Sharon Erickson Nepstad
Biographic Data
| ID | 3620481 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Sharon Erickson Nepstad |
| GIVEN NAMES | Sharon Erickson |
| FAMILY NAME | Nepstad |
| SIGNATURE | NEPSTAD S E |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of Southern Maine |
| VERIFIED | No |
| TOTAL WORKS | 29 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 168 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 28 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 1 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 1997 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2025 |
| H-INDEX | 7 |
Moral Witness and Political Pragmatism in U.S. Peace Movements
Peace movements have relied on two strategic approaches to achieve their goals. These include political pragmatism —whereby movement activities are a complement to institutional politics—and moral witness , in which movements use symbolic tactics to highlight moral issues. While we have knowledge of the conditions that enhance political pragmatism, we know little about what makes moral witness effective. In this article, I use case study methods …
Celebrant's Flame
was a memorable cause clbre in United States peace movement history.Over the decades, there have been many books and documentary films that depict his theological views, his conflict with Catholic Church authorities, his controversial and innovative forms of resistance against the Vietnam War and the nuclear arms race, and his leadership in what has become known as the "Catholic Left."This book, Celebrant's Flame, by Bill Wylie-Kellerman, is the …
On Revolutions
On Revolutions integrates insights from diverse fields—civil resistance studies, international relations, social movements, terrorism—to offes new ways of thinking about the study of revolution. Conventional lines of thought draw on a number of categorical distinctions: social versus political revolutions, structure versus agency, violent versus nonviolent strategies, domestic versus international factors, and success versus failure. In contrast,…
How Social Movements Influence Public Opinion on Political Violence
We examine whether the George Floyd protests influenced public opinion on political violence. Drawing upon the 2016 and 2020 American National Election Studies, we find that most U.S. citizens do not support political violence, and those overall rates remained relatively unchanged. However, we found seismic demographic shifts in attitudes between the two samples. Using logistic regression, we find that strength of support for the Black Lives Matt…
Catholic Social Activism
Many Americans assume that the Catholic Church is inherently conservative, based on its stances on abortion, contraception, and divorce. Yet there is a longstanding tradition of progressive Catholic movements in the United States that have addressed a variety of issues from labor, war, immigration, and environmental protection, to human rights, women's rights, exploitive development practices, and bellicose foreign policies. These Catholic social…
Legitimation Battles, Backfire Dynamics, and Tactical Persistence in the NFL Anthem Protests, 2016–2017
We examine the 2016–2017 National Football League (NFL) kneeling protests that were performed during the pregame national anthem to draw attention to the problems of police brutality and violence against African Americans. Elaborating the concept of tactical neutralization, we delineate various strategies that opponents used to delegitimize this tactic and strip it of its power, thereby encouraging the athlete-protesters to desist. Drawing on onl…
Nonviolent Resistance Research
To introduce this special issue, I provide a brief overview of nonviolence or civil resistance research. I explain the origins and development of the field starting with its Gandhian roots, through the pragmatic Sharpian period, to the current state of empirical testing and development of nonviolence theories. I also summarize the field's main findings to date, particularly in the areas of campaign outcomes, long-term consequences of nonviolent r…
Mutiny and nonviolence in the Arab Spring
Recent studies of civil resistance indicate that security force defections can heavily influence the outcome of nonviolent uprisings against authoritarian regimes. Yet we know little about why, when, and how mutiny occurs. In this article, I ask: what factors influence the likelihood of military defections during a nonviolent conflict? In reviewing various literatures, I identify ten factors that facilitate or obstruct mutiny. I propose that two …
Nonviolent Conflict And Civil Resistance
The Philippines’ “Bloodless Revolution”
Ferdinand Marcos ruled the Philippines for two decades, using his position to amass a personal fortune. When Benigno Aquino—Marcos’s key political rival—was assassinated in 1983, cross-class opposition to the regime erupted. Opposition protests drew international attention, and under mounting pressure, Marcos agreed to hold elections in 1986. Aquino’s widow, Cory, ran against Marcos; no one was surprised when Marcos rigged the election. Just as C…
Nonviolent RevolutionsCivil Resistance in the Late 20th Century
Nonviolent Resistance in the Arab Spring
In recent decades, we have seen an increase in “people power” movements that use civil resistance to challenge authoritarian regimes. From the 1986 ousting of Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos to the recent uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt, these movements have demonstrated that citizens are able to overturn long-standing dictatorships without violence. While these movements struggle for regime change, they are distinct from the “classic revolu…
Disruptive Action and the Prophetic Tradition
Disruptive Action and the Prophetic Tradition:War Resistance in the Plowshares Movement Sharon Erickson Nepstad Christian opposition to war is as old as Christianity itself. From Jesus' mandate to love one's enemies to the emergence of numerous faith-based pacifist organizations in the twentieth century, a longstanding tradition is evident. Yet religious methods of opposition have varied significantly over the centuries—from a personal refusal to…
Recommended Books
Religion and War Resistance in the Plowshares Movement
As the nuclear arms race exploded in the 1980s, a group of U.S. religious pacifists used radical nonviolence to intervene. Armed with hammers, they broke into military facilities to pound on missiles and pour blood on bombers, enacting the prophet Isaiah's vision: 'Nations shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks.' Calling themselves the Plowshares movement, these controversial activists received long prison sen…
Paul D. Almeida, Waves of Protest
Kill a Leader, Murder a Movement? Leadership and Assassination in Social Movements
All too frequently, governments kill social movement leaders in an attempt to halt challenges to state power. Sometimes such repression yields its intended effect; other times it produces a powerful backlash, strengthening mass commitment and bolstering protest. In this article, the authors propose hypotheses accounting for these divergent outcomes. Comparing El Salvador's liberation movement with Nigeria's Ogoni autonomy movement, they hypothesi…
Oppositional Consciousness Among the Privileged
Many movements are strengthened by the support of outside parties yet we know little about how members of privileged groups develop an insurgent mentality. In this article, I explain how some white, middle class North Americans developed oppositional consciousness that led them to resist U.S. policy toward Central America. I argue that solidarity organizers, many of whom were former missionaries, facilitated this cognitive shift within the free s…
The Continuing Relevance of Coser’s Theory of Conflict
Convictions of the Soul
This book examines the Central American solidarity movement based on the cultural-agency approach. It also explores the challenges of organizing at the transnational level. People of faith were at the center of this movement, determined to change President Reagan’s foreign policy towards Nicaragua, El Salvador, and Guatemala. To achieve this goal, some petitioned Congress to stop aid to those responsible for human rights violations in the region.…
Persistent Resistance
Although we know much about social movement recruitment, very little research focuses on member retention over time. Using the Plowshares movement as a case study, this article addresses the question of how long-term activist commitment is cultivated and sustained in a high-risk movement. Based on participant observation, in-depth interviews and survey data, I conclude that this movement has survived because leaders formed communities that functi…
Religion, Violence, and Peacemaking
The Quiet Hand of God
The Church at the Grassroots in Latin America
Introduction: Politics and Popular Protest The Legacy of the Progressive Church in Latin America by W. E. Hewitt Religion, Political Preferences, and Protest Action in Central America: Nicaragua, El Salvador and Guatemala by Andrew J. Stein Labor and Land Issues The Progressive Catholic Church and the Refashioning of Hegemony in Mexico: An Illustration from Telecingo by Patricia Musante Progressive Catholicism and Left-Wing Party Politics in Braz…
The Social Structure of Moral Outrage in Recruitment to the U.S. Central America Peace Movement
This chapter proposes that moral outrage was a logical emotional response to information about human rights abuses and atrocities in Central America. Structural factors were central in determining who had access to credible sources of information that formed the basis of this moral outrage. Yet this information did not lead to the same emotional reaction by all U.S. citizens. One's values and identity shape the way the information is perceived an…
Mutiny and nonviolence in the Arab Spring
Recent studies of civil resistance indicate that security force defections can heavily influence the outcome of nonviolent uprisings against authoritarian regimes. Yet we know little about why, when, and how mutiny occurs. In this article, I ask: what factors influence the likelihood of military defections during a nonviolent conflict? In reviewing various literatures, I identify ten factors that facilitate or obstruct mutiny. I propose that two …
Persistent Resistance
Although we know much about social movement recruitment, very little research focuses on member retention over time. Using the Plowshares movement as a case study, this article addresses the question of how long-term activist commitment is cultivated and sustained in a high-risk movement. Based on participant observation, in-depth interviews and survey data, I conclude that this movement has survived because leaders formed communities that functi…
The Process of Cognitive Liberation
Based upon qualitative interviews with thirty‐two Central American peace activists, this article elaborates the process of “cognitive liberation” through the application of frame analysis. In addition, I seek to explain the diffusion of this social‐psychological state from Central to North America. Attention is given to the role of the church as a common cultural link that functioned as a micro‐mobilizing context, which provided missionaries who …
Legitimation Battles, Backfire Dynamics, and Tactical Persistence in the NFL Anthem Protests, 2016–2017
We examine the 2016–2017 National Football League (NFL) kneeling protests that were performed during the pregame national anthem to draw attention to the problems of police brutality and violence against African Americans. Elaborating the concept of tactical neutralization, we delineate various strategies that opponents used to delegitimize this tactic and strip it of its power, thereby encouraging the athlete-protesters to desist. Drawing on onl…
Nonviolent Resistance Research
To introduce this special issue, I provide a brief overview of nonviolence or civil resistance research. I explain the origins and development of the field starting with its Gandhian roots, through the pragmatic Sharpian period, to the current state of empirical testing and development of nonviolence theories. I also summarize the field's main findings to date, particularly in the areas of campaign outcomes, long-term consequences of nonviolent r…
Nonviolent Resistance in the Arab Spring
In recent decades, we have seen an increase in “people power” movements that use civil resistance to challenge authoritarian regimes. From the 1986 ousting of Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos to the recent uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt, these movements have demonstrated that citizens are able to overturn long-standing dictatorships without violence. While these movements struggle for regime change, they are distinct from the “classic revolu…
Kill a Leader, Murder a Movement? Leadership and Assassination in Social Movements
All too frequently, governments kill social movement leaders in an attempt to halt challenges to state power. Sometimes such repression yields its intended effect; other times it produces a powerful backlash, strengthening mass commitment and bolstering protest. In this article, the authors propose hypotheses accounting for these divergent outcomes. Comparing El Salvador's liberation movement with Nigeria's Ogoni autonomy movement, they hypothesi…
Oppositional Consciousness Among the Privileged
Many movements are strengthened by the support of outside parties yet we know little about how members of privileged groups develop an insurgent mentality. In this article, I explain how some white, middle class North Americans developed oppositional consciousness that led them to resist U.S. policy toward Central America. I argue that solidarity organizers, many of whom were former missionaries, facilitated this cognitive shift within the free s…
School of the Americas Watch
How Social Movements Influence Public Opinion on Political Violence
We examine whether the George Floyd protests influenced public opinion on political violence. Drawing upon the 2016 and 2020 American National Election Studies, we find that most U.S. citizens do not support political violence, and those overall rates remained relatively unchanged. However, we found seismic demographic shifts in attitudes between the two samples. Using logistic regression, we find that strength of support for the Black Lives Matt…
Religion, Violence, and Peacemaking
The Process of Cognitive Liberation
Based upon qualitative interviews with thirty‐two Central American peace activists, this article elaborates the process of “cognitive liberation” through the application of frame analysis. In addition, I seek to explain the diffusion of this social‐psychological state from Central to North America. Attention is given to the role of the church as a common cultural link that functioned as a micro‐mobilizing context, which provided missionaries who …
Transnational Social Movements and Global Politics
This volume aims to generate a theoretically informed view of the relationships between an emerging global civil society - partly manifested in transnational social movements - and international political institutions, with case studies exploring the theories
School of the Americas Watch
What Kind of Democracy? What Kind of Market? Latin America in the Age of Neoliberalism
The Social Structure of Moral Outrage in Recruitment to the U.S. Central America Peace Movement
This chapter proposes that moral outrage was a logical emotional response to information about human rights abuses and atrocities in Central America. Structural factors were central in determining who had access to credible sources of information that formed the basis of this moral outrage. Yet this information did not lead to the same emotional reaction by all U.S. citizens. One's values and identity shape the way the information is perceived an…
The Church at the Grassroots in Latin America
Introduction: Politics and Popular Protest The Legacy of the Progressive Church in Latin America by W. E. Hewitt Religion, Political Preferences, and Protest Action in Central America: Nicaragua, El Salvador and Guatemala by Andrew J. Stein Labor and Land Issues The Progressive Catholic Church and the Refashioning of Hegemony in Mexico: An Illustration from Telecingo by Patricia Musante Progressive Catholicism and Left-Wing Party Politics in Braz…
The Quiet Hand of God
Convictions of the Soul
This book examines the Central American solidarity movement based on the cultural-agency approach. It also explores the challenges of organizing at the transnational level. People of faith were at the center of this movement, determined to change President Reagan’s foreign policy towards Nicaragua, El Salvador, and Guatemala. To achieve this goal, some petitioned Congress to stop aid to those responsible for human rights violations in the region.…
Persistent Resistance
Although we know much about social movement recruitment, very little research focuses on member retention over time. Using the Plowshares movement as a case study, this article addresses the question of how long-term activist commitment is cultivated and sustained in a high-risk movement. Based on participant observation, in-depth interviews and survey data, I conclude that this movement has survived because leaders formed communities that functi…
Religion, Violence, and Peacemaking
The Continuing Relevance of Coser’s Theory of Conflict
Kill a Leader, Murder a Movement? Leadership and Assassination in Social Movements
All too frequently, governments kill social movement leaders in an attempt to halt challenges to state power. Sometimes such repression yields its intended effect; other times it produces a powerful backlash, strengthening mass commitment and bolstering protest. In this article, the authors propose hypotheses accounting for these divergent outcomes. Comparing El Salvador's liberation movement with Nigeria's Ogoni autonomy movement, they hypothesi…
Oppositional Consciousness Among the Privileged
Many movements are strengthened by the support of outside parties yet we know little about how members of privileged groups develop an insurgent mentality. In this article, I explain how some white, middle class North Americans developed oppositional consciousness that led them to resist U.S. policy toward Central America. I argue that solidarity organizers, many of whom were former missionaries, facilitated this cognitive shift within the free s…
Religion and War Resistance in the Plowshares Movement
As the nuclear arms race exploded in the 1980s, a group of U.S. religious pacifists used radical nonviolence to intervene. Armed with hammers, they broke into military facilities to pound on missiles and pour blood on bombers, enacting the prophet Isaiah's vision: 'Nations shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks.' Calling themselves the Plowshares movement, these controversial activists received long prison sen…
Paul D. Almeida, Waves of Protest
Disruptive Action and the Prophetic Tradition
Disruptive Action and the Prophetic Tradition:War Resistance in the Plowshares Movement Sharon Erickson Nepstad Christian opposition to war is as old as Christianity itself. From Jesus' mandate to love one's enemies to the emergence of numerous faith-based pacifist organizations in the twentieth century, a longstanding tradition is evident. Yet religious methods of opposition have varied significantly over the centuries—from a personal refusal to…
Recommended Books
The Philippines’ “Bloodless Revolution”
Ferdinand Marcos ruled the Philippines for two decades, using his position to amass a personal fortune. When Benigno Aquino—Marcos’s key political rival—was assassinated in 1983, cross-class opposition to the regime erupted. Opposition protests drew international attention, and under mounting pressure, Marcos agreed to hold elections in 1986. Aquino’s widow, Cory, ran against Marcos; no one was surprised when Marcos rigged the election. Just as C…
Nonviolent RevolutionsCivil Resistance in the Late 20th Century
Nonviolent Resistance in the Arab Spring
In recent decades, we have seen an increase in “people power” movements that use civil resistance to challenge authoritarian regimes. From the 1986 ousting of Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos to the recent uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt, these movements have demonstrated that citizens are able to overturn long-standing dictatorships without violence. While these movements struggle for regime change, they are distinct from the “classic revolu…
Nonviolent Conflict And Civil Resistance
Mutiny and nonviolence in the Arab Spring
Recent studies of civil resistance indicate that security force defections can heavily influence the outcome of nonviolent uprisings against authoritarian regimes. Yet we know little about why, when, and how mutiny occurs. In this article, I ask: what factors influence the likelihood of military defections during a nonviolent conflict? In reviewing various literatures, I identify ten factors that facilitate or obstruct mutiny. I propose that two …
Nonviolent Resistance Research
To introduce this special issue, I provide a brief overview of nonviolence or civil resistance research. I explain the origins and development of the field starting with its Gandhian roots, through the pragmatic Sharpian period, to the current state of empirical testing and development of nonviolence theories. I also summarize the field's main findings to date, particularly in the areas of campaign outcomes, long-term consequences of nonviolent r…
Legitimation Battles, Backfire Dynamics, and Tactical Persistence in the NFL Anthem Protests, 2016–2017
We examine the 2016–2017 National Football League (NFL) kneeling protests that were performed during the pregame national anthem to draw attention to the problems of police brutality and violence against African Americans. Elaborating the concept of tactical neutralization, we delineate various strategies that opponents used to delegitimize this tactic and strip it of its power, thereby encouraging the athlete-protesters to desist. Drawing on onl…
Catholic Social Activism
Many Americans assume that the Catholic Church is inherently conservative, based on its stances on abortion, contraception, and divorce. Yet there is a longstanding tradition of progressive Catholic movements in the United States that have addressed a variety of issues from labor, war, immigration, and environmental protection, to human rights, women's rights, exploitive development practices, and bellicose foreign policies. These Catholic social…
Political science (27 works) · Law (23 works) · Sociology (21 works) · Politics (17 works) · Political economy (10 works) · Political Conflict and Governance (8 works) · Social movement (8 works) · Criminology (7 works) · History (7 works) · Law (7 works)