What is the name of the book? Ches Thurber. 2021. Between Mao and Gandhi: The Social Roots of Civil Resistance. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. What’s the argument? Variation in their social ties helps explain why some dissident organizations embrace the “nonviolent” strategy of civil resistance while others reject it, often turning instead to guns. The logic of civil resistance is predicated on the idea that by using primarily nonviolent tactics, dissident groups can generate higher levels of mobilization, win over loyalty shifts from regime elites, and weaken security...

read more