On consolidation: Nonviolent struggle as resource for democratic citizenship

After the Colour Revolutions and the Arab Spring the research, linking nonviolent resistance (NVR) and democratisation increased drastically. Nevertheless, research focussing on the effect on democratic consolidation remains scarce. Based on a neo-Tocquevillean understanding of democracy, I argue that NVR against authoritarian rule provides important resources for the development of democratic citizenship and can positively affect democratisation. Because of the struggle for democracy, the individual agency of each citizen rises, enabling him/her to participate and to resist backlashes if necessary. On a collective level and transgressing the circle of the participating activist, the collective agency of the whole population is sustainably affected in creating a collective narrative of the successful struggle of the people. These successful and iconic events provide opportunities to reconnect renewed mass mobilization. Finally yet importantly, such movements are embedded into an international context. Waves of contention like the Arab Spring leave international networks of activists and supporters.