In discussions about people power or nonviolent action, most people will immediately think of Gandhi or Martin Luther King, a few will recall the end of the Marcos regime in the Philippines in the mid-1980s, and some others will remember or have heard of the Prague Spring nearly two decades earlier. Moreover, for most activists and others involved in peace action and movements for social change, there will be little knowledge of the theories of nonviolent action and still less of the huge number of actions taken in so many countries and in such different circumstances across the world. Even recent events across the Middle East are rarely put in a broader historical context. Although the focus of this book is on post-1945 movements, the opening section provides a wide-ranging introduction to the history and theoretical bases of nonviolent action, and reflects the most recent contributions to the literature, citing key reference works.

This book brings together an extraordinary wealth of experience and will be an eye-opener for many readers. It seeks to provide an introduction to the history of major social movements - including Occupy and the Global Justice Movement, major green campaigns, peace and anti-war resistance and feminist and LGBT struggles - over the last 70 years, and to signpost contemporary developments in these movements. It provides brief background summaries and a range of references from movement periodicals and websites, scholarly journals, and books by activists as well as academic studies. It focuses on social movements of all kinds, with emphasis on nonviolent action and protest, it includes material on conventional political action and legal action, and literature providing some general historical and theoretical background.

During the 1950s, Michael Randle helped pioneer a new form of direct action against nuclear war, based on the teachings of Mahatma Gandhi. At the forefront of the British campaign, he worked closely with Peace News editor Hugh Brock (19141985) and other distinguished anti-nuclear pacifists such as Pat Arrowsmith, April Carter, and Ian Dixon, serving as chairman of the Direct Action Committee against Nuclear War (1958-1961) and secretary of the Committee of 100 (1960-1961). In 1966, he helped spring the Russian spy George Blake from Wormwood Scrubs Prison. Thereafter, he campaigned vigorously on behalf of the Greek democratic opposition, conscientious objectors, and Soviet dissidents. He has always been a man of rare candour and singular energy and principles, even enduring imprisonment for his beliefs. Nowadays, Michael lives in Shipley near Bradford, where he continues to write as a respected expert on people power. Martin Levys interviews with Michael Randle introduce the reader to a tumultuous life that is nothing short of extraordinary.