Lester R. Kurtz

Lester R. Kurtz is professor of public sociology at George Mason University and a visiting lecturer at the European Peace University. He is the author of numerous books and articles on peace and conflict, nonviolent civil resistance, and social movements; he is the editor of Elsevier’s Encyclopedia of Violence, Peace, and Conflict. Kurtz serves on the academic advisory board of the International Center on Nonviolent Conflict.

Egypt: how to negotiate the transition. Lessons from Poland and China

A comparison of the Polish Round Table and the Tiananmen Tragedy show that non-violent resistance movements need to be clear-headed in the moment of negotiation and transition. The next moves by the democratic movement in Egypt will determine the political shape of the country for a long time to c

By Lester R. Kurtz and Maciej Bartkowski

/ 4 Feb 2011

Repression’s paradox in China

From the authoritarian’s perspective, internal dissidents are easy to deal with – put them in jail, have them disappeared, exiled, or executed. It is not so easy to silence the prestigious Nobel committee, however, let alone the international community. Of course, that is exactly why Professor Liu

By Lester R. Kurtz

/ 17 Nov 2010