These are unusual times for nonviolence, with positive articles on the subject being published in the most unlikely places. For example, in an op-ed in the conservative Jerusalem Post, Gershon Baskin writes that Palestinians will eventually end the occupation of their lands through nonviolence, and that Israelis should be grateful for this.

The Egyptian Facebook, Twitter, SMS and satellite television revolution, which brought millions into the street, can also work in Palestine, except that it will not be against the Palestinian Authority, as some people would like to think, but against the occupation. If anyone questions the power of nonviolence, after the past weeks they should seriously reconsider what “a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can do to change the world,” as Margaret Mead used to say.

Yes, in Gaza the people’s revolution will be against the Hamas despots, but in the West Bank and Gaza as well, their just call for freedom and liberation will be directed at the occupiers. And just as the entire world was with those young people in Tahrir Square and celebrated their victory, so too will the world be with the Palestinian people in their nonviolent outpouring for freedom, liberation and democracy.

If the response is violent, the world will look at Israel just as it looks at Hosni Mubarak today.

When the Palestinians take to the streets, the squares and the checkpoints in mass nonviolent demonstrations, they will win. We will eventually sit with them and negotiate final borders, and we will find a way to share Jerusalem as the capital of two states, and we will find a common way to address the refugee issue.

And when it is all over, we will thank young Palestinians for leading us to our freedom and our liberation, because we Jews, we Israelis, do not want to occupy another people. We want to live in peace with all our neighbors. So in the name of Israel, in the name of Palestine and in the name of peace, I say to the people of Egypt – thank you!

• Police fired tear gas and violently dispersed hundreds of protesters in Libya this morning who gathered in front of police headquarters of in Benghazi demanding an end to Gaddafi’s 41-year rule.

• Anti-government protests in Shia villages around Manama, the Bahraini capital, left several people injured and one person reported dead on Monday.

• In Iran, clashes have erupted today at the funeral of a protester killed on Monday, when tens of thousands of people took to the streets in the largest Iranian protests since the aftermath of the nation’s disputed 2009 election.

• In Yemen, protests against longtime President Ali Abdullah Saleh are escalating as they continue for a sixth consecutive day. Earlier today government supporters attacked pro-democracy demonstrators as they set off on a march from a university in the capital of Sanaa.

• Labor unions across Egypt have taken the country’s revolution as a cue to stop work and demand better pay and conditions. More than 12,000 workers at state-owned Misr Spinning and Weaving went on strike on Wednesday. In the coastal city of Damietta, about 6,000 spinning and weaving workers were also striking. And thousands of workers and employees from the Upper Egyptian city of Assiut have organized sit-ins.

• On Tuesday, an estimated 10,000 people gathered at the capital building in Madison, Wisconsin to protest against a bill that would eliminate almost all collective bargaining rights for public workers and slash their pay and benefits.

• Eighteen people were put in handcuffs and detained by sheriff’s deputies in San Francisco Monday afternoon after a sit-in at the county clerk’s office. The act of civil disobedience was carried out by gay and lesbian couples to protest same-sex marriage bans in California and other states.

• On Tuesday, the train schedule was badly disrupted while 13 locomotives were stranded at the Pakistan Railways Mughalpura workshops as workers went on strike and laid on the railroad tracks in protest against non-payment of salaries.

• Public transport came to a halt in Athens on Tuesday once again due to a 24-hour strike over the controversial new law which envisages a partial privatization of the debt-ridden Greek Railways, the restructure of the sector and transfers of employees to other public companies to save costs.

• “We pay taxes, Why don’t you?” protesters chanted as they carried signs and Valentine’s Day balloons on the sidewalk in front of the Bank of America building in downtown Hartford Monday in a demonstration designed to embarrass Connecticut’s largest bank into greater cooperation with delinquent homeowners.

• A strike by Portuguese train engineers on Tuesday caused severe disruption for commuters in the latest protest against government spending cuts designed to ease a debt crisis.

• One of Equatorial Guinea’s most prominent authors, Juan Tomás Ávila Laurel, entered his fifth day on a hunger strike yesterday to protest the policies of Equatorial Guinean dictator Teodoro Obiang.

In this great episode of People & Power, Al Jazeera looks at the role that the April 6 Movement played in getting Egyptians out on the streets and sustaining the struggle to oust Mubarak. It also highlights the work of our good friend Srdja Popovic – one of the leaders of Otpor, the youth movement that brought down Slobodan Milosevic in 2000 – who had helped train the young activists in nonviolent strategy and tactics. (To read his thoughts on the Egyptian uprising see the “Rise up like an Egyptian” series we’ve been publishing over the last several days.)

There was also a good front-page story in the New York Times yesterday that reported on the various Egyptian activist groups – from Kefaya and the April 6 Movement to We Are All Khalid Said -  that were behind the recent successful uprising in Egypt and their connection with activists in Tunisia. It too mentions the important role that Otpor activists and the writings of Gene Sharp played in educating Egyptians about the dynamics of nonviolent struggle.

Stories like these are important because they make it clear that what happened in Egypt wasn’t spontaneous or leaderless, but the result of the hard work of thousands of activists over the course of several years. This mainstream attention is also generating new, unprecedented interest in nonviolence which I find extremely hopeful and exciting.

Last week, I was on Russia Today (RT), Russia’s 24/7 English-language news channel, to discuss ex-Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld’s role in the Iraq war and the use of torture on the day that his new memoir Known and Unknown was released. Click here to watch the video.

The people of Egypt have achieved a tremendous victory, one that has inspired the whole world to celebrate. The possibilities it raises for peace and democracy not only give hope to a region beset by authoritarian rule and Western intervention, but prove that nonviolent action is alive and well in the Muslim world.

Unfortunately, this latter point is often lost or overlooked by our major media outlets, whose experts and analysts have so little knowledge of the history and dynamics of nonviolence that they typically don’t know how to interpret what they’ve just seen. To counter this shortcoming, Waging Nonviolence has asked a wide range of eminent thinkers to discuss their initial thoughts on this historic moment, the challenges ahead and what it all means for the future of nonviolent action.

This is the fourth installment of their responses, which we’ve been presenting as a series over the last few days. (Here are links to Part 1, 2 and 3.)

What do you think, above all, made this victory possible?

“Facebook. Period.” – Reza Aslan, Associate Professor, University of California, Riverside

“There is no single factor that can explain the success of the democratic movement in ousting Mubarak. As with other victories involving broad-based civil resistance, this one required (a) language about the need for action that galvanized the public’s mind, lifted its heart, and created an existential moment for the nation, (b) acting in the wake of a popular event (Tunisia) and rage from a regime crime (the Khaled Said murder) to mobilize people for specific action, using social media in that work, (c) soliciting and welcoming diverse participation from all kinds of groups in the society, (d) nonviolent discipline, (e) hailing the military and reminding it of its relationship with the people, to help defuse possible repression, (f) sustaining the pressure day after day so that the regime’s cost of holding control is racheted up, (g) diversifying tactics to complicate the regime’s work of coping with resistance, and (h) nationwide action, not just in the capital.  There are other factors, but those immediately spring to mind.” – Jack DuVall, President, International Center for Nonviolent Conflict

“The incredible passion and will of the Egyptian people to be free and their utter unwillingness either to give up or to be baited into violence.” – Mary Joyce, Founder and Executive Director, Meta-Activism Project

“Unity, planning and nonviolent discipline, those universal principles for success.

Unity activities where all of organizations have agreed to remove their individual symbols (including the cleanched fist of April the 6th) and replace them with only Egyptian flags which we could see in the later stages of the protest was inspiring. Not to mention impressive demonstrations of religious unity, Christian pro-democracy protesters protecting their Muslim collegues while they are praying, or thousands of Muslims greeting Christians who were having their ritual in the square reached and impressed the world as they happened in front of the cameras.

Planning for the overtaking of the pillars of support, starting with the police, which was overwhelmed in first few days, winning labour unions and workers, making military first neutral and then supportive and shifting international support by peaceful and inspiring protest and tremendous courage.

Nonviolent discipline, even if Mubarak has tried absolutely everything to provoke them to more violence and chaos was definitely one of the keys for success.” – Srdja Popovic, Founder, Centre for Applied Nonviolent Action and Strategies (CANVAS)

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Anti-mountaintop removal activists in Kentucky spent Valentine’s Day showing their love for the Appalachian mountains. In fact, they went as far as to rename the holiday “I Love Mountains Day.”

Over 1,200 people descended on the Kentucky capitol in Frankfort yesterday morning for a march and rally to call for an end to this highly destructive form of mining and demand a transition to clean energy. At the same time, a group of affected coalfield residents, retired coal miners and bestselling authors (including the great Wendell Berry) ended a four day sit-in at the office of Kentucky governor Steve Beshear—an ardent defender of MTR.

According to the organizers of what’s been dubbed Kentucky Rising, the fourteen protesters emerged “victorious” before an excited crowd on the steps of the state Capitol.

The protesters… had been staying in the office since talks between them and Gov. Beshear came to a stalemate on Friday afternoon, when he finally agreed to meet with them after initially refusing to do so that morning. In the meeting, Gov. Beshear continued to express his steadfast support for both mountaintop removal and the coal industry.

The citizens found his position unacceptable, and refused to vacate his office. When they declined to leave, the governor instructed his security team to inform the protesters that they were welcome to stay “as long as they wanted.”

They held out until yesterday, when Beshear pledged to travel to eastern Kentucky within thirty days and personally inspect the damage caused by mountaintop removal. While this is certainly a concession worthy of celebration, it appears to have fallen short of the activists’ initial vow “to remain in his office until the governor agrees to stop the poisoning of Kentucky’s land, water, and people by mountaintop removal; or until he chooses to have the citizens physically removed.”

Wendell Berry noted this shortcoming in his address to the crowd on the Capitol steps.

We do not look upon these events as finished. We do not think of what we have done as in any sense a symbolic gesture. We’re humbled instead by the realization that our efforts cannot be carried to success by us or by any other few of us. If the adventure of the last couple days by this small company of friends is to be more than a symbolic gesture that can be only because all of you who are here, and many of our friends who are not here, will take it up, make it your adventure and your cause until this great house will become the true home of justice to all the people of this state and of faithful care for the divine gifts of land and water and of life itself.

Berry is correct to note that it will take more than the fourteen people who sat in Beshear’s office to save the mountains of Kentucky. And there’s good reason to think that that work will be taken up by the many supporters outside the Capitol building and beyond. But those people will have to at some point do what the fourteen did not: show unwavering resistance.

It is no coincidence, as Jeff Biggers pointed out, that this sit-in took place “only days since the anniversary of the historic Greensboro sit-ins in North Carolina, which triggered the Civil Rights Movement in 1960.” The organizers of Kentucky Rising are hoping their event sparks a similar type movement. If that has any chance of happening, the next step is to ensure that Beshear follows through on his pledge to tour eastern Kentucky within 30 days. Should he not, the activists know what they must do: more civil disobedience, the larger and more persistent the better.

As author Terry Tempest Williams, who lent her support to Kentucky Rising, explained, “Mountaintop removal is an act of aggression. Civil disobedience is an act of love.”

The people of Egypt have achieved a tremendous victory, one that has inspired the whole world to celebrate. The possibilities it raises for peace and democracy not only give hope to a region beset by authoritarian rule and Western intervention, but prove that nonviolent action is alive and well in the Muslim world.

Unfortunately, this latter point is often lost or overlooked by our major media outlets, whose experts and analysts have so little knowledge of the history and dynamics of nonviolence that they typically don’t know how to interpret what they’ve just seen. To counter this shortcoming, Waging Nonviolence has asked a wide range of eminent thinkers to discuss their initial thoughts on this historic moment, the challenges ahead and what it all means for the future of nonviolent action.

We are presenting their responses as a series over the next couple days. Here is the third installment. The first can be read here and the second here.

What do you think is the biggest challenge now facing the people of Egypt?

“How to maintain momentum and not allow the military to get too comfortable in power.” – Reza Aslan, Associate Professor, University of California, Riverside

“The immediate next steps for any democratic movement that still has yet to consolidate democracy are (a) remaining organized and mobilized so that pressure can be placed as necessary on residual defenders of the old system — using newly diverse nonviolent tactics — in order to make sure that political rights are enforced and the new civic space that’s been opened up is broadened and hardened, and (b) learning quickly how to negotiate strategically with residual regime figures to set fair and effective procedures and conditions for constitutional revision and the electoral process. In regard to negotiations, the Egyptians might consider inviting veterans of the Polish and South African “pacted transitions” to come and advise them, or at least study those cases carefully.” – Jack DuVall, President, International Center for Nonviolent Conflict

“The entire Egyptian state is riddled with violence, corruption, and tyranny.  It has been operating in this way for 30 years (at least).  The biggest challenge to the Egyptian people is to maintain momentum through the transformation of their society through months and years, deconstructing one system and building another.” – Mary Joyce, Founder and Executive Director, Meta-Activism Project

“Extreme vigilance is required to safeguard the gains made in recent days and weeks.  It is therefore of paramount importance that measures be taken to prevent an illegal usurpation of political power by groups who may attempt to take advantage of the confusion following the collapse of the regime, in order to stage a coup d’ etat and simply install themselves as the new masters. Gene Sharp and Bruce Jenkins have written at length on this topic in The Anti-Coup, which details steps that civil society groups and institutions can take to provide anti-coup defense.  As I heard one Egyptian say, ‘Today we celebrate, tomorrow the work begins.’” – Jamila Raqib, Executive Director, Albert Einstein Institution

“The biggest challenge is to maintain this marvelous momentum in order to accomplish REAL democratic change, participate in constitutional and legal changes which will enable durable democracy and rule of law. Removing Mubarak was only the first step to the vision of tommorow defined by brave protesters: proud Egypt with freedoms of assembly and press, fair elections and accountable secular government. It is a long way in front of the people of Egypt and the biggest victory is yet to be achieved.” – Srdja Popovic, Founder, Centre for Applied Nonviolent Action and Strategies (CANVAS)

“In my mind, the short term challenge to civil society in Egypt is to make the transition complete, from Mubarak to the military to the people and to show that Egyptians can construct a model of governance that improves on preceding models.” – Tom Hastings, Director of Peace and Nonviolence, Portland State University

“My first inclination is to say that the biggest challenge facing the people of Egypt at this moment is the cynicism of observers and commentators who do not understand the core dynamic of nonviolent action, and thus attribute this victory to ‘backroom deals,’ ‘external forces,’ or the looming presence of the military in the background. But the loyalty demonstrated by the military to the people’s revolution has everything to do with how well the movement did their job. Based on what has transpired so far, it is pretty clear that the movement won over the security forces in a genuine show of people power and strategy. That process was both longer and deeper than we have been able to see on the surface. This was as well planned as it could have been. I do not expect the military to defect now. And I think it is unfortunate that so many commentators are already speculating that what we’re seeing in Egypt is actually a military coup. That perspective reflects adherence to outdated assumptions and frames about concepts such as violence and power. Fortunately the people of Egypt know better.” – Cynthia Boaz, Assistant Professor, Sonoma State University

“Maintaining the gains of their revolution. Sustaining the energy and solidarity that were created as a result of the powerful nonviolent resistance campaign.” – Mohammed Abu-Nimer, Director of the Peacebuilding and Development Institute, American University

“I believe there are three big challenges facing Egypt now, and they are interconnected:

1)    Maintaining bottom-up momentum: The unity and enthusiasm evident not only in the past 18 days, but among pockets of civil society over several years, must be sustained.  Although a short pause for “business as usual” is necessary to restart the local economy and get children and youth back in school, it is important to seize pubic jubilation and transform it to mass civic participation for the next important phases on the road to a democratic system. The internet is an ideal platform for maintaining citizen input. I’m sure many creative and tech-savvy Egyptians are already creating participatory democracy platforms. Town halls and other fora can be set up for the technologically challenged or deprived. Millions of Egyptians took to the streets, left their jobs, and closed their shops for a change in government. Now is the time to harness that energy, compile those grievances and turn them into political policies through a bottom-up system that makes all citizens feel they’re part of the process.

2)    Gutting/restructuring of Key Institutions: A tough, tough challenge. The branches of government and all the institutions that supported the regime will require either drastic reform, re-training, restructuring, and perhaps for some, a complete do-over. Egyptian intellectuals and trusted Egyptian officials will be key in this endeavor. It would be wise to solicit the support of international organizations and foreign governments with expertise in the areas of institution building, with Egyptian ownership of the process. Egyptian citizens should demand to be part of the process of reform and rebuilding. Organizers can maintain the current momentum by creating “watch dog” groups that ensure people have a say in decisions and that reforms meet their needs.

3)    Drafting of a Representative Constitution: A revised constitution must represent and meet the desires of all Egyptians. Drafting this, voting on it, and vetting the language will be something amazing to follow, especially considering Egypt’s religious diversity.  I would love to see an Egyptian constitution created collaboratively on a platform like Wikipedia. Egyptians would really be making history through such a process!” – Vanessa Ortiz, Founder, In Women’s Hands

At 7pm EST tonight, for the third week in a row, I will be on Bang on the System Radio with Jaisal Noor to discuss the now victorious nonviolent uprising in Egypt and what comes next for the country and the region. To catch the interview live, tune in at Radiohive.org.

In this new interview, Michael Nagler, president of the Metta Center for Nonviolence Education, offers his thoughts on the nonviolent movement that has just toppled Hosni Mubarak in Egypt after 30 years of dictatorial rule.

Nagler wisely argues that to solidify this nonviolent victory, the positive energy in Egypt must now be channeled into constructive work focused on building an authentic democracy and addressing the widespread poverty that plagues the country.

My intentions are not to direct nor predict the future of Egypt.  That is the people’s concern.  I simply wish to offer a perspective that desires to decentralize power as much as possible and create decision-making structures that are left in the hands of those closest to its consequences.  I do not know enough about Egyptian culture, history or politics to assess the viability or desirability of an anarchist society – or its compatibility with Islam in the Middle East (which is a fundamental question in need of further and broader discussion: 1, 2, 3).  While anarchist thought and resistance has contributed much to the overthrow of tyranny and the struggle for justice and freedom, anarchism’s theoretical analyses and prolific historical examples of a self-organizing society rooted in voluntary cooperation, mutual aid, and total participation in direct democracy indicate that this perspective may be reaching its heyday as a mature political and social philosophy.

During times of social unrest and uprising, images of black-clad rioters clashing with security forces stoke fears of impending, widespread violence and the undoing of society.  Such scaremongering is often attributed to the anarchists – a cult of unruly, rage-filled nihilists who care little for the niceties of civil society.  These outcast youth, idealistic and irresponsible, know little of the worldly affairs of politicos and generals. Realpolitik, they are told, still the rules of the day, even in spite of all appearances of the people’s will for democratic rule: Egypt, Tunisia, Yemen, Algeria.  Yet it seems the people are prevailing!  Mubarak has left.  Ben Ali was ousted.  Celebrations and the hard but exciting work of re-constructing a country begins.

But the sands will settle.  The people will empty out of the squares and return to their homes and jobs.  Children will go back to school and the stock markets will open again.  The short-attention spans of global media will have been distracted by another monumental event and the exodus of journalists and well-meaning solidarity activists will commence, leaving in their wake a trail of untold stories of liberation and bloodshed.   And so it goes.  President Mubarak, having ceremoniously stepped down and delegating power to Vice President Omar Suleiman and the Supreme Council of the Egyptian Armed Forces in control, will be little more than a stained memory in Egypt’s glorious history.  But, like so many oppressive regimes of the past, there is the very real chance an old regime may be followed by a new tyranny.  The iron fist of Egypt’s oligarchy, this time in the velvet glove of democracy, could return to its usual tricks of exploitation and domination.  The youth organizers, union leaders, intellectuals, all risk being rounded up and put into jail or disappeared back into the secret prisons.  If the people of the Egyptian society re-brand themselves as passive citizens of the Egyptian state rather than direct participants in society, democratic tyranny could ensue.  But it does not have to go down this way – there are alternatives.

“Every State is a despotism,” wrote Max Stirner, “be the one or the many.”  In the case of Egypt, Mubarak (and his cronies) were despots of the singular sort.  As Egypt reflects on itself for the future of its society and government (the state), there is a tremendous opportunity for “the Gift of the Nile” to chart a new course for inclusive democracy and social justice.  While Stirner’s personal persuasion is controversial – even among anarchists – would reject the possibility of something like direct democracy, his cautionary edict should be heeded.  Consider the recent Orange Revolution in the Ukraine which has slowly seeped back into authoritarian rule; see Yulia Tymoshenko’s penetrating analysis “The Orange Revolution Betrayed” for lessons that may serve Egypt – and all people’s movements – well.

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