The internationalisation of nonviolent resistance: the case of the BDS campaign

This paper seeks to identify some of the factors that can enhance the strength and influence of international civil society solidarity networks that mobilise around issues of concern. To this end, we focus on the Palestinian-inspired Boycott Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) campaign and examine the significant differences that exist between it and the global anti-apartheid movement from which the Palestinian initiative derived much of its inspiration and strategic thinking.
Differences between the contemporary BDS campaign and the anti-apartheid movement of the 1970s and ’80s fall into three main categories: internal factors related to the organisational profile and membership of the anti-apartheid movement; ideational factors that influenced the level of legitimacy that movement enjoyed; and contextual factors particular to the socio-political and economic environment within which the anti-apartheid movement found itself operating.
We conclude by emphasising the importance of the dynamic relationship between ‘internal’ popular resistance and the global solidarity movement that the anti-apartheid sanctions inspired. If the BDS movement is to exercise comparable leverage, it is imperative that unarmed resistance against the ongoing Israeli occupation remains buoyant both at local and international levels.