11:30 AM – 2:00 PM
"Driving 'Revolution': The Real Locus of Power"
Many analysts in the international policy community as well as ideologically motivated conspiracy theorists are, oddly, attracted to the theory that external assistance to internal movements, whether by states or non-state actors, can precipitate "nonviolent revolutions". This is rarely if ever the case. Similarly, most political scientists believe that structural or institutional factors, or economic or social preconditions, can explain the timing and also the success or failure of nonviolent movements – without reference to the skills and decisions of such movements in iterative and protracted conflicts. But the latter is the real source of leverage that's on display in movements that force change. This event is full.