With our world seemingly awash with violence, we need more than ever to reconsider the potential of nonviolence. The good news is that this is happening throughout the world as more and more people are turning to nonviolent methods to bring positive change, while in academia the study of nonviolent resistance is becoming much more mainstream. In large part, this increased attention is rooted in the growing evidence that nonviolent movements are far more successful that we typically recognize.

The introduction to this latest collection addresses the recent efforts to reconcile the divisions that have impacted the study and practice of nonviolence. This follows with an excellent look by Mark and Paul Engler at what successful nonviolent movements have in common, followed by some reflections from leaders of five very different types of campaigns. The focus then shifts to a series of articles whose authors explicitly examine an ethical commitment to nonviolence. Dawson College’s own Djeema Maazouzi examines the intellectual and moral philosophy of Germaine Tillion, who like Gandhi saw the struggle for justice and peace as inherently rooted in an understanding of the “other.” Michael Nagler then examines the growing calls in the higher echelon of the Catholic Church to return to its pacifist roots, while he teams up with activist and educator Karen Ridd to discuss the transformative nature of the unexpected nonviolent response. Stephen Zunes and Erica Chenoweth then focus our attention once more on what makes a nonviolent movement effective: the article “Weapons of Mass Democracy” examines how our increased knowledge about the strategies and tactics of a nonviolent struggle is having an impact worldwide, while “Changing Sides Doesn’t Always Make for Transformation” evaluates the impact — positive and negative — of military defections. To end, Mary Elizabeth King calls on us to rediscover our world’s forgotten history of nonviolence.

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