Colour revolutions, nonviolence and social movements: Otpor in Serbia

This article links a theoretical approach focused on the political theory of nonviolent action with an empirical analysis of the events that have occurred during the colour revolutions. The paper takes a detailed look at the repertoire of political struggle deployed by the social movement Otpor('Resistance') during the Black Revolution in Serbia in 2000. This repertoire mainly included methods of protest and persuasion, and others of noncooperation and nonviolent intervention, inspired by the ideas of Gene Sharp. Otpor was the first movement in the revolutionary wave between 2000 and 2005 in the Eurasian space that implemented these methods, thereby becoming the model of action for other social movements participating in the colour revolutions, in many squares in the Arab Spring and even in 15-M.