Violence vs. Political Oppression
Current Research for the MLA LD Debate Topic…
TOPIC: Violence vs. Oppression
Resolved: Violent revolution is a just response to political oppression.
CHSSA Rules: http://www.chssa.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/11BYLawsDebateRules10_2015.27500052.pdf
BACKGROUND:
Stanford: Revolution,
Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, August 21, 2017
https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/revolution/
The moral issues posed by revolutions are both practically important and theoretically complex. There are also interesting conceptual questions as to how to distinguish revolution from resistance, rebellion, and secession, all of which also involve opposition to existing political authority. Unfortunately, the recent renaissance in just war theorizing focuses implicitly on interstate wars and thus has largely ignored the morality of revolution, at least as a topic worthy of systematic theorizing in its own right.[1] Recent work on the morality of asymmetrical warfare, on terrorism, and on humanitarian military intervention provides valuable resources for constructing a theory of the morality of revolution, but until the appearance of Christopher Finlay’s book, Terrorism and the Right to Resist: A Theory of Just Revolutionary War (2015), nothing approaching a systematic account of the morality of revolution has been available.[2] In other words, moral theorizing relevant to revolution has been rather fragmentary and adventitious, because it has mainly occurred in the pursuit of other topics rather than as part of an inquiry directed squarely at the phenomenon of revolution. Furthermore, although prominent figures in the history of Philosophy have held views on revolution, they have primarily concentrated on the issue of just cause (and in some cases on rightful authority to wage revolutionary war), without addressing a number of other moral problems that revolutions raise, such as the question of whether revolutionaries can rightly use forms of violence that the armed forces of states are morally prohibited from using and whether they may conscript fighters, punish defectors and traitors, and expropriate property needed for the struggle. There are hopeful signs, however, that moral theorists will soon give revolution the attention it deserves.
[Background] What is Revolution?,
Dr. Laura Neitzel, Columbia University, Last Accessed: May 2019
http://www.columbia.edu/cu/weai/exeas/asian-revolutions/pdf/what-is-revolution.pdf
Note: A former professor of history, she provides numerous historical examples: 1-page document.
… As a historical process, “revolution” refers to a movement, often violent, to overthrow an old regime and effect complete change in the fundamental institutions of society. After the French Revolution of the 18th century which deposed the monarchy and attempted to refashion society from top to bottom, revolution became synonymous with the radical overcoming of the past… Modernity, many came to believe, could only be achieved through such violent and total transformation.[Several Paragraphs of historical examples] … These diverse experiences and understandings of “revolution” underline the importance of political and social revolution to modern Asian history. In recent years, with the dismantling of revolutionary regimes in the Soviet Union and elsewhere and China’s movement toward a market economy, some historians have begun revising their understandings of revolution and its outcomes. Even in light of these reevaluations, there can be no doubt about the importance of revolution — as both a goal and historical process — to the formation of modern Asia and the modern world.
WHITEBOARD PHOTOS (& EVIDENCE PACKETS):
[-] LD Research – Violent Revolution vs Political Oppression(BFI, 2019-05-01).pdf (DOC)
[-] LD Research – Violent Revolution vs Political Oppression(Champion Briefs, 2019-05-01).pdf
[-] LD Research – Violent Revolution vs Political Oppression(Forensics Files, 2019-05-01).pdf
[-] LD Research – Violent Revolution vs Political Oppression(Victory Briefs, 2019-05-01).pdf
REQUIRED RESEARCH VIDEOS:
Yes, Antifa is the moral equivalent of neo-Nazis,
Washington Post, August 30, 2017 [1 min]
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/yes-antifa-is-the-moral-equivalent-of-neo-nazis/2017/08/30/9a13b2f6-8d00-11e7-91d5-ab4e4bb76a3a_story.html
NOTE: Please read/skim this article. There is a similar (shorter) article in the required section.
Video: Civil Disobedience,
Joi Ito & Reid Hoffman, MIT Media Lab, August 22, 2016 [3 min]
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dv3LyUoxYIE&feature=youtu.be
Article (w/Video): https://pubpub.ito.com/pub/violence-and-civil-disobedience
NOTE: Please skim/read some of the article as well.
Terrorism and Nonviolence: An Animation,
The Metta Center, August 31, 2016 [5 min]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2juvZdXlkes&feature=youtu.be
Transcript: https://mettacenter.org/blog/terrorism-nonviolence-new-story-animation/
Tactics, Boycott, and Nonviolent Resistance,
Noam Chomsky, July 30, 2016 [7 min]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2OVZXNKD-7c
Black Perspectives on the Contested Use of Violence for Liberation,
Megan Pallante, Black Power in American Memory, Univ. No. Carolina, April 18, 2017 [48 min] <– Watch 10 min please.
http://blackpower.web.unc.edu/2017/04/black-perspectives-on-the-contested-use-of-violence-for-liberation/
NOTE: Scroll down for video – watch for 10 minutes [thanks!]. Can you understand how he would draw such large crowds to hear him speak? 🙂
REQUIRED RESEARCH ARTICLES:
\”Antifa\” Leader Explains Violent Movement: Nazis Shouldn\’t Feel Safe in Public,
Newsweek, September 14, 2017
https://www.newsweek.com/antifa-berkeley-shapiro-violence-664936
‘Antifa’ groups only help the hateful forces they claim to oppose,
Washington Post, August 29, 2017
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/antifa-groups-only-help-the-hateful-forces-they-claim-to-oppose/2017/08/29/d7c900b4-8cca-11e7-8df5-c2e5cf46c1e2_story.html
Violent Versus Nonviolent Revolutions: Which Way Wins?,
Dr. Douglas T. Kenrick Ph.D., Psychology Today, April 7, 2014
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/sex-murder-and-the-meaning-life/201404/violent-versus-nonviolent-revolutions-which-way-wins
Nonviolent resistance proves potent weapon,
Harvard Gazette, February 4, 2019
https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2019/02/why-nonviolent-resistance-beats-violent-force-in-effecting-social-political-change/
NOTE: Erica Chenoweth interview provides analysis from a top researcher in the field.
ADDITIONAL \”OPTIONAL\” RESEARCH ARTICLES & VIDEOS:
Terrorism and the Right to Resist: A Theory of Just Revolutionary War,
Prof. Christopher Finlay, Ph.D., Durham University (UK), Published: 2015
https://books.google.com/books: Terrorism and the Right to Resist: A Theory of Just Revolutionary War
IMPORTANT: Book is searchable (key concepts), but you\’ll have to type out the information you find (no copy-paste option).
Review (Univ. Chicago): https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/full/10.1086/688750
Review (Oxford): https://academic.oup.com/ia/article-abstract/92/5/1252/2688154?redirectedFrom=fulltext
Review: https://www.academia.edu/34769682/Book_review_Terrorism_and_the_Right_to_Resist_-_A_Theory_of_Just_Revolutionary_War_by_Christopher_J._Finlay
CONTACT INFORMATION (Coach Bill):
Bill Eddy,
coachbill@magnetacademy.com
714.655.8135 (I prefer text)
When contacting me, please include your name and class information (day/time). Thanks!