LEARNING AND NONVIOLENT STRUGGLE IN THE INTIFADAH

Abstract

This article examines the process of learning in the first two years of the Palestinian intifadah. During that period of the uprising, Palestinians deliberately employed a strategy of struggle that emphasized nonviolent action. Understanding how each side learns in such a situation of acute conflict is important both for the immediate prosecution of nonviolent struggle and for projecting the techniques to new forms such as national defense. An important conclusion raises a strong caution that the use of even limited violence in a nonviolent strategy tends to cloud the persuasive power of the strategy's nonaggressive intent. This, in turn, can undermine the movement's capacity to wield power against its opponent. Similarly, nonviolent strategists cannot ignore the particular balance of social resources in their situation.