Minorities and nonviolence. Breaking asymmetrical conflicts

Abstract

This historical article aims to relate the influence of Christian religious minorities and the use of nonviolent methods. These minorities not only used nonviolent methods but also influenced, with their teachings and practices, many other later groups, both minorities (religious groups, ethnic and racial minorities, etc.) and majorities (labour movement, feminism and mass pacifism). All these groups interpreted nonviolent methods as useful and appropriate for resolving their asymmetrical conflicts. This article uses examples from the struggle of the black minority in the United States to demonstrate the relationship between the past and the future of citizens' struggles. In the past, apprenticeships required much effort to understand and adapt; today, however, new forms of communication and information are accelerating the transmission of nonviolent techniques. Nevertheless, both then and now there is a set of lessons that are perpetuated and associated with nonviolent methods: maintaining moral resistance in the narrative about injustices, refusing to cooperate in certain circumstances, challenging institutions, attracting a majority public to the cause, knowing in depth the advantages and limits of nonviolent methods, or adopting slow-but-steady strategies.