085 merchants general strike
"Whereas a general strike involves a withdrawal of labor by workers, a paralysis of the economy of a city or region may also be caused by the simultaneous closing of stores and businesses by the merchants. Such action would not only affect small shops and stores run by a single person or family, but would also close larger businesses without the initiative of the employees."...
Potentially problematic matches
High scoring campaigns using this method
Historical cases from the Nonviolent Action Database that used this method
Yemenis oust Saleh regime (Yemen Revolution), 2011-2012
In January 2011, in the wake of the Tunisian revolution and in the midst of the Egyptian revolution, Yemeni students and youth began a yearlong revolution to oust the regime of Ali Abdullah Saleh, president for the past thirty years. This revolution ...
Iranian resistance to Tobacco Concession, 1891-1892
In the late nineteenth century foreign governments were increasingly asserting control, and in some cases Iranian governmental figures adopted a fatalistic attitude about being colonized by Britain or Russia, both of which were competing for power in...
Belizean unions strike to increase political participation and prevent increased taxation, 2005
Belize formally became an independent nation in 1981 and quickly established itself as a parliamentary democracy with a high degree of electoral participation and a Constitution that guaranteed basic rights and freedoms to all citizens. In 1998, the ...
Chinese elites and commoners use city gods and direct action to hasten flood relief, Qing China, 1742
During the 1740s, early modern China was undergoing a profound transformation. After decades trying to recover from the turbulent transition from the Ming dynasty to the Qing dynasty, a new era of stability was descending upon the empire, allowing fo...
Cubans general strike to overthrow president, 1933
For two years prior to this campaign there was a violent struggle to oust dictator Gerardo Machado: running gun battles, bombings, political assassinations. The leading violent group agreed to a ceasefire in July 1933 to allow for mediation, but smal...
Syrian citizens general strike against France, 1936
French-occupied Syria was facing darkening hopes for more independence from France at the end of 1935. The major Syrian nationalist party, the National Bloc, was losing power, the Syrian Parliament was adjourned and the government in power was under ...
Ugandans save the Mabira Forest from sugarcane plantation, 2007
Uganda in East Africa has a large rainforest area, the Mabira Forest, that has been protected since 1932. In 2007 Ugandan President Yoweli Kaguta Museveni announced a plan to hand over one-third of the Mabira rainforest to the Sugar Corporation of Ug...
Haitians overthrow regime, 1984-1986
In 1957, Haitian elections put Francois “Papa Doc” Duvalier in power as “president-for-life.” When he died in 1971, his son, Jean-Claude “Baby Doc” Duvalier took over. There were no elections during either regime, and both presidents used force to ke...
Haitians strike and overthrow a dictator, 1956
General Paul Eugène Magloire was elected President of Haiti in 1950 with ninety-nine percent of the vote in an army-monitored election and the official support of the army, church, elite, and American embassy behind him. He implemented a successful e...
Low scoring campaigns using this method
Historical cases from the Nonviolent Action Database that used this method
Belgians protest austerity measures, 2011-2012
On 2 December 2011, tens of thousands of Belgian citizens took to the streets in the capital, Brussels, to protest the austerity measures taken by the then-incoming government. The new socialist prime minister was going to be sworn in the week after ...
Palestinians wage nonviolent campaign during First Intifada, 1987-1988
EDITOR'S NOTE: Regarding the First Intifada as "nonviolent" is controversial because of the violence that accompanied the campaign. Aden Tedla's narrative does not try to hide the violent dimension. Three considerations lead us to include the case in...