Pragmatic Nonviolence and Positive Peace

Abstract

Pragmatic nonviolence is a term that describes the use of nonviolent techniques that are used by social movements to wield power and create social change. When successful, it has led to measurable increases in human freedom and democracy, has removed unwanted rulers, and has prevented coups and invasions. On top of this, research suggests that social movements have been more effective at achieving their aims by utilizing pragmatic nonviolent techniques than by using violent methods. However, while the utilization of nonviolent methods over violent ones, as well as the success of nonviolent movements, could be seen as a shift toward peace, pragmatic nonviolence by itself may not lead to positive peace. This chapter provides a basic overview of how pragmatic nonviolence works and what research tells us about its successes and failures, highlighting its positive elements and its shortcomings. Accepting Chabot and Sharifi’s (Societ Without Bord 8(2):205–232, 2013) critique of pragmatic nonviolence, and their call for forms of nonviolence that reflect the transformative and radical nonviolence of Gandhi and his emphasis on swaraj (“self-rule”), an introductory overview of the post-Gandhi Sarvodaya (“welfare for all”) movements attempt to create positive peace is discussed. This approach offers a contrasting and possibly alternative way of waging nonviolence to pragmatic nonviolence.