Boycotts and Strikes
Definition
The two most-used economic noncooperation methods: consumer or worker withdrawal of purchase or participation in support of a demand. They are the practical workhorses of Gene Sharp’s typology of nonviolent action — cheap to start, hard to suppress, and historically responsible for many of the largest mass-mobilisation campaigns.
A boycott pressures a target by coordinating the demand side: enough consumers, students, tenants, or institutional buyers stop buying, attending, or contracting that the target’s revenue or reputation is threatened. A strike pressures a target by coordinating the supply side: enough workers withhold labour until operations cannot run at normal capacity. Hybrid forms — coordinated consumer-and-worker withdrawal, divestment, shareholder boycotts — dominate the most successful modern campaigns.
Both work when the cost of the withdrawal exceeds the target’s tolerance. Practitioner guides treat participation, duration, discipline (free-rider control), and clarity of demand as the active ingredients; the act of withdrawal is the easy part, sustaining it is the strategic discipline. Boycotts and strikes sit at the heart of Sharp’s 198-method catalogue.
FAQ
What are boycotts and strikes?
Boycotts and strikes are the two most-used economic noncooperation methods: consumer or worker withdrawal of purchase or participation in support of a demand. They are the practical workhorses of Gene Sharp’s typology of nonviolent action — cheap to start, hard to suppress, and historically responsible for many of the largest mass-mobilisation campaigns. Practitioner guides treat participation, duration, discipline (free-rider control), and clarity of demand as the active ingredients.
How do boycotts and strikes put pressure on a target?
A boycott pressures a target by coordinating the demand side: enough consumers, students, tenants, or institutional buyers stop buying, attending, or contracting that the target’s revenue or reputation is threatened. A strike pressures a target by coordinating the supply side: enough workers withhold labour until operations cannot run at normal capacity. Hybrid forms — coordinated consumer-and-worker withdrawal, divestment, shareholder boycotts — dominate the most successful modern campaigns.
When do boycotts and strikes work?
Both work when the cost of the withdrawal exceeds the target’s tolerance: the act of withdrawal is the easy part, but sustaining it is the strategic discipline. Practitioner guides treat participation, duration, discipline (free-rider control), and clarity of demand as the active ingredients of success. Boycotts and strikes sit at the heart of Sharp’s 198-method catalogue, which is why modern campaigns combine them in hybrid forms.
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