Notes on From Dictatorship to Democracy: Basics of Nonviolent Political Change

From Dictatorship to Democracy by Gene Sharp
https://www.files.ethz.ch/isn/126900/8008_FDTD.pdf
Chapter One - Facing Dictatorships realistically
"Political defiance” is nonviolent struggle (protest, noncooperation, and intervention) applied defiantly and actively for political purposes.

The term is used principally to describe action by populations to regain from dictatorships control over governmental institutions by relentlessly attacking their sources of power and deliberately using strategic planning and operations to do so.

By placing confidence in violent means, one has chosen the very type of struggle with which the oppressors nearly always have superiority. The dictators are equipped to apply violence overwhelmingly.

Dictatorships usually exist primarily because of the internal power distribution in the home country. The population and society are too weak to cause the dictatorship serious problems, wealth and power are concentrated in too few hands.

When one wants to bring down a dictatorship most effectively and with the least cost then one has four immediate tasks:
One must strengthen the oppressed population themselves in their determination, self-confidence, and resistance skills;
One must strengthen the independent social groups and institutions of the oppressed people;
One must create a powerful internal resistance force; and
One must develop a wise grand strategic plan for liberation and implement it skillfully.

Against a strong self-reliant force, given wise strategy, disciplined and courageous action, and genuine strength, the dictatorship will eventually crumble. Minimally, however, the above four requirements must be fulfilled.

Chapter Two - The Dangers of Negotiations
The point here is that negotiations are not a realistic way to remove a strong dictatorship in the absence of a powerful democratic opposition.

The offer by a dictatorship of “peace” through negotiations with the democratic opposition is, of course, rather disingenuous. The violence could be ended immediately by the dictators themselves, if only they would stop waging war on their own people.

When the dictatorship is strong but an irritating resistance exists, the dictators may wish to negotiate the opposition into surrender under the guise of making “peace.” The call to negotiate can sound appealing, but grave dangers can be lurking within the negotiating room.

On the other hand, when the opposition is exceptionally strong and the dictatorship is genuinely threatened, the dictators may seek negotiations in order to salvage as much of their control or wealth as possible. In neither case should the democrats help the dictators achieve their goals.

Whatever promises offered by dictators in any negotiated settlement, no one should ever forget that the dictators may promise anything to secure submission from their democratic opponents, and then brazenly violate those same agreements.

“For the tyrant has the power to inflict only that which we lack the strength to resist,” wrote Krishnalal Shridharani.

Success is most often determined not by negotiating a settlement but through the wise use of the most appropriate and powerful means of resistance available.

Hitler often called for peace, by which he meant submission to his will. A dictators’ peace is often no more than the peace of the prison or of the grave.

People living under dictatorships need not remain weak, and dictators need not be allowed to remain powerful indefinitely. Aristotle noted long ago, “. . . [O]ligarchy and tyranny are shorter-lived than any other constitution. . . . [A]ll round, tyrannies have not lasted long.”

Recent history shows the vulnerability of dictatorships, and reveals that they can crumble in a relatively short time span.

The old preconception that violent means always work quickly and nonviolent means always require vast time is clearly not valid. Although much time may be required for changes in the underlying situation and society, the actual fight against a dictatorship sometimes occurs relatively quickly by nonviolent struggle.

Chapter Three - Whence Comes the Power?
Dictators require the assistance of the people they rule, without which they cannot secure and maintain the sources of political power. These sources of political power include:
Authority, the belief among the people that the regime is legitimate, and that they have a moral duty to obey it;
Human resources, the number and importance of the persons and groups which are obeying, cooperating, or providing assistance to the rulers;
Skills and knowledge, needed by the regime to perform specific actions and supplied by the cooperating persons and groups;
Intangible factors, psychological and ideological factors that may induce people to obey and assist the rulers;
Material resources, the degree to which the rulers control or have access to property, natural resources, financial resources, the economic system, and means of communication and transportation; and
Sanctions, punishments, threatened or applied, against the disobedient and noncooperative to ensure the submission and cooperation that are needed for the regime to exist and carry out its policies.

All of these sources, however, depend on acceptance of the regime, on the submission and obedience of the population, and on the cooperation of innumerable people and the many institutions of the society. These are not guaranteed.

The degree of liberty or tyranny in any government is, it follows, in large degree a reflection of the relative determination of the subjects to be free and their willingness and ability to resist efforts to enslave them.

Political scientist Karl W. Deutsch noted in 1953: If totalitarian power must be used at all times against the entire population, it is unlikely to remain powerful for long.

Niccolo Machiavelli had much earlier argued that the prince “. . . who has the public as a whole for his enemy can never make himself secure; and the greater his cruelty, the weaker does his re- gime become.”

Three of the most important factors in determining to what degree a government’s power will be controlled or uncontrolled therefore are: (1) the relative desire of the populace to impose limits on the government’s power; (2) the relative strength of the subjects’ independent organizations and institutions to withdraw collectively the sources of power; and (3) the population’s relative ability to with- hold their consent and assistance.

One characteristic of a democratic society is that there exist independent of the state a multitude of nongovernmental groups and institutions. These include, for example, families, religious organizations, cultural associations, sports clubs, economic institutions, trade unions, student associations, political parties, villages, neighborhood associations, gardening clubs, human rights organizations, musical groups, literary societies, and others. These bodies are important in serving their own objectives and also in helping to meet social needs.

If the dictatorship has been largely successful in destroying or controlling the society’s independent bodies, it will be important for the resisters to create new independent social groups and institutions, or to reassert democratic control over surviving or partially controlled bodies. During the Hungarian Revolution of 1956-1957 a multitude of direct democracy councils emerged, even joining together to establish for some weeks a whole federated system of institutions and governance.
NB: Hannah Arendt in On Revolution writes about this in the context of alternatives to party politics, notes at https://hubeventsnotes.blogspot.com/2025/04/notes-on-hannah-arendts-on-revolution.html

Dictatorships in particular have specific characteristics that render them highly vulnerable to skillfully implemented political defiance.

Chapter Four - Dictatorships Have Weaknesses
Among the weaknesses of dictatorships are the following:
The cooperation of a multitude of people, groups, and institutions needed to operate the system may be restricted or withdrawn.

The requirements and effects of the regime’s past policies will somewhat limit its present ability to adopt and implement conflicting policies. The system may become routine in its operation, less able to adjust quickly to new situations.
Personnel and resources already allocated for existing tasks will not be easily available for new needs.
Subordinates fearful of displeasing their superiors may not report accurate or complete information needed by the dictators to make decisions.
The ideology may erode, and myths and symbols of the system may become unstable.
If a strong ideology is present that influences one’s view of reality, firm adherence to it may cause inattention to actual conditions and needs.
Deteriorating efficiency and competency of the bureaucracy, or excessive controls and regulations, may make the system’s policies and operation ineffective.
Internal institutional conflicts and personal rivalries and hostilities may harm, and even disrupt, the operation of the dictatorship.
Intellectuals and students may become restless in response to conditions, restrictions, doctrinalism, and repression.
The general public may over time become apathetic, skeptical, and even hostile to the regime.
Regional, class, cultural, or national differences may become acute.
The power hierarchy of the dictatorship is always unstable to some degree, and at times extremely so. Individuals do not only remain in the same position in the ranking, but may rise or fall to other ranks or be removed entirely and replaced by new persons.
Sections of the police or military forces may act to achieve their own objectives, even against the will of established dictators, including by coup d’état.
If the dictatorship is new, time is required for it to become well established.
With so many decisions made by so few people in the dictatorship, mistakes of judgment, policy, and action are likely to occur.
If the regime seeks to avoid these dangers and decentralizes controls and decision making, its control over the central levers of power may be further eroded.

Chapter Five - exercising power
Political defiance has the following characteristics:
It does not accept that the outcome will be decided by the means of fighting chosen by the dictatorship.
It is difficult for the regime to combat.
It can uniquely aggravate weaknesses of the dictatorship and can sever its sources of power. It can in action be widely dispersed but can also be concen- trated on a specific objective. It leads to errors of judgment and action by the dictators.
It can effectively utilize the population as a whole and the society’s groups and institutions in the struggle to end the brutal domination of the few.
It helps to spread the distribution of effective power in the society, making the establishment and maintenance of a democratic society more possible.

The common error of past improvised political defiance campaigns is the reliance on only one or two methods, such as strikes and mass demonstrations. In fact, a multitude of methods exist that allow resistance strategists to concentrate and disperse resistance as required.

About two hundred specific methods of nonviolent action have been identified, and there are certainly scores more. These methods are classified under three broad categories: protest and persuasion, noncooperation, and intervention. Methods of nonviolent protest and persuasion are largely symbolic demonstrations, including pa- rades, marches, and vigils (54 methods). Noncooperation is divided into three sub-categories: (a) social noncooperation (16 methods), (b) economic noncooperation, including boycotts (26 methods) and strikes (23 methods), and (c) political noncooperation (38 methods). Nonviolent intervention, by psychological, physical, social, econom- ic, or political means, such as the fast, nonviolent occupation, and parallel government (41 methods), is the final group. A list of 198 of these methods is included as the Appendix to this publication.

Four mechanisms of change
Nonviolent struggle produces change in four ways. The first mechanism is the least likely, though it has occurred. When members of the opponent group are emotionally moved by the suffering of repression imposed on courageous nonviolent resisters or are rationally persuaded that the resisters’ cause is just, they may come to accept the resisters’ aims. This mechanism is called conversion. Though cases of conversion in nonviolent action do sometimes happen, they are rare, and in most conflicts this does not occur at all or at least not on a significant scale. Far more often, nonviolent struggle operates by changing the conflict situation and the society so that the opponents simply cannot do as they like. It is this change that produces the other three mechanisms: accommodation, nonviolent coercion, and disintegration. Which of these occurs depends on the degree to which the relative and absolute power relations are shifted in favor of the democrats.

If the issues are not fundamental ones, the demands of the opposition in a limited campaign are not considered threatening, and the contest of forces has altered the power relationships to some degree, the immediate conflict may be ended by reaching an agreement, a splitting of differences or compromise. This mechanism is called accommodation.

Although the opponents’ leaders remain in their positions, and adhere to their original goals, their ability to act effectively has been taken away from them. That is called nonviolent coercion.

The fourth mechanism of change, disintegration of the opponents’ system, is so complete that they do not even have sufficient power to surrender. The regime simply falls to pieces.

Below are several of the positive democratizing effects nonviolent struggle may have:
Experience in applying nonviolent struggle may result in the population being more self-confident in challenging the regime’s threats and capacity for violent repression.
Nonviolent struggle provides the means of noncooperation and defiance by which the population can resist undemocratic controls over them by any dictatorial group.
Nonviolent struggle can be used to assert the practice of democratic freedoms, such as free speech, free press, independent organizations, and free assembly, in face of repressive controls. Nonviolent struggle contributes strongly to the survival, rebirth, and strengthening of the independent groups and institutions of the society, as previously discussed. These are important for democracy because of their capacity to mobilize the power capacity of the population and to impose limits on the effective power of any would-be dictators.
Nonviolent struggle provides means by which the population can wield power against repressive police and military action by a dictatorial government.
Nonviolent struggle provides methods by which the population and the independent institutions can in the interests of democracy restrict or sever the sources of power for the ruling elite, thereby threatening its capacity to continue its domination.

Chapter 6 - The Need for Strategic Planning
In order to help us to think strategically, clarity about the meanings of four basic terms is important.
Grand strategy is the conception that serves to coordinate and direct the use of all appropriate and available resources (economic, human, moral, political, organizational, etc.) of a group seeking to attain its objectives in a conflict.

Strategy is the conception of how best to achieve particular objectives in a conflict, operating within the scope of the chosen grand strategy. Strategy is concerned with whether, when, and how to fight, as well as how to achieve maximum effectiveness in struggling for certain ends. A strategy has been compared to the artist’s concept, while a strategic plan is the architect’s blueprint.

Tactics and methods of action are used to implement the strategy. Tactics relate to the skillful use of one’s forces to the best advantage in a limited situation. A tactic is a limited action, employed to achieve a restricted objective. The choice of tactics is governed by the conception of how best in a restricted phase of a conflict to utilize the available means of fighting to implement the strategy. To be most effective, tactics and methods must be chosen and applied with constant attention to the achievement of strategic objectives.

Tactics are always concerned with fighting, whereas strategy includes wider considerations.
Method refers to the specific weapons or means of action. Within the technique of nonviolent struggle, these include the dozens of particular forms of action

Chapter Seven - Planning Strategy
Though related, the development of grand strategy and campaign strategies are two separate processes. Only after the grand strategy has been developed can the specific campaign strategies be fully developed. Campaign strategies will need to be designed to achieve and reinforce the grand strategic objectives.

It is critical to determine the real objective of the struggle. We have argued here that overthrow of the dictatorship or removal of the present dicta- tors is not enough. The objective in these conflicts needs to be the establishment of a free society with a democratic system of government. Clarity on this point will influence the development of a grand strategy and of the ensuing specific strategies.
NB: Economics and social structures

Particularly, strategists will need to answer many fundamental questions, such as these:
What are the main obstacles to achieving freedom?
What factors will facilitate achieving freedom?
What are the main strengths of the dictatorship?
What are the various weaknesses of the dictatorship?
To what degree are the sources of power for the dictatorship vulnerable?
What are the strengths of the democratic forces and the general population?
What are the weaknesses of the democratic forces and how can they be corrected?
What is the status of third parties, not immediately involved in the conflict, who already assist or might assist, either the dictatorship or the democratic movement, and if so in what ways?

The following questions pose (in a more specific way than earlier) the types of considerations required in devising a grand strategy for a political defiance struggle:
How might the long-term struggle best begin? How can the oppressed population muster sufficient self-confidence and strength to act to challenge the dictatorship, even initially in a limited way? How could the population’s capacity to apply noncooperation and defiance be increased with time and experience? What might be the objectives of a series of limited campaigns to regain democratic control over the society and limit the dictatorship?

Are there independent institutions that have survived the dictatorship which might be used in the struggle to establish freedom? What institutions of the society can be regained from the dictators’ control, or what institutions need to be newly created by the democrats to meet their needs and establish spheres of democracy even while the dictatorship continues?
How can organizational strength in the resistance be developed? How can participants be trained? What resources (finances, equipment, etc.) will be required throughout the struggle? What types of symbolism can be most effective in mobilizing the population?

By what kinds of action and in what stages could the sources of power of the dictators be incrementally weakened and severed? How can the resisting population simultaneously persist in its defi- ance and also maintain the necessary nonviolent discipline? How can the society continue to meet its basic needs during the course of the struggle? How can social order be maintained in the midst of the conflict? As victory approaches, how can the democratic resis- tance continue to build the institutional base of the post-dictatorship society to make the transition as smooth as possible?

In planning the strategies for the specific selective resistance campaigns and for the longer term development of the liberation struggle, the political defiance strategists will need to consider various issues and problems. The following are among these: Determination of the specific objectives of the campaign and their contributions to implementing the grand strategy.
Consideration of the specific methods, or political weapons, that can best be used to implement the chosen strategies. Within each overall plan for a particular strategic campaign it will be necessary to determine what smaller, tactical plans and which specific methods of action should be used to impose pressures and restrictions against the dictatorship’s sources of power. It should be remembered that the achievement of major objectives will come as a result of carefully chosen and implemented specific smaller steps.

Determination whether, or how, economic issues should be related to the overall essentially political struggle. If eco- nomic issues are to be prominent in the struggle, care will be needed that the economic grievances can actually be rem- edied after the dictatorship is ended. Otherwise, disillusion- ment and disaffection may set in if quick solutions are not provided during the transition period to a democratic society. Such disillusionment could facilitate the rise of dictato- rial forces promising an end to economic woes.
Determination in advance of what kind of leadership structure and communications system will work best for initiating the resistance struggle. What means of decision-making and communication will be possible during the course of the struggle to give continuing guidance to the resisters and the general population?
Communication of the resistance news to the general population, to the dictators’ forces, and the international press. Claims and reporting should always be strictly factual. Exaggerations and unfounded claims will undermine the credibility of the resistance.
Plans for self-reliant constructive social, educational, economic, and political activities to meet the needs of one’s own people during the coming conflict. Such projects can be conducted by persons not directly involved in the resistance activities.
Determination of what kind of external assistance is desirable in support of the specific campaign or the general liberation struggle. How can external help be best mobilized and used without making the internal struggle dependent on uncertain external factors? Attention will need to be given to which external groups are most likely, and most appropriate, to assist, such as non-governmental organizations (social movements, religious or political groups, labor unions, etc.), governments, and/or the United Nations and its various bodies.

People living under the dictatorship may be already familiar with this concept from a variety of sources. Even so, the democratic forces should deliberately spread and popularize the idea of noncooperation. The “Monkey Master” story, or a similar one, could be disseminated throughout the society. Such a story could be easily understood. Once the general concept of noncooperation is grasped, people will be able to understand the relevance of future calls to practice noncooperation with the dictatorship. They will also be able on their own to improvise a myriad of specific forms of noncooperation in new situations.

Chapter Eight - Applying Political Defiance
In situations in which the population feels powerless and frightened, it is important that initial tasks for the public be low-risk, confidence- building actions. These types of actions — such as wearing one’s clothes in an unusual way — may publicly register a dissenting opinion and provide an opportunity for the public to participate significantly in acts of dissent. In other cases a relatively minor (on the surface) nonpolitical issue (such as securing a safe water supply) might be made the focus for group action. Strategists should choose an issue the merits of which will be widely recognized and difficult to reject. Success in such limited campaigns could not only correct specific grievances but also convince the population that it indeed has power potential.

Selective resistance strategies should concentrate primarily on specific social, economic, or political issues. These may be chosen in order to keep some part of the social and political system out of the dictators’ control, to regain control of some part currently controlled by the dictators, or to deny the dictators a particular objective. If possible, the campaign of selective resistance should also strike at one weakness or more of the dictatorship, as already discussed. Thereby, democrats can make the greatest possible impact with their available power capacity.

The initial action is likely to take the form of symbolic protest or may be a symbolic act of limited or temporary noncooperation.

Phasing resistance campaigns by issue and population group will allow certain segments of the population to rest while resistance continues.
Selective resistance is especially important to defend the exis- tence and autonomy of independent social, economic, and political groups and institutions outside the control of the dictatorship, which were briefly discussed earlier. These centers of power provide the institutional bases from which the population can exert pressure or can resist dictatorial controls. In the struggle, they are likely to be among the first targets of the dictatorship.

The degree of loyalty of the military forces, both soldiers and officers, to the dictatorship needs to be carefully assessed and a determination should be made as to whether the military is open to influence by the democratic forces.

Early in the liberation struggle a special strategy should be developed to communicate with the dictators’ troops and functionaries. By words, symbols, and actions, the democratic forces can inform the troops that the liberation struggle will be vigorous, determined, and persistent.

Defiance strategists should remember that it will be exceptionally difficult, or impossible, to disintegrate the dictatorship if the police, bureaucrats, and military forces remain fully supportive of the dictatorship and obedient in carrying out its commands. Strategies aimed at subverting the loyalty of the dictators’ forces should therefore be given a high priority by democratic strategists.

Chapter Nine - Disintegrating the Dictatorship
As was discussed in Chapter Three, obedience, cooperation, and submission are essential if dictators are to be powerful.
Withdrawal of support is therefore the major required action to disintegrate a dictatorship. Even while a dictatorship still occupies government positions
it is sometimes possible to organize a democratic “parallel government.” This would increasingly operate as a rival government to which loyalty, compliance, and cooperation are given by the population and the society’s institutions.
NB: Parallel FEMA, parallel weather and climate reports

Specific plans for the transition to democracy should be ready for application when the dictatorship is weakening or collapses. Such plans will help to prevent another group from seizing state power through a coup d’état. Plans for the institution of democratic constitutional government with full political and personal liberties will also be required. The changes won at a great price should not be lost through lack of planning.

Chapter Ten - Groundwork for Durable Democracy
The second basic principle of anti-coup defense is to resist the putschists with noncooperation and defiance. The needed cooperation and assistance must be denied. Essentially the same means of struggle that was used against the dictatorship can be used against the new threat, but applied immediately. If both legitimacy and cooperation are denied, the coup may die of political starvation and the chance to build a democratic society restored.
In the interests of maintaining internal democracy, serious consideration should be given to applying the basic principles of political defiance to the needs of national defense. By placing resis- tance capacity directly in the hands of the citizenry, newly liberated countries could avoid the need to establish a strong military capacity which could itself threaten democracy or require vast economic resources much needed for other purposes.
The effect of nonviolent struggle is not only to weaken and remove the dictators but also to empower the oppressed.

Summarization by ChatGPT
Here’s a structured summary of From Dictatorship to Democracy: A Conceptual Framework for Liberation by Gene Sharp, with direct quotes included for accuracy and emphasis.

1. Facing Dictatorships Realistically
Dictatorships often seem invincible—but Sharp highlights their vulnerability when confronted by unified, mobilized people:
“Some of these dictatorships proved unable to withstand the concerted political, economic, and social defiance of the people.” ETH Zurich Files
2. Why Not Violence, Coups, or Outside Help?
Violent resistance tends to cause immense suffering and usually strengthens the regime: “Guerrilla warfare … rarely, if ever, benefits the oppressed population or ushers in a democracy.” ETH Zurich Files
Military coups merely replace one elite with another, often continuing tyranny.
Foreign intervention is unreliable—likely to serve external interests over democracy:
“Frequently foreign states will tolerate, or even positively assist, a dictatorship in order to advance their own … interests.” ETH Zurich Files
3. The Foundations of Political Power
Sharp asserts that dictators rely entirely on societal cooperation—from bureaucracy to soldiers: “Without availability of those sources [of power], the rulers’ power weakens and finally dissolves.” ETH Zurich Files
He enumerates these as: authority, human resources, skills, ideology, material resources, and sanctions ETH Zurich Files.
4. Weakness of Dictatorships & the Power of Defiance
When citizens withdraw cooperation, regimes can unravel:
“If, despite repression, the sources of power can be restricted … the dictatorship may disintegrate.” ETH Zurich Files
Nonviolent resistance is especially effective when it targets these power structures.
5. Strategic Planning is Essential
Sharp emphasizes that unlike spontaneous protests, sustained liberation efforts require deliberate strategy:
“Strategic planning … is necessary to end a dictatorship and to achieve freedom.” ETH Zurich Files He outlines a hierarchy—grand strategy, campaign strategy, and tactics—to guide coordinated resistance.
6. Methods and Nonviolent Discipline
Nonviolent action isn’t limited to marches; it includes hundreds of tactics across protest, noncooperation, and intervention:
“About two hundred specific methods of nonviolent action have been identified.” ETH Zurich Files Maintaining discipline is crucial: violence undermines effectiveness and can erode public and institutional support.
7. Four Mechanisms of Nonviolent Change
Sharp argues nonviolent campaigns can succeed through:
Conversion – changing opponents’ minds
Accommodation – gaining concessions
Nonviolent coercion – shifting power through massive noncooperation
Disintegration – collapsing a regime by cutting its support
8. Campaign Stages & Symbolic Acts
Early, symbolic actions—like wearing a color or placing flowers—can build confidence.
Escalation then focuses on strategic noncooperation, targeting key sources of power.
Plans should cover continuity post-collapse: constitutions, transitional justice, and preventing coups.
9. Building Durable Democracy
Final work involves dismantling anti-democratic institutions and molding new ones: administrative, constitutional, decentralized — ensuring citizen oversight to guard against future authoritarianism.

Key Quotes
On dictatorships’ reliance:
“Dictators require the assistance of the people they rule, without which they cannot secure and maintain the sources of political power.” ETH Zurich Files
On strategy vs. spontaneity:
“Comprehensive strategic plans for liberation are rarely … developed; dictatorships appear much more durable than they in fact are.” ETH Zurich Files

Final Take
Sharp's manual highlights that dictatorships survive on systemic compliance. Nonviolent strategic defiance—planned, disciplined, and well-executed—can sever that compliance, weaken regimes, and enable a transition to sustainable democracy.