Program on Nonviolent Sanctions and Cultural Survival

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Program on Nonviolent Sanctions and Cultural Survival (PONSACS)

"The Cultural Survival Center, the formal research wing of Cultural Survival, and the former Program on Nonviolent Sanctions were formally merged in January 1995 to consider the problems of dictatorship, war, terrorism, genocide, and oppression in the complex context of cultures and events that form the backdrop of many ongoing conflicts." [1]

"As of July 1, 2005, the Program on Nonviolent Sanctions and Cultural Survival has closed, after a long, productive, and distinguished trajectory under the leadership of David Maybury-Lewis.

"PONSACS studied situations of conflict in order to better understand their nature and the capabilities of nonviolent actions in support of human rights and civil liberties. The Program rationale is based on the simple premise about the nature of political power – that it is rooted in and continually dependent upon cooperation and obedience, and that each can be withdrawn.

"PONSACS combines a quantitative approach through PANDA (Protocol for the Assessment of Nonviolent Direct Action), an automated early warning system, with on-the-ground research of conflict regions provided by anthropological insights. These two strands of research work to identify conflict regions before they erupt into violence and to actively promote nonviolent alternatives to armed conflict." [2]

"The Program on Nonviolent Sanctions and Cultural Survival is a research program within the Weatherhead Center for International Affairs at Harvard University. The nonviolent sanctions component of the Program evolved from the pioneering work of former Weatherhead Center Associate Gene Sharp, who articulated a seemingly simple premise about the nature of political power - that it is rooted in and continually dependent upon cooperation and obedience, and that this cooperation and obedience can be withdrawn. Since January 1995 the Program has been directed by Professor of Anthropology David Maybury-Lewis. The Program under his direction formally links two complementary strands of Harvard-based research, each spanning nearly three decades." [3]

Launch of the Program on Nonviolent Sanctions in Conflict and Defense

In 1983 the Program on Nonviolent Sanctions in Conflict and Defense was created: "Given sufficient resources, the privately funded research center will focus on specific problem areas, beginning with the Republic of South Africa.

""Our purpose is to learn how, and to what degree, nonviolent actions can serve as effective alternatives to violent ones," said Program Director Gene Sharp, an associate of the CFIA...

"Sharp is a professor of political science and sociology at Southeastern Massachusetts University and an associate of the CFIA, where he has done most of his work since 1965.

The program will be funded through private contributions, grants, and other outside sources, with 1983-84 budget set at $100,000. ..

"Thomas C. Schelling, Littauer Professor of Political Economics and the individual who brought Sharp to Harvard, said the academic community has given minimal attention to the field of nonviolent sanctions...

"Professor Herbert C. Kelman, [served as] an overseer of the project". [4]

Program on Nonviolent Sanctions Merges with Cultural Survival Center

"The Program on Nonviolent Sanctions, which receives financial support from the Albert Einstein Institution, has now joined with the Cultural Survival Center, the research arm of Cultural Survival, a human rights organization, to run the Program on Nonviolent Sanctions and Cultural Survival (PNSCS) at Harvard University’s Center for International Affairs...

"The idea of formal collaboration between the two organizations came after more than a year during which Doug Bond, director of the Program on Nonviolent Sanctions, and Ted Macdonald, director of the Cultural Survival Center, had been working closely together

""The interaction between the two research units proved to be quite stimulating and complementary," Doug Bond explains. "The Cultural Survival Center’s global expertise of unique cultural contexts and diverse peoples offers insights and indepth knowledge about the worldwide cases of nonviolent direct action that the PANDA project tracks."..

"Doug Bond and Ted Macdonald have jointly assumed the responsibilities of associate directors in the expanded Program on Nonviolent Sanctions and Cultural Survival..." [5]

Supporters [6]

People [7]

Directors & Staff

PONSACS Associates

PONSACS Affiliates

Resources and articles

Related Sourcewatch

References

  1. ↑ About, Archive from 2001, accessed January 15, 2011.
  2. ↑ Home Page, PONSACS, accessed July 13, 2007.
  3. ↑ About PONSACS, PONSACS, accessed July 13, 2007.
  4. ↑ CFIA Launches Program On Nonviolent Political Strategies, Harvard Crimson, accessed January 15, 2011.
  5. ↑ Program on Nonviolent Sanctions Merges with Cultural Survival Center=, Albert Einstein Institution, accessed January 15, 2011.
  6. ↑ Acknowledgements, PONSACS, accessed July 13, 2007.
  7. ↑ People at PONSACS, PONSACS, accessed July 13, 2007.
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