Erica Chenoweth
Frank Stanton Professor of the First Amendment
Civil Resistance
The Ash Center examines how civil resistance harnesses nonviolent collective action to challenge injustice, drive democratic change, and inform research on strengthening institutions and promoting accountability.
Related Programs
Civil resistance refers to the use of nonviolent methods—such as protests, strikes, boycotts, and organized noncooperation—to challenge injustice, defend rights, and advance democratic change. Grounded in collective action and strategic organization, civil resistance movements have shaped political and social transformations across the globe.
Our scholars research on civil resistance explore how civic mobilization strengthens institutions, promotes accountability, and contributes to more inclusive and resilient democracies.
Meet The Experts
Zoe Marks
Lecturer in Public Policy
Liz McKenna
Assistant Professor of Public Policy
Matthew Cebul
Lead Research Fellow for the Nonviolent Action Lab, AY2025-2026
Soha Hammam
Research Project Manager, Nonviolent Action Lab
Christopher Shay
Research Associate, Crowd Counting Consortium
Commentary
Overview of Protest Activity Around the 2024 Democratic National Convention
As part of its regular work tracking political protest activity across the United States, the Crowd Counting Consortium (CCC) closely followed events around this year’s Democratic National Convention in Chicago.
Podcast
Episode 6: What happened in Venezuela’s elections?
In this episode, host Jay Ulfelder sits down with Nonviolent Action Lab Research Fellow Freddy Guevara to discuss the outcome of Venezuela’s elections and what that means for the state of democracy in the country.
Commentary
The Real Numbers: Tracking Crowd Sizes at Presidential Rallies
This post uses the Crowd Counting Consortium’s data on U.S. protest activity since 2017 to estimate and compare the average size of the crowds at political rallies featuring Donald Trump, Joe Biden, and, since late July 2024, Kamala Harris.
Podcast
Episode 5: Independent Protest Journalism
Host Jay Ulfelder sits down with journalists Talia Jane, Raven, and Sean Beckner-Carmitchel to discuss the impact of independent journalism on protest activity and social movements.
Podcast
Episode Four: The Movement to Stop Cop City
Host Jay Ulfelder sits down with Joseph Brown, Associate Professor in the Department of Political Science at the University of Massachusetts Boston, to discuss a mass mobilization in Atlanta to stop a new a police training center amid environmental and community rights concerns.