ABSTRACT
The civil resistance approach to empowerment draws on aspects of the other forms discussed in this book but adds ideas from the social movement tradition of collective action. In the momentum model, focused on here, civil resistance is a process that begins with a triggering event or action that foments an explosion of collective action. Unlike solidarity proponents, who focus on influencing the powerful, the civil resistance approach seeks to transform the commitments and beliefs of the wider population. Those who acquiesce to the decisions of the powerful are seen as holding the real power. The aim is to increase the number of people engaged in active resistance, as well as those who withhold their active support for the status quo. The loss of popular support can eventually force the powerful to give in to the demands of the public. In contrast with the other models, the momentum approach envisions multiple groups working together across different traditions of social action in an “ecology” of civil resistance.
