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Remembering Dr Gene Sharp

Professor Sir Adam Roberts has written an obituary for the Guardian remembering Dr Gene Sharp, political scientist and leading theorist in the field of non-violent protest.

 

Dr Sharp, often called the “the Machiavelli of nonviolence”, received his DPhil in Political Theory from the University of Oxford in 1968. As described by Professor Roberts, Sharp “carved out a unique role as a theorist of non-violent resistance. In a large number of books and shorter works he did more than anyone else to develop a coherent theory of this phenomenon – also called people power, civil resistance and non-violent action.” A highlight of these works was The Politics of Nonviolent Action, published in 1973 and based in part on his thesis.

Dr Sharp founded the Albert Einstein Institution in 1983 and held various research and teaching appointments over the years. He was a four-time Nobel Peace Prize nominee and the winner of the 2012 Right Livelihood Award.

Gene Sharp obituary