Jon Favreau interviews Erica Chenoweth, a Harvard political scientist, about her research on nonviolent resistance movements and the "3.5 percent rule," which suggests that a movement engaging at least 3.5% of a country's population in sustained nonviolent protest is likely to succeed in achieving social or political change. They discuss the factors that make nonviolent movements more successful than armed conflicts, including their ability to elicit defections from the opponent's pillars of support, make repression backfire, and employ powerful techniques like general strikes. Chenoweth and Favreau also address challenges to organizing a nonviolent movement, such as dealing with violent flanks, maintaining narrative discipline, and adapting to a polluted information environment. They explore the role of economic non-cooperation, the importance of persuasion, and the relationship between pro-democracy movements and security forces, drawing lessons from historical examples like the Irish independence movement, the South African anti-apartheid movement, and the American civil rights movement.
