Word: kaunda
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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...Kenneth Kaunda, the president of the Republic of Zambia, once held steadfastly to this belief; in fact, he helped free his colony from the English yoke through non-violent means in the '50s and '60s. A devout Christian--his father was a preacher--committed to non-violence, but also a leader of his people and sworn to ameliorate their welfare, he did not know how he should lead. Thus he found "satyagrah," the creative use of non-violent resistance as a strategy for change, "a life belt thrust into the hand of a drowning men." It worked in Zambia...
...Violence, he presents his conclusions: Rhodesia lacked the elements to make a non-violent struggle feasible. He points out what single-minded moralists overlook: nonviolence, by itself, can be a total failure. For in Nazi Germany, the Jews died, regardless of passiveor active resistance. Use of this example led Kaunda to conclude that one element necessary for a successful non-violent struggle: some morality in the ruling establishment. If the oppressors will kill anyone who opposes them regardless of the moral implications, then non-violent protest will only eliminate the protesters, not the injustice...
Ironically, the other necessary factor in a passive resistance movement, Kaunda concludes, is a violent faction. The oppressors, even if they are moral, can often ignore the quiet distrubances of the non-violent protestors. But when, as happened in the United States in the '60s, other demonstrators, like the Black Panthers, advocate change by violent means, then the oppressors must choose between the less painful of the two choices to placate the oppressed. The fear factor forces the issue, and morality contrainsts lead to a peaceful solution...
...Kaunda believes that Rhodesia lacked enough virtue to allow a passive resistance struggle. White Rhodesians did not care how the world viewed them and hence did not worry about the international implications of their actions. Just as South Africa has uncaringly killed protesting schoolchildren, the Rhodesians would have destroyed any passive resistance movement. Nevertheless, the Rhodesians understood fear, and Kaunda realized that only violence could alter the unacceptable social structure. So even though he deplored violence, he supported "armed struggle in Zimbabwe (Rhodesia) because I could no longer believe that anything is preferable to the use of force...
...RIDDLE OF VIOLENCE cogently presents the passive-resistance-versus-violence argument with Kaunda drawing on his long political and academic experience. This former teacher of philosphy and ethics uses clear analogies and many applicable examples to embellish and strenghthen his reasoning. Moreover, the writings of a 57-year-old leader, who is already a two-time founding father (in 1964 in Zambia and in 1980 in Zimbabwe) would be interesting in and of themselves, and the collection of his thoughts into relevant political philosophy makes the book even more worthwhile. As a unit, however, the book suffers from its essay...