The Albert Einstein Institute – Revolution
Poly Tics . Social StudiesForward –
If ever there was a time in the collective history of the world where revolution against tyranny was required, now is the time. It is past time. Whether this revolution can succeed using non-violent means remains to be seen. There has already been enough misery, oppression, death and destruction brought by tyrants against the people. Would violence be justified or effective? Is there enough time to use non-violent means to effect? Is there enough time to begin with low risk action so more people might put at least one foot forward, to shout one word, to ask questions, to resist or push back? Tyrants have the advantage of the power of weapons of mass injury and death used by soulless monsters to threaten the non-violent protests or to punish the protesters when they refuse to yield. Protest and revolution using non-violent means places faith in the possibility that tyrants and their partner stakeholder militias have not lost their morality and humanity.
-Howard
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Dr. Gene Sharp
1928-2018
Dr. Gene Sharp, who has been called “the Clausewitz of nonviolent warfare,” founded the Albert Einstein Institution in 1983 to promote research, policy studies, and education on the strategic uses of nonviolent struggle in face of dictatorship, war, genocide, and oppression. He served as the Institution’s Senior Scholar from 1983 until his passing in 2018.
In an academic and professional career spanning more than six decades, Gene Sharp articulated and advanced the cause of nonviolent action for change. His ideas and writings, along with his close study of Gandhi and dictatorships, have informed nonviolent struggles for freedom around the world.
A social sciences graduate of Ohio State University (B.A., 1949, with honours in political science, debate, and sociology), Sharp continued his studies at Ohio State, earning his Master of Arts in sociology in 1951. He concentrated in sociological theory with additional work in inter-group relations, social psychology, and anthropology. He wrote his master’s thesis on the sociology of nonviolence.
From 1951 until 1955, Sharp lived in New York City conducting independent studies on the history of nonviolent action and the life and work of Gandhi. That work led to his first book, Gandhi Wields the Weapon of Moral Power: Three Case Histories, completed in 1953 and published in 1960 with a foreword by Albert Einstein. During those New York years, Sharp was arrested for civil disobedience to military conscription during the Korean War, for which he spent nine months in prison.
In 1955, he became assistant editor of Peace News in London. Later, he was a lecturer at the Institute for Philosophy and the History of Ideas of the University of Oslo and a research associate at the Institute for Social Research in Oslo.
From 1960 to 1964 he undertook doctoral studies at St. Catherine’s College, Oxford, His D.Phil. from Oxford, awarded in 1968, focused on theories of the nature of political power and the history, methods, and dynamics of nonviolent struggle.
In 1965 he became a research associate at the Centre for International Affairs at Harvard University, a position he held for nearly 30 years. He also taught political science and sociology at the University of Massachusetts–Dartmouth.
In 1983, Sharp founded the Albert Einstein Institution, a nonprofit organization that supports research and policy studies on strategic nonviolent action and has consulted with resistance and pro-democracy groups in Burma, Thailand, Tibet, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Belarus, and elsewhere. He served as senior scholar at the Albert Einstein Institution in Boston until his passing in 2018 and was professor emeritus of political science at the University of Massachusetts–Dartmouth.
Dr. Sharp held two honorary doctorates, Doctor of Humane Letters (2012) from Brown University and Doctor of Laws (1983) from Manhattan College. He has received numerous honors and awards for his work including the El-Hibri Peace Education Prize and the Right Livelihood Award which was presented in the Swedish Parliament in 2012.
Dr. Sharp is the author of various books and many other publications on nonviolent struggle, power, political problems, liberation struggle, dictatorships, and defence policy. His writings have been published in over 45 languages including Norwegian, German, French, Italian, Arabic, Hebrew, Tamil, Burmese, Karen, Thai, Spanish, Chinese, Korean, and Japanese.
His books include The Politics of Nonviolent Action (1973; Introduction by Thomas C. Schelling), Making Europe Unconquerable (1985; Foreword by George F. Kennan), Civilian-Based Defence (1990), Social Power and Political Freedom (1980; Introduction by Senator Mark O. Hatfield), and Gandhi as a Political Strategist (1979 and 1999; Introduction by Coretta Scott King and Foreword by Frederico Mayor). Sharp’s The Power and Practice of Nonviolent Struggle (in Tibetan; 1999) carried a Foreword by the Dalai Lama. His more recent works include Waging Nonviolent Struggle: 20th Century Practice and 21st Century Potential (2005) and How Nonviolent Struggle Works (2013). Sharp’s Dictionary of Power and Struggle (2011) represents the culmination of decades of study and thought, and is a groundbreaking reference work that defines the key concepts and terms surrounding nonviolent struggle.
His first book, Gandhi Wields the Weapon of Moral Power (1960), included a Foreword by Albert Einstein and an Introduction by Bharatan Kumarappa. Sharp is also co-editor of Resistance, Politics, and the American Struggle for Independence (1986) and of Nonviolent Action: A Research Guide (1997), as well as a contributor to several encyclopedias.
His recent shorter writings include “From Dictatorship to Democracy” (translated into 42 languages; 1993, 2002, and 2003), “The Anti-Coup” (co-author; 2003), “There Are Realistic Alternatives” (2003), and “Self-Liberation” (2010).
Additionally, he prepared simplified presentations on the nature of nonviolent struggle and its applications against dictatorships and coups d’état. He conducted workshops and consulted on strategic nonviolent struggle internationally in severe crisis situations.
Dr. Sharp was convinced that pragmatic, strategically planned nonviolent struggle can be made highly effective for application in conflicts to lift oppression and as a substitute for violence.