As an organizer for the 50501 movement, organizing protests to protect the Constitution and our democracy, I sometimes hear nonparticipants question whether protesting really makes any difference. Some people claim that it is merely symbolic or that it only makes the protesters feel better by allowing them to publicly vent their frustrations. The study of nonviolent resistance is not a popular field; but fortunately, a handful of scholars have produced solid research. So, what do history and the data tell us?
First, let me address why resistance needs to be, and needs to remain, nonviolent. Some might assume it is because of moral, philosophical or religious reasons. While those reasons might apply to a portion of the population, for the purposes of this discussion, the reason is strategic. Do not confuse nonviolent resistance with passivity.
Author and political scientist Dr. Gene Sharp studied uprisings throughout history and was surprised by what he found. He said, “Something unusual is happening in the world. The people without guns are winning.” Indeed, history shows that nonviolent resistance is far more successful than using violent tactics. In his 1993 book, From Dictatorship to Democracy, Sharp outlines 198 nonviolent strategies that have been used successfully to overthrow authoritarian regimes. The book has been used around the world as a guide to nonviolently remove numerous dictators.
Before he died, Sharp placed his book into the public domain so that it could be freely shared during times such as this. I encourage you to purchase a copy to support the nonprofit publisher, The New Press, but a free copy is available online.
In a separate research project, Dr. Erica Chenoweth and her colleague, Dr. Maria J. Stephan, collected data from all violent and nonviolent campaigns from 1900 to 2006 that resulted in the overthrow of a government or in territorial liberation. They analyzed 323 mass actions and nearly 160 variables. The results, once again, showed that nonviolent resistance was far more effective in producing change. In their book, Why Civil Resistance Works: The Strategic Logic of Nonviolent Conflict, Chenowith and Stephan list four key components of successful campaigns:
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Protests continue in Springfield
First, a movement with large, diverse and sustained participation is required. The research showed that once 3.5% of the population was actively and sustainably engaged in nonviolent resistance, no dictatorship was able to survive. On April 5, 2025, the Hands Off! day of protests, organized by various groups including Indivisible and the 50501 movement, was estimated at 5 million participants nationwide, or almost 1.5% of the U.S. population. That is a rapid buildup considering that the current administration had only been in office for two-and-a-half months at that time. To reach the tipping point of 3.5%, which is 12 million participants, the movement needs you. It seems too simple to think that we each have the power to stop a coup by simply showing up to protests on a regular basis, but the data from successful uprisings say otherwise.
Second, the movement needs to elicit loyalty shifts among security forces and elites. Security forces are important because their reactions to the protests largely determine whether violent enforcement methods are used. Elites include economic and business elites, politicians and the media. Massive, nonviolent movements influence public opinion and change the atmosphere, which disrupts the status quo. Security forces refuse to use violence against the peaceful members of their community. Business leaders make different decisions. Politicians question whether their loyalty to the regime will cost them reelection. Mainstream media gives more coverage to the movement, which then feeds the movement’s growth. When these shifts occur, the pillars supporting the dictator crumble. But these shifts are dependent on the movement remaining nonviolent.
Third, the movement needs more than just protests. There needs to be a variety of methods used such as boycotts, strikes, general noncooperation, etc. This is why Sharp’s list of 198 different strategies in the book From Dictatorship to Democracy is so important. Successful movements deploy as many different nonviolent strategies as possible.
Fourth, when major campaigns are inevitably repressed, the successful ones do not descend into chaos or opt for violence. Chaos and violence play directly into the regime’s strength. Governments will almost always have military superiority.
Throughout U.S. history, there are many examples of the effectiveness of nonviolent resistance. Most of the freedoms we enjoy today, from civil rights to workers’ rights to women’s rights and beyond, were not just freely given by a benevolent government. These rights were fought for through massive, nonviolent resistance.
I encourage you to get involved. The future of our democracy depends on you.
Kelley Hatlee started volunteering as an organizer with 50501 after attending one of the first Springfield-area protests in February. He is also a precinct committeeperson with the Macoupin County Democrats and volunteers as an activist and organizer with the Macoupin County Action Alliance.
This article appears in May 15-21, 2025.
Fantastic guest contribution! Thank you for writing this! Nonviolent protest does matter & it does work…and the data is there to back it up! Local 50501, Indivisible, Women’s March (& many more!) organizations absolutely need pro-democracy Americans to get involved by making calls, engaging in mutual aid, or simply showing up on local protest days to show we care about our future, we see the corruption, and we are defending our constitution. As early as 1968, Professor Michael Lipsky wrote in “Protest as a Political Resource” that “successful movements have clear, strategic goals; [they] use protest to broaden coalitions, seek to enlist more powerful individuals in their cause, and connect expressions of discontent to broader political and electoral mobilization.” What happens now at these local IL protests is affecting much larger-scale aspects of the politics in the US overall. Remember…participation just needs 3.5% engagement to make a difference, and as Hatlee notes, participation has already reached almost 1.5%! Protesting affects how, what and where Americans buy things (ie boycotts). It also affects how people vote in the future, based off how their respective constituents respond to current demands. Protesting affects how many average Americans flood their congressional representatives with emails, calls, letters, petitions, demands for a town hall, etc. Maybe most importantly (at least for me), protesting helps raise a sense of community cohesion here locally. It provides a permitted space for people to connect and organize around their political and humanitarian grievances: non-violently. Thank you for bringing up these important facts about nonviolent protest, Mr. Hatlee. The peaceful, legal fight against the MAGA authoritarian kleptocratic oligarchy shall continue! P.S. It’s odd that Trump supporters often think people are merely protesting the fact that Mr. Trump won…and we should “get over it, accept it.” Hardly…no one immediately took to the streets due to Trump’s election, but due to the unconstitutional & ignorant actions Trump took immediately. These protests are not about a Republican getting elected. We have conservatives, veterans, seniors, moderates, independents at our protests. We have people who have never voted who now want to vote at our protests. I think it is evident these pro-democracy protests are in response to how, as of May 14, 2025, Donald Trump has signed 152 executive orders, 39 memoranda, and 54 proclamations–former President Biden only signed 162 executive orders in four years. This is executive overreach. Keep peacefully protesting. Thank you, thank you.
If you have to write an essay explaining that your tactics are working, I got news for you: your tactics aren’t working. The turnout at these protests is dwindling, not growing. The 50501 movement is co-opted by the Democrats who want any protests to be narrow and directed at their electoral goals.