Adam Roberts argues that the Arab spring shows how civil resistance can overthrow dictators but isn’t always enough to bring about people power (The Arab spring: why did things go so badly wrong?, 15 January). Of course, civil resistance isn’t a magic bullet. However, in their analysis of 323 examples of resistance campaigns and rebellion from 1900 to 2006 in Why Civil Resistance Works: The Strategic Logic of Nonviolent Conflict, Erica Chenoweth and Maria J Stephan found that not only are non-violent campaigns twice as successful as violent campaigns in achieving their objectives but that non-violent resistance campaigns are more likely to lead to democratic forms of government than violent campaigns.
Ian Sinclair
London
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