ABSTRACT
This chapter outlines inherent difficulties in answering the question of the effectiveness of nonviolent tactics and advance the argument that the effectiveness of nonviolence - or indeed, of any particular tactic, is the wrong question. It suggests other questions and approaches. The chapter begins by acknowledging just how difficult honest inquiry into the effectiveness of nonviolence is, largely because of the appeal of obviating the difficulty of making moral choices. It addresses the attractions and the analytical difficulties of finding a cookbook approach to activism, in which the independent effects of particular tactical choices can be identified, calibrated, and evaluated apart from context. The chapter looks at the unexpected influence of violent actions taken by actors on the left and the right. It argues for a fuller but more difficult evaluation of collective action that focuses on a broader historical and analytical frame.
