Gene Sharp

Author profile

born

January 28, 1928 in Ohio, The United States

gender

male

website

http://www.aeinstein.org/

genre

Politics

influences

Mahatma Gandhi, Henry David Thoreau

About this author

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Sharp was born in Ohio, the son of an itinerant Protestant minister. He received a Bachelor of Arts in Social Sciences in 1949 from Ohio State University, where he also received his Master of Arts in Sociology in 1951. In 1953-54, Sharp was jailed for nine months after protesting the conscription of soldiers for the Korean War. In 1968, he received a Doctor of Philosophy in political theory from Oxford University.

Sharp has been a professor of political science at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth since 1972. He simultaneously held research appointments at Harvard University’s Center for International Affairs since 1965. In 1983 he founded the Albert Einstein Institution, a non-profit organization devoted to studies and promotion of...more Sharp was born in Ohio, the son of an itinerant Protestant minister. He received a Bachelor of Arts in Social Sciences in 1949 from Ohio State University, where he also received his Master of Arts in Sociology in 1951. In 1953-54, Sharp was jailed for nine months after protesting the conscription of soldiers for the Korean War. In 1968, he received a Doctor of Philosophy in political theory from Oxford University.

Sharp has been a professor of political science at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth since 1972. He simultaneously held research appointments at Harvard University’s Center for International Affairs since 1965. In 1983 he founded the Albert Einstein Institution, a non-profit organization devoted to studies and promotion of the use of nonviolent action in conflicts worldwide.
Sharp's contributions to the theory of nonviolent resistance
Question book-new.

Gene Sharp described the sources of his ideas as in-depth studies of Mohandas K. Gandhi, Henry David Thoreau to a minor degree, and other sources footnoted in his 1973 book "The Politics of Nonviolent Action", which was based on his 1968 PhD thesis. In the book, a "three-volume classic on civil disobedience," he provides a pragmatic political analysis of nonviolent action as a method for applying power in a conflict.

Sharp's key theme is that power is not monolithic; that is, it does not derive from some intrinsic quality of those who are in power. For Sharp, political power, the power of any state - regardless of its particular structural organization - ultimately derives from the subjects of the state. His fundamental belief is that any power structure relies upon the subjects' obedience to the orders of the ruler(s). If subjects do not obey, leaders have no power.

In Sharp's view all effective power structures have systems by which they encourage or extract obedience from their subjects. States have particularly complex systems for keeping subjects obedient. These systems include specific institutions (police, courts, regulatory bodies) but may also involve cultural dimensions that inspire obedience by implying that power is monolithic (the god cult of the Egyptian pharaohs, the dignity of the office of the President, moral or ethical norms and taboos). Through these systems, subjects are presented with a system of sanctions (imprisonment, fines, ostracism) and rewards (titles, wealth, fame) which influence the extent of their obedience.

Sharp identifies this hidden structure as providing a window of opportunity for a population to cause significant change in a state. Sharp cites the insight of E'tienne de La Boétie, that if the subjects of a particular state recognize that they are the source of the state's power they can refuse their obedience and their leader(s) will be left without power.

Sharp published Waging Nonviolent Struggle: 20th Century Practice and 21st Century Potential in 2005. It builds on his earlier written works by documenting case studies where non violent action has been applied, and the lessons learned from those applications, and contains information on planning nonviolent struggle to make it more effective.

For his lifelong commitment to the defense of freedom, democracy, and the reduction of political violence through scholarly analysis of the power of nonviolent action, The Peace Abbey of Sherborn, MA awarded him the Courage of Conscience award April 4, 2008.
Sharp's influence on struggles worldwide

Sharp has been called both the "Machiavelli of nonviolence" and the "Clausewitz of nonviolent warfare." It is claimed by some that Sharp's scholarship has influenced resistance organizations around the world. Most recently, it is claimed that the protest movement that toppled President Mubarak of Egypt drew extensively on his ideas, as well as the youth movement in Tunisia and the earlier ones in the Eastern European color revolutions that had previously been inspired by Sharp's work, although some have cla(less)

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Books by Gene Sharp

Average rating: 4.07 · 271 ratings · 54 reviews · 28 distinct works

	From Dictatorship to Democracy 4.01 avg rating — 108 ratings — published 2003 — 10 editions	My rating:
	Power and Struggle: Part One of the Politics of Nonviolent Action by Gene Sharp, Marina Finkelstein (Editor) 4.23 avg rating — 31 ratings — published 1973	My rating:
	Waging Nonviolent Struggle: 20th Century Practice and 21st Century Potential by Gene Sharp, Christopher Miller (Contribution by), Joshua Paulson (Contribution by) 4.27 avg rating — 30 ratings — published 2005 — 2 editions	My rating:
	Methods of Nonviolent Action (Politics of Nonviolent Action, Part 2) by Gene Sharp, Marina Finkelstein (Editor) 4.05 avg rating — 21 ratings — published 1973	My rating:
	The Dynamics of Nonviolent Action: Part Three of the Politics of Nonviolent Action by Gene Sharp, Marina Finkelstein (Editor) 3.94 avg rating — 17 ratings — published 1985	My rating:
	There are realistic alternatives 4.00 avg rating — 5 ratings — published 2003	My rating:
	Gandhi as a Political Strategist: With Essays on Ethics and Politics 3.60 avg rating — 5 ratings — published 1979 — 2 editions	My rating:
	The Politics of Nonviolent Action 5.00 avg rating — 3 ratings — published 1973	My rating:
	Self Liberation: A Guide To Strategic Planning For Action To End A Dictatorship Or Other Oppression 4.67 avg rating — 3 ratings	My rating:
	Role of Power in Nonviolent Struggles/No.3 (Monograph) 4.33 avg rating — 3 ratings — published 1990	My rating:

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Quotes by Gene Sharp

“The fall of one regime does not bring in a utopia. Rather, it opens the way for hard work and long efforts to build more just social, economic,and political relationships and the eradication of other forms of injustices and oppression.”
― Gene Sharp, From Dictatorship to Democracy

tags: challenges

2 people liked it

“Some foreign states will act against a dictatorship only to gain their own economic, political, or military control over the country.”
― Gene Sharp, From Dictatorship to Democracy

tags: dictatorship , foreign-states

2 people liked it

“The foreign states may become actively involved for positive purposes only if and when the internal resistance movement has already begun shaking the dictatorship, having thereby focused international attention on the brutal nature of the regime.”
― Gene Sharp, From Dictatorship to Democracy

tags: resistance

2 people liked it

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Gene Sharp

Author profile

combine editionsBooks by Gene Sharp

Upcoming Events

Quotes by Gene Sharp

combine editions
Books by Gene Sharp