Boycotts and Strikes
Summary
The two most-used economic noncooperation methods — consumer/worker withdrawal of participation or purchase, in support of a demand.
Video
Two short Universal Newsreel clips from the FedFlix / Internet Archive collection illustrate the method: picketing at a 1935 motor-plant strike and the citywide shutdown effect of a 1946 general strike. Both embedded from Internet Archive.
2,200 men out on strike at a Toledo motor plant (1935)
Pittsburgh paralysed by strikes (1946)
Body
The two most-used economic noncooperation methods — consumer/worker withdrawal of participation or purchase, in support of a demand.
A boycott is a collective refusal to purchase from, work for, or interact with a target. A strike is a collective withdrawal of labour. Sharp catalogues many variants in the 198 methods — quickie walkouts, slowdowns, general strikes, hartal, consumer boycotts, traders’ boycotts [source: commons-198-methods]. The Rosa-Luxemburg-Stiftung publishes German-language material on strike strategy in the labour context, including the difference between wildcat strikes, warning strikes, and unlimited strikes [source: rosa-luxemburg]. Both methods rely on the same principles: clear demand, visible participation threshold, communication to the public about the dispute, and a built-off-ramp for the target. The Commons Library treats economic noncooperation as the most-underused lever in social-movement campaigns, where most organisers default to petition-and-march [source: commons-library]. Sortir du nucléaire’s boîte à outils militante publishes the practical mechanics of running a French boycott — signage, communication, escalation — that translate to most European contexts [source: sortir-du-nucleaire].
Examples
Examples
- Moroccan youth protest for constitutional reform, 2011 — Morocco is a constitutional monarchy with an elected parliament. Political reforms in the 1990s expanded parliamentary power in 1992 and 199 2011 · Africa
- Palestinians boycott settlement goods, 2009-2011 — In December 2009, Palestinians began a boycott of goods coming out of Jewish settlements in the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, and other dispute 2009 · Asia
- Syrian citizens general strike against France, 1936 — French-occupied Syria was facing darkening hopes for more independence from France at the end of 1935. The major Syrian nationalist party, t 1936 · Asia
- Tibetans boycott Chinese vegetable vendors in Qinghai, 2011 — In early 2011, the price of apples at Chinese-owned vegetable shops in Nangchen 2011 · Asia
- Turkish People prevent shopping mall from replacing Istanbul's Gezi Park, 2013 — Recep Tayyip Erdogan was first inaugurated as prime minister of Turkey in 2003 and enjoyed wide popular support, contributing to successive 2013 · Asia
Use it for
Designing a consumer boycott; planning a labour strike; choosing between economic and political noncooperation in a campaign.
Worked examples
Learn more
- On Wikipedia: Coors strike and boycott — CC BY-SA 4.0
Related
- noncooperation
- methods-of-nonviolent-action
- escalation
- affinity-groups
- commons-198-methods
- rosa-luxemburg
Open Questions
(none)
FAQ
What are boycotts and strikes?
Boycotts and strikes are the two most-used economic noncooperation methods — forms of consumer or worker withdrawal of participation or purchase in support of a demand. A boycott is a collective refusal to purchase from, work for, or interact with a target, while a strike is a collective withdrawal of labour.
What variants does Sharp catalogue for these methods?
Sharp catalogues many variants of boycott and strike in his 198 methods. These include quickie walkouts, slowdowns, general strikes, hartal, consumer boycotts, and traders’ boycotts. The list is meant to show that economic noncooperation is a menu of tactical forms rather than a single move [source: commons-198-methods].
What principles do both methods share?
Both methods rely on the same principles. They require a clear demand, a visible participation threshold, communication to the public about the dispute, and a built-off-ramp for the target to concede. Without those four elements, an action tends to collapse into gesture politics rather than sustained economic pressure.
What does the Commons Library say about economic noncooperation?
The Commons Library treats economic noncooperation as the most-underused lever in social-movement campaigns. Where most organisers default to petition-and-march, the Library argues that consumer boycotts and strikes typically deliver more leverage per participant — when designed with the four principles in view [source: commons-library].
What does the Sortir du nucléaire toolkit cover?
Sortir du nucléaire’s boîte à outils militante publishes the practical mechanics of running a French boycott — covering signage, communication, and escalation. The toolkit translates to most European contexts, providing the field-tested steps that a campaign needs to launch and sustain an effective consumer boycott [source: sortir-du-nucleaire].
Sources & verification
- sources/commons-198-methods — grounding: secondary — RAW (12729 chars)
- sources/rosa-luxemburg — grounding: secondary — RAW (6048 chars)
- sources/commons-library — grounding: secondary — RAW (5257 chars)
- sources/sortir-du-nucleaire — grounding: secondary — RAW (7851 chars)