Readings in International Studies: Power and Nonviolence: Gandhi and His Global Legacy

Power and Nonviolence: the two are inextricably linked in history and in the contemporary world. This class will focus on the ways in which nonviolence engages power and the power underlying ideas and strategies of nonviolence. It begins by exploring Mahatma Gandhi’s political philosophy and practice of nonviolence, the ways in which he used them in the Indian context of the early twentieth century, and their origins in earlier Indian and Western ideas and practices. The readings will then consider the worldwide influence of Gandhi’s philosophy of nonviolence and teachings, including on the civil rights movement of Martin Luther King, Jr., the anti-apartheid movement of Nelson Mandela, and the struggles of Aung San Suu Kyi in Myanmar. It will also look at nonviolence as a technique to build grassroots power and effect global transformations.