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Methods of Nonviolent Action

Summary

The canonical taxonomy of nonviolent action — Gene Sharp’s 198 methods, organised into three categories: nonviolent protest and persuasion (methods 1–54), noncooperation social/economic/political (methods 55–157), and nonviolent intervention (methods 158–198). First published in 1973 in The Politics of Nonviolent Action, Sharp’s taxonomy remains the foundational reference for civil resistance and the menu most campaign tactics reference back to.

Video

Embedded YouTube CC clips related to this page:

Examines civil resistance vs violent flanks in South Africa's anti-apartheid struggle, relevant to nonviolent action methods.
Erica Chenoweth discusses innovations in nonviolent direct action during crises, relevant to Sharp's methods and contemporary campaigns.
Polish Solidarity dissident shares personal experience with nonviolent struggle, illustrating methods of nonviolent action in practice.

Body

The canonical taxonomy of nonviolent action — Gene Sharp’s 198 methods, organised into three categories: nonviolent protest and persuasion (methods 1–54), noncooperation social/economic/political (55–157), and nonviolent intervention (158–198).

First published in 1973 as part of The Politics of Nonviolent Action, Sharp’s list remains the foundational reference for civil resistance. The Commons Library’s adaptation updates each method with worked examples from contemporary campaigns [source: commons-198-methods]. The Albert Einstein Institution — Sharp’s own organisation — publishes the canonical version in dozens of languages and the surrounding literature on nonviolent-conflict dynamics [source: aeinstein]. ICNC’s Civil Resistance Tactics in the 21st Century (Michael Beer) extends the taxonomy with digital, cultural and transnational tactics that did not exist in 1973 [source: civil-resistance-tactics-21c]. Civil Resistance 2.0 (Joyce and Meier) translates each Sharp method into a digital equivalent — printed leaflet to digital pamphlet, physical protest to hashtag campaign, information blockade to DDoS protest [source: civil-resistance-2-0]. The Gandhi Institute’s workshop activity PDF is a teaching tool for working through the list in groups [source: gandhi-institute-198]. Sharp’s core principle: methods must serve a previously chosen strategy — the specific pressure type should determine the tactic, not the other way around. Noncooperation and intervention methods are generally more powerful than protest alone, but carry higher risk.

Use it for

Naming a tactic in a campaign plan; diagnosing why a campaign stalled (often: stayed in the protest tier); designing a workshop on nonviolent methods.

Worked examples

  • montgomery-bus-boycott — the campaign’s tactical-menu application: combined Sharp’s protest tier (marches, mass meetings) with the noncooperation tier (the bus boycott) and the intervention tier (legal pressure via Browder v. Gayle). The three-tier combination is the canonical methods-of-nonviolent-action case study.
  • south-african-blacks-boycott-apartheid-in-port-elizabeth-1985-86 — the anti-apartheid movement’s combined application of Sharp’s methods across the noncooperation and intervention tiers; the canonical 20th-century civil-resistance case study.
  • Extinction Rebellion UK, 2018–2020 — XR’s contemporary application of Sharp’s methods with the addition of digital-tier tactics (encrypted messaging, livestreaming); the contemporary case study of methods-of-nonviolent-action in the 2020s.

Examples

FAQ

What are the methods of nonviolent action?

The methods of nonviolent action are the canonical taxonomy of nonviolent action — Gene Sharp’s 198 methods, organised into three categories: nonviolent protest and persuasion (methods 1–54), noncooperation social/economic/political (methods 55–157), and nonviolent intervention (methods 158–198) [source: commons-198-methods]. First published in 1973 in The Politics of Nonviolent Action, Sharp’s taxonomy remains the foundational reference for civil resistance and the menu most campaign tactics reference back to.

Who publishes and updates Sharp’s 198 methods?

The Albert Einstein Institution — Sharp’s own organisation — publishes the canonical version in dozens of languages along with the surrounding literature on nonviolent-conflict dynamics [source: aeinstein]. The Commons Library’s adaptation updates each method with worked examples from contemporary campaigns [source: commons-198-methods], and the Gandhi Institute publishes a workshop activity PDF that is a teaching tool for working through the list in groups [source: gandhi-institute-198].

How has the 198-methods list been extended for the 21st century?

ICNC’s Civil Resistance Tactics in the 21st Century (Michael Beer) extends the taxonomy with digital, cultural and transnational tactics that did not exist in 1973 [source: civil-resistance-tactics-21c]. Civil Resistance 2.0 (Joyce and Meier) translates each Sharp method into a digital equivalent — printed leaflet to digital pamphlet, physical protest to hashtag campaign, information blockade to DDoS protest [source: civil-resistance-2-0]. The extensions preserve the three-tier structure while modernising the menu.

How should the 198 methods be used in a campaign?

Sharp’s core principle is that methods must serve a previously chosen strategy — the specific pressure type should determine the tactic, not the other way around [source: commons-198-methods]. Noncooperation and intervention methods are generally more powerful than protest alone, but carry higher risk, which is why a campaign that has stalled is often diagnosed as having stayed too long in the protest tier.

Sources & verification

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Last verified: 2026-06-23