Case Studies
629 worked examples of past and present campaigns, drawn from the Global Nonviolent Action Database, Beautiful Trouble, Waging Nonviolence, and Beautiful Rising. Every case links its tactic back to a method page, so you can move from a worked example to the abstract technique in one click.
Find a precedent
Filter real campaigns by region, tactic, outcome, and issue. Click any card to read the case study.
Loading…
-
2019 Bougainville independence referendum campaign
The Autonomous Bougainville Government, led by President John Momis and\n\
-
A guide to disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation
The guide provides essential introductory information, principals of effective
-
Activism and Campaign History: Start Here - Commons Library
Aug 25, 2025 [TRUNC] We have gathered a wide range of resources about the
-
Activism, Social Movements, and Social Change in Bangladesh
-
Activists in Swaziland campaign for democracy, 2000-2010
On June 22, 2001, King Mswati issued a decree expanding his powers, including
-
Afghan policewomen form human chain to protect women protesters in Kabul, 2009
When nearly 200 Afghan women marched against the Shia Personal Status Law
-
African Americans boycott buses for integration in Montgomery, Alabama, US,
On January 30, 1956, opponents of the Montgomery bus boycott bombed the house
-
African Americans campaign for desegregation of department store eating facilities
Case Study Details. Database Narrative. By 1955 in Kansas City, most public
-
African Americans campaign for equal accommodations, Birmingham, Alabama, USA,
Case Study Details. Database Narrative. On April 3, 1963, several black [TRUNC]
-
African Americans campaign for voting rights in Selma, Alabama, USA, 1965
Case Study Details. Database Narrative. Even after the passage of [TRUNC]
-
African Americans march for civil rights in St. Augustine, Florida, 1963-64
Case Study Details. Database Narrative. As the nationwide struggle for civil
-
African Americans sit-in against segregation at Royal Ice Cream Parlor in Durham,
Case Study Details. Database Narrative. In the 1950's, Durham North Carolina
-
African Americans threaten march on Washington, 1941
[TRUNC] movement against discrimination. Although encountering reticence
-
African fishermen and Greenpeace win better international fishing practices,
However, the CFP subsidized the Pelagic Freezer-Trawler Association (PFA)
-
African-Americans in Birmingham, Alabama, protest segregation, 1956-1958
Between December 26, 1956 and November 1958, Birmingham blacks, led by Fred
-
Ahmedabad textile laborers win strike for economic justice, 1918
During the period of intense plague outbreak from August 1917 to January
-
Alabama Inmates in the U.S. Strike for Better Prison Conditions, 2022
Dec 23, 2024 [TRUNC] [TRUNC] campaign's leaders. Case Study Details. Database
-
Albanian workers force shift toward democracy, 1991
Case Study Details. Database Narrative. During the Cold War era [TRUNC] “Reports
-
Alexandra Commuters Boycott Johannesburg Buses - 1943
Case Study Details. Database Narrative. Black South Africans suffering under
-
Algerian citizens nonviolently intervene to prevent civil war, 1962
After over seven years of a harsh and bloody war between Algeria’s socialist
-
Americans blockade Washington, DC, to protest the Vietnam War, 1971
Case Study Details. Database Narrative. “If the government won't stop the
-
An Election Campaign Guide for Single-Issue Organizations
Jun 19, 2024 ... Mobilizing for Change: An Election Campaign Guide for Single-Issue
-
Angolans protest fuel subsidy cuts, 2025
In July 2025 the Angolan government lifted most fuel subsidies and raised
-
Anti-Roads campaign fights highway construction in England, 1991-1995
From 1991 to 1995, a coalition of local residents, environmental groups
-
Anti-war activists march to Moscow for peace, 1960-1961
Case Study Details. Database Narrative. On December 1, 1960, just after a
-
Argentine workers campaign for human rights (Semana Roja), 1909
Many workers also sought the resignation of the police chief, Ramón Falcón,
-
Argentines protest Uruguayan paper mills, 2005-2008
Case Study Details. Database Narrative. Argentina and Uruguay have a history
-
Argentinian students force university reforms, 1918
Argentinian students force university reforms, 1918.
-
Arizona grassroots activists protest anti-immigrant measure (SB1070), United
Case Study Details. Database Narrative. In May 2010, Alto Arizona, an ...
-
Armenians protest USSR's refusal to honor Nagorno-Karabakh annexation referendum,
Case Study Details. Database Narrative. Nagorno-Karabakh was an autonomous
-
Asylum Seekers on Manus Island hunger strike for better conditions, 2015
Dec 23, 2024 [TRUNC] Case Study Details. Database Narrative. The Manus Island
-
Atlanta students sit-in for U.S. civil rights, 1960-1961
The Georgia State Capitol is in Atlanta. As that bill was being considered,
-
Austin, TX, U.S. students sit-in for desegregated lunch counters (Austin Movement),
Time period notes. There were scattered sit-in incidents beginning in spring
-
Australian Aboriginal workers strike for fair wages and equality, 1946-1949
Case Study Details. Database Narrative. In 20th century Australia indigenous
-
Australian Campaign Case Study: Divestment Campaign 2013 - 2021
Oct 10, 2022 ... Campaign primary issue: Climate change · Campaign sub-issue:
-
Australian Campaign Case Study: Stop Adani, 2012 - 2022
Oct 11, 2022 ... Stop Adani Case Study. Campaign Snapshot. Campaign primary
-
Australians Blockade World Economic Forum - 2000
[TRUNC] Case Study Details. Database Narrative. The World\n Economic
-
Austrian Social Democrats general strike to prevent civil war, 1927
Case Study Details. Database Narrative. In Vienna in the summer of 1927, [TRUNC]
-
Bahrain Women Demand Codified Family Law, 2000-2009.
At the time of this campaign the court system in Bahrain was divided into
-
Bahrainis protest for democracy, February-March 2011
Inspired by the protests in Egypt and Tunisia in 2011, Bahrainis rose up against the monarchy in February and March of 2011. Initiated by activists and propelled by the “February 14th Revolution in Ba
-
Baltimore students sit-in for U.S. civil rights, 1960
Despite only lasting three weeks, the campaign was very successful. Baltimore
-
Baltimore, MD, students sit-in to integrate Read's drug stores, USA, 1955
The CORE would also become a pivotal organization for African-Americans in
-
Bangladesh factory workers protest for higher wages and better working conditions,
After the Tazreen and Rana Plaza disasters, Bangladesh garment workers and
-
Bangladesh Nationalist Party stages hartals in opposition to government, 2010
The four-party alliance led by Khaleda Zia and Jamaat-e-Islami called a series
-
Bangladeshi garment workers fight for their wages at Tuba Group, 2014
Tuba Group workers blockaded roads, occupied a market floor, and locked Tuba
-
Bangladeshi garment workers protest for a higher minimum wage, 2010
International Labor Rights Forum, Clean Clothes Campaign, Human Rights Watch
-
Bangladeshis bring down the Ershad regime, 1987-1990
A three-and-a-half-year campaign of weekly strikes, mass marches, professional
-
Bangladeshis demand their government recognize Bengali as an official language,
A five-year campaign of press declarations, marches, hartals, and martyrs
-
Bangladeshis struggle through noncooperation for political autonomy, 1971
A 25-day March 1971 non-cooperation campaign by Bengalis of every class —
-
Bangladeshis use art and performance to demand the release of photographer
After photographer Shahidul Alam was jailed under Section 57 of the ICT Act,
Quick routes
When you already know what shape your search takes, dive straight in:
- By region — examples-by-region: where did the campaign take place?
- By tactic — examples-by-tactic: how was the campaign run?
- By outcome — examples-by-outcome: what happened?
- By issue — examples-by-issue: what was it about?
The corpus, geographically
Africa
Asia
Europe
Latin America
North America
Oceania
Transnational
Unknown
| Region | Count | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Africa | 100 | 15.3% |
| Asia | 146 | 22.3% |
| Europe | 91 | 13.9% |
| Latin America | 96 | 14.7% |
| North America | 149 | 22.7% |
| Oceania | 22 | 3.4% |
| Transnational | 50 | 7.6% |
| Unknown | 1 | 0.2% |
Start with these
Five cross-regional campaigns with a clean, well-documented arc. Read them first if you are new to the corpus — they cover the most-taught methods and the most-asked questions.
Montgomery bus boycott
A 381-day refusal of segregated buses, sustained by an organised carpools network, reshaped a city and launched the modern civil-rights movement.
won Latin America · 2000Cochabamba water war
A six-week city-wide uprising cancelled a Bechtel contract and returned the water to public hands — the reference case for utility remunicipalisation.
won Europe · 1989Velvet Revolution
Eleven days of theatre, strikes and street occupation ended 41 years of one-party rule in Czechoslovakia without a single shot fired.
won Asia · 1930–1931Salt Satyagraha
A 240-mile march to make salt from seawater — openly breaking an unjust law — turned a tax into a moral question and forced the British to negotiate.
partial Europe · 2000Otpor and the Bulldozer Revolution
A student movement that had spent years building a culture of defiance joined a coalition for the 2000 elections; the stolen-bulldozer storming of parliament forced Slobodan Milošević to concede.
wonWon by the people
Six campaigns where the primary demand was won. Read these when you need to remember what is possible — every entry names the actor and the lever.
Port Elizabeth anti-apartheid boycott
A township organised a consumer boycott of white businesses that doubled as a national-liberation contribution. The strategy fed into the broader civic movement.
partial Latin America · 1983–1988Chile's *Protestas Nacionales*
Coordinated nationwide days of action, plus a 1988 plebiscite campaign, ended Pinochet's 17-year regime.
won Europe · 1987–1991Singing Revolution
Singing banned national songs in public squares built a movement that pulled Estonia out of the Soviet Union without bloodshed.
won Asia · 1987–1990Ershad regime falls
A student-led uprising, joined by lawyers, transport workers and the military, ended General Ershad's authoritarian rule.
won Africa · 1990–1995Ogoni vs. Shell
A small ethnic minority mobilised internationally to block Shell's exploitation of Ogoniland — a reference case for environmental justice in extractive industries.
won North America · 1978–1980Love Canal residents
A neighbourhood built on a buried chemical dump organised a decade-long standoff that created the US federal Superfund.
wonHard-won lessons
Six campaigns that did not win the demand — preserved here because the strategy, the organising decisions, and the limits of what was possible are what you actually study.
Tiananmen Square
Six weeks of occupation by students and workers were ended by the army. The movement did not win, but its documentation reshaped global consciousness.
lost Asia · 2007Saffron Revolution
Tens of thousands of monks marched for democracy; the junta held. The campaign remains a touchstone for the strategic question of nonviolence against overwhelming force.
lost Asia · 2013Gezi Park protests
A small sit-in against a shopping mall became a national uprising. The park was lost; the political lexicon of the country was not.
lost Latin America · 2008–2011Belo Monte Dam
A multi-year Indigenous resistance to the world's third-largest hydroelectric dam did not stop construction — but the documentation forced an international reckoning.
lost Asia · 2003–2005Iraqi democracy campaign
A grassroots movement for democratic elections under occupation did not achieve the electoral integrity it aimed for. The infrastructure of the campaign lives on.
lost Asia · 1976–1978Korean women textile workers
A year-long campaign for a fair union election was eventually recognised, but the company re-subverted the process. The organising model survived.
lostRecent additions
Eight cases verified in the last wave of ingest, across all regions and outcomes. Use these to see what new evidence has entered the corpus.
UK anti-fracking camp
A community protest camp sustained opposition to fracking for a year, contributing to the UK moratorium.
won Asia · 1985–1993Narmada Bachao Andolan
A 28-year movement of villagers and activists forced the World Bank out of the Sardar Sarovar dam project — and the dam was eventually built anyway.
partial Latin America · 2013Brazilian Free Fare Movement
Coordinated fare refusals in cities across Brazil — the urban tactic that became a movement.
partial Europe · 1988–1990Peaceful Revolution
Church-backed prayer meetings, mass Monday demonstrations, and the fall of the Wall in a single year.
won North America · 1985–1987Carleton divestment
Two years of student-led sit-ins and shareholder pressure moved a university endowment — a small case for the broader divestment wave.
won Asia · 2013–2014$177 monthly wages
Garment workers struck for a liveable wage — caught in the crossfire of global supply chains and 2013 election politics.
partial Oceania · 1879–1881Parihaka ploughing
A community of Māori farmers ploughed confiscated land in deliberate non-violent resistance. The village was destroyed; the memory survived.
lost Oceania · 2006Tongan palace riot
A pro-democracy movement forced a public pledge of reform from the monarchy. Reforms stalled; the precedent did not.
partialComparable to your situation
When you are not looking for a famous case but for one like yours, the panel above is the tool. Filter by region, tactic, outcome, and issue together; copy the URL; share it with a colleague. The filter combination is shareable.
A few guiding patterns to start with:
- You are organising a workplace: try boycotts-and-strikes, general-strike, and the method pages tagged with
workers-solidarity, filtered by region and issue. - You are facing an environmental impact: filter combinations like
tactic: blockades, outcome: wonandissue: environment. - You are defending democratic space: try
tactic: civil-disobedience, outcome: wonand the European anti-authoritarian cases. - You are thinking about a narrative strategy: try the framing-and-narrative page and the corresponding
narrative-strategychips on cards.
See also
- examples — the curated editor’s selection (single page, no filters)
- examples-by-region · examples-by-tactic · examples-by-outcome · examples-by-issue — the full corpus by facet
- All articles — the full index