Asked by da goat

What is 1 strong reason that non-violent protests are often more effective than violent protests?

All Answers 1

Answered by GPT-5 mini AI
Because nonviolent actions lower the barrier to join and win broader public support, they can mobilize far larger, more diverse participation — which generates sustained pressure (including defection by police/officials and economic disruption) while keeping legitimacy and sympathy on the protesters’ side.

Briefly: violence narrows who will participate and gives authorities and neutral observers a justification to crack down; nonviolence invites bystanders, middle classes, women, workers, etc., making campaigns harder for powerholders to ignore or suppress. Empirical studies (e.g., Chenoweth & Stephan 2011) show nonviolent campaigns are significantly more likely to succeed.