoom to share your own questions about nonviolence.

Upcoming Episode

Episode #4, November 30, 9:30 PM - https://zoom.us/j/95338471483
Shifting Lenses: Bringing Peacebuilding Learning Home

Co-Host Team: Karen Ridd and Valerie Smith

Guests:

  • Justyna Erin, Nigeria, former volunteer with De Starz, an NGO to support girls and women
  • Terrence Chan, Hong Kong, formerly worked with family conflict transformation as the Program and Communication Coordinator for DADs Network, a Hong Kong-based NGO.

When facing situations of violence, oppression and injustice, time away from one’s home context to study can sometimes create the space for a helpful change in perspective. Justyna Erin and Terrence Chan will join us to talk about their countries of origin (Nigeria and Hong Kong) and what inspires them to work as peacebuilders. We’ll have the chance to hear about ways their perspectives have been changing and about questions that they continue to grapple with. As well, come ready to think about how all of us can grapple in new ways with tough issues in our own contexts. So, bring your mug of tea, your questions and join us for episode #4 of CMU's interactive Zoom “call-in” show!

Past Episodes

Episode #3: November 16, 9:30 PM (CST)
Nine months in: Are there still nonviolent options for Ukraine?

Co-Host Team: Wendy Kroeker and Karen Ridd

Guests:

  • Gerry Michalski, Pastor at Soul Sanctuary, Winnipeg 
  • Emily Welty, Director of Peace and Justice Studies at Pace University in New York City, Vice Moderator of the World Council of Churches, and past instructor at CMU’s Canadian School of Peacebuilding

As war continues in Ukraine, the stories of horror, people’s desperation and ebbing hope are much in the headlines. But there are amazing people doing amazing things in that contested space—both by those who live there and those who travel there. Pastor Gerry Michalski has just returned from Ukraine and will bring vivid stories and challenging questions about how to respond. Emily Welty, as one embedded in the work and activism of the church, teaches in the field of nonviolence and calls us to creativity. 

Episode #2: October 19, 9:30 PM (CDT)
Creative Challengers: Women and Nonviolent Action

Co-Host Team: Valerie Smith, Karen Ridd and Wendy Kroeker (Valerie and Karen will co-host this episode)
Guests: Dr. Robin Neustaeter and Dr. Megan McKenzie

Perhaps you've been watching the courageous and persistent nonviolent activism of women in Iran. We Need to Talk is resurfacing after a summer hiatus, and we have will have two exciting guests with us to share stories and questions about women and nonviolent action! Bring your mug of tea, your questions and your stories and join us for episode #2 of CMU's interactive Zoom 'call-in show!'

Further Information about our guests:

  • Robin Neustaeter: Assistant Professor, Adult Education Graduate Studies, St. Francis Xavier University
  • Megan McKenzie: Author: Farming's In-Law Factor; conflict resolution practitioner who has worked in Ireland, the Middle East, the DRCongo, and with marginalized communities in Winnipeg and Brandon

 

Episode #1: Wednesday, April 6 at 7:30 PM (CDT)

Segment 1 | "Is there a role for nonviolent resistance in a situation of open conflict like Russia-Ukraine?"

  • Callers/participant conversation

Segment 2  | “You don’t need to determine if they’re right or wrong in order to love an enemy”

  • GUEST: Alayna Smith, CMU student, reflects on her recent speech at a public forum
  • Callers/participant conversation

Segment 3 | Next steps

 

Does nonviolent resistance work?

Research shows nonviolent resistance in the twentieth century succeeded 53% of the time, compared with 26% for violent campaigns. And between 2000 and 2006, 70% of nonviolent campaigns succeeded, a success rate five times that of violent uprisings.

Data also shows that it only takes 3.5 percent of the population actively participating in a given nonviolent resistance campaign to effect serious social and political change.

Watch "The success of nonviolent civil resistance: Erica Chenoweth at TEDxBoulder".

Other Documentaries

  • A force more powerful – Part 1
    This 77-minute documentary shows the revolution Gandhi lead against the British in India, the civil rights movement in Nashville, and the overthrow of apartheid in South Africa.
  • A force more powerful – Part 2
    This 78-minute documentary shows Denmark's resistance to the Nazi occupation, the Polish Solidarity movement, and the overthrow of the dictator Pinochet in Chile.
  • Bringing down a dictator
    This one-hour documentary depicts the student-led movement in Serbia that toppled dictator, Slobodan Miloševic.

Organizations focussed on nonviolent resistance

What are Mennonite voices saying? 

 

Examples of nonviolent resistance

Canada

Canada has a long history of nonviolent resistance for social and political change. Some examples include the Winnipeg General Strike of 1919, and Viola Desmond who took a stand for racial justice in 1946.

More recently, the Idle No More movement and the use of the red handprint to symbolize Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls have had an impact across the country. In 2021, anti-logging protests in British Columbia became Canada's biggest ever act of civil disobedience.

Learn more at https://historyofsocialchange.ca.

Ukraine

The dominant narrative on our TV screens has been one of violent struggle in response the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Despite the focus on violence, significant nonviolent resistance is flourishing in Ukraine, and throughout the region (and around the world in support of Ukraine).

Here are some examples:

Watch these videos to learn more:

Read these articles on nonviolent action and Ukraine to learn more:

Explore the writings (and one talk!) on nonviolent action by George Lakey:

Global

While the war in Ukraine dominates our news feeds, armed conflict is taking place in at least 26 more countries around the world, including Afghanistan, Democratic Republic of Congo, Mali, Myanmar, Palestine/Israel, and Yemen.

Yet nonviolent resistance is a strong force or change in these conflicts, too. Here are some examples:

Watch this webinar from Mennonite Central Committee to learn more:

 

How can I help?

Talk about it

Conflict is complicated, whether it's between friends or between nation states. And not talking about it rarely solves the problem. Sharing perspectives and ideas about nonviolence and nonviolent resistance will help us all learn more and determine how we will respond.

Join us for the next scheduled 'We Need to Talk' conversation.

Letters and Petitions

Writing to your politicians and signing petitions are ways to express your views. Here's a letter from Amnesty International that you can write or sign: Letter.

Donate

In times of crisis financial donations are the most helpful way to respond. Donating money gives experts on the ground the flexibility to purchase what is most urgently needed, and to change plans more easily as needs change. Plus, it contributes to the local economy in places facing conflict and disaster, which is another step toward peace.

Organizations like Mennonite Central Committee and the International Red Cross are great options.

Welcome refugees

Refugees are arriving in our communities every day. Find a local organization that supports refugees and offer your gifts of time, skill, and resources. 

Here's a petition that you can sign to help make it easier for Ukrainian refugees to enter Canada (and you can include a note suggesting that it should be easier for refugees from any war zone to enter Canada): Petition

Climate change

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) recently published a scathing report on climate change. Not only does war push us more quickly towards climate disaster (by the devastation of environments, and heavy use of fossil fuels), but people experiencing conflict are necessarily focussed on immediate survival. A gift that we can give them (and give the world) is to redouble our own efforts around climate change. By doing more to limit climate change impacts here in our communities, maybe we can lessen some of the devastating impacts of war across our planet. To inspire us, here's an action that Europeans are exploring: Banning European flights and car use. And here's an article regarding the Canada that has information you can use to write to your politician: War in Ukraine should lead to climate action

Join the movement

You can be one of the 3.5 percent of people needed to make lasting change in your community. Connect to local organizations who are working for causes you care about. Maybe it's housing rights, racial justice, gender equity, children in care, LGBT+ inclusion, healthcare, military spending, or peacebuilding. Support these organizations with your time and resources and participate in nonviolent action for political and social change.

Here are some ideas from Waging Nonviolence: five ways to support nonviolent resistance in Ukraine

 

Stories

Nonviolent resistance: We need to talk by Karen Ridd

We Need to Talk: Climate change and war by Karen Ridd

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