Sources

The Research

Every claim made on this site is drawn from published academic research. Below are the primary sources. We are not affiliated with any of the researchers cited.

Core Research

Why Civil Resistance Works: The Strategic Logic of Nonviolent Conflict
Chenoweth, E. & Stephan, M.J. (2011). Columbia University Press.
The foundational study of 323 resistance campaigns (1900–2006). Found that nonviolent campaigns are twice as likely to succeed as armed conflicts, attract four times as many participants, and identified the 3.5% participation threshold — every campaign that reached it succeeded.
Trends in Nonviolent Resistance and State Response: Is Violence Towards Civilian-Based Movements on the Rise?
Chenoweth, E. (2017). Global Responsibility to Protect, 9(1).
Follow-up analysis examining how state responses to nonviolent movements have shifted, and what conditions affect campaign outcomes in contemporary contexts.

Social Psychology

Bystander intervention in emergencies: Diffusion of responsibility
Latane, B. & Darley, J.M. (1968). Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 8(4).
The bystander effect — why individuals in groups are less likely to act when others are present. Critical to understanding why diffuse concern does not automatically translate into action, and how a single dissenter breaks the spell of collective inaction.
Effects of group pressure upon the modification and distortion of judgments
Asch, S.E. (1951). In H. Guetzkow (Ed.), Groups, Leadership and Men. Carnegie Press.
Classic conformity research showing how group pressure shapes individual behavior even when individuals privately know the group is wrong — and, crucially, how a single dissenting voice dramatically changes outcomes for everyone else.
Pluralistic Ignorance and Alcohol Use on Campus: Some Consequences of Misperceiving the Social Norm
Prentice, D.A. & Miller, D.T. (1993). Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 64(2).
Defines and demonstrates pluralistic ignorance — the condition where everyone privately disagrees with a norm but assumes everyone else agrees. This dynamic keeps people silent even when a silent majority shares their views. Understanding it is key to the coffee conversation approach.

Strategic Nonviolence

The Politics of Nonviolent Action (3 volumes)
Sharp, G. (1973). Porter Sargent Publishers.
The comprehensive catalog of nonviolent tactics — the 198 methods of nonviolent action referenced throughout this site. Sharp's framework of consent theory underpins the pillars of support model: power depends on the cooperation of those it governs.
On Strategic Nonviolent Conflict: Thinking About the Fundamentals
Helvey, R.L. (2004). Albert Einstein Institution.
The pillars of support framework used in the "Target the Pillars" guide. Identifies the institutional sectors — military, judiciary, business, media, bureaucracy, civil society — whose cooperation or defection determines whether authoritarian consolidation succeeds or fails.

All materials on this site are interpretations of published academic research. We are not affiliated with any of the researchers cited. The 3.5% figure represents a historical finding across a specific dataset, not a universal guarantee — context, strategy, and discipline all matter. The goal of this site is to make the research accessible and actionable, not to oversimplify it.