Policy Report
Nonviolent Action and Transitions to Democracy: The Impact of Inclusive Dialogue and Negotiation
United States Institute of Peace Peaceworks 174, 2021
Nonviolent Resistance Democratization Dialogue and Negotiation
Image credit: Friedensnobelpreisträger via Wikimedia Commons
Abstract
This report examines how inclusive dialogue and negotiation processes can help facilitate peaceful democratic transitions after nonviolent action campaigns. The findings are based on a statistical study of 119 dialogue and negotiation processes that took place across all political transitions initiated through nonviolent action from 1945 to the present. The quantitative findings are complemented by three in-depth case studies of transitions in Egypt, Tunisia, and Ukraine. Both quantitative and qualitative research confirms the importance of broad, inclusive dialogue processes as a key factor in leading to post-transition democracy.