026 paint as protest
"During the East German Rising, on June 17, 1953, the night shift at the Stralsund shipyard covered the name of a new lugger, Walter Ulbricht, with thick black paint, and the ceremony scheduled for the next day to launch that new boat for the herring fleet had to be canceled.140 In 1962 in Eisenbach, East Germany, someone altered a huge picture of Walter Ulbricht by painting a rope around his neck.141"...
Potentially awesome partners
High scoring campaigns using this method
Historical cases from the Nonviolent Action Database that used this method
Indonesians overthrow President Suharto, 1998
“I have decided to quit as president.”- Indonesian President Suharto, 21st May 1998\n\nThese words echoed across Indonesia, as students who had been occupying parliament for the past three days fell to their knees; while others cheered around televis...
Brazilians drive out corrupt President - 1992
In 1990, Fernando Collor de Mello became the first elected President after 29 years of military rule. He narrowly won his election as a center-right candidate and campaigned on fighting corruption, fighting inflation, and defending the poor. He tried...
Icelanders overthrow top power holders responsible for economic crisis (Kitchenware Revolution), 2008-9
At the dawn of the financial crisis, Iceland was controlled by the Independent Party, a right-wing party with decidedly neo-liberal economic policies. Over the past 19 years, banks had been privatized, regulations cut, and the corporate tax rate lowe...
Palestinians in Bil'in Protest Construction of Israeli Separation Barrier, 2005-2011
In an effort to prevent Palestinian suicide bombers from entering its borders, the State of Israel began constructing a 425-mile separation barrier along its border with the West Bank in June 2002. The separation barrier, known to Israelis as the “Se...
Egyptians bring down dictatorship of Hosni Mubarak, 2011
Beginning in 1981, Hosni Mubarak ruled Egypt for over twenty-nine years. Though he ran for presidential reelection several times, elections were marked by widespread fraud, and opposing politicians were legally prohibited from running against Mubarak...
People of Wales win recognition of Welsh language from UK, 1970’s
Wales, a country that is bordered by England to the east, is part of Great Britain and the United Kingdom. The Welsh people have their own distinct national identity, with a unique culture and language. There has long been a Welsh Nationalist movemen...
Billboard Utilising Graffitists Against Unhealthy Promotions (BUGA UP) campaigns against tobacco advertising, Australia, 1978-1994
In the 70s and 80s in Australia, tobacco companies had free reign to advertise in nearly all media, and tobacco advertising was a visual mainstay throughout public spaces. In addition, the prevailing mainstream view considered smoking to be an issue ...
Greenpeace campaigns against dumping the Brent Spar oil rig, 1995
The Brent Spar, a 450-foot-long floating rig used as a loading buoy and storage tank for oil from the North Sea for fifteen years, was decommissioned in 1991. When Greenpeace learned of plans to dump the Brent Spar by sinking the structure in the Nor...
Greenpeace defends Amazon rainforest against McDonald's, others, 2006
On 6 April 2006, a group of people dressed as large chickens entered McDonald’s fast food restaurants in seven cities around the United Kingdom. These chickens were a part of Greenpeace’s campaign against McDonald’s use of soya, a soybean plant, to f...
Women form peace camp to protest housing of cruise missiles at Greenham Common, 1981-1993
Greenham Commons outside Newbury, England was purchased in 1939 by the Newbury District Council for the public use of Newbury inhabitants, including the collection of firewood. In 1941 this area was requisitioned by the Air Ministry for an airfield, ...
Low scoring campaigns using this method
Historical cases from the Nonviolent Action Database that used this method
Yale University students protest sweatshop labor, 2000
On 1 March 2000, 400 Yale University students rallied to demand that their administration withdraw from the Fair Labor Association (FLA) and join the Workers Rights Consortium (WRC) instead. Both organizations focused on monitoring sweatshop labor an...
British printers strike for their jobs, unions (Wapping Dispute), 1986-1987
By 1986, Australian Rupert Murdoch was already well on his way to becoming the head of what would be the world’s largest news conglomerate, News International. His meteoric rise to the top, however, clashed with a centuries-old printing tradition in ...
Mexican students protest for greater democracy, 1968
In July of 1968, as the student-led uprising of May and June in France was fading away, a new one was just beginning in Mexico City. Students inspired by the success of the movement in France saw their own opportunity to bring more open democracy to ...
White Rose Resistance to Hitler's Regime, 1942-1943
Amidst the omnipresence of violence during World War II, nonviolent protest is often overlooked or unheard of. However, there were several resistance campaigns that took place in Germany, led by its own citizens. One such campaign in the period of 19...
Channel Islanders resist German occupation in WWII, 1941-1945
The Channel Islands, two British territories, fell under German occupation in 1940 during WWII. The Islands politically took on a policy of “passive cooperation.” Fearing a German monopolization of oil, Britain interned German civilians living in Per...
Spanish Indignados protest austerity measures, 2011
The economic crisis which began in 2008 hit Spain harder than any other country in the European Union. They set eurozone records in 2011 with 21.3% unemployment and 43.5% youth unemployment. In an attempt to put a stop to the rapid collapse of the Sp...