The art(s) of nonviolent protest

Abstract

My Ph.D has grown out of a long-term engagement with nonviolent and artistic activism in Australia and overseas, particularly in the environment, peace and social justice/land rights movements. I was fortunate to learn at an early stage the efficacy of nonviolence, when I was part of the Franklin River blockade in Tasmania in 1982. Here more than 1000 people were jailed (myself included) for acts of nonviolent civil disobedience, yet there were almost no incidents of violence. We succeeded in saving the river by throwing our support nationally behind the ALP, who were elected, stopped the dam and stayed in power (despite our growing disenchantment with them) for more than a decade. Since then I have become increasingly interested in the study and practice of Nonviolence, which I think is often poorly understood, and incorrectly believed to be outmoded, or ineffectual against ruthless opponents. 1 believe that nonviolent praxis has been a key ingredient in the successes of the Australian protest movement, and that where it has been poorly implemented, or not at all, there have been conspicuous failures, as at the 1994 Carrai logging blockade in NSW. I see my writing as part of a drive to bring to light the effectiveness of Nonviolence, and give it some recognition for its role in successful campaigns. A similar and related area, which forms the second part of my thesis, is that of the arts which are used as part of protest actions. These too have been at the centre of many actions, yet little credence is given to their role.