The most unsuccessful campaign, in my opinion

Out of the six campaigns discussed in "A Force More Powerful," the least successful campaign would be the Chilean campaign against General Augusto Pinochet. This campaign definitely went haywire and was a little off. Though extremist may exist in other campaigns as well, I feel like the extremists in this situation got a hold of the public and incited violence and the violent action that was brought against the other, peaceful opposition groups. Unlike the campaign held in Nashville, these members did not take the time to prepare. In fact, for their first campaign, they only took four days of preparation, allowing participants to learn by simply reading a paper telling them what to do and what not to do. This is probably why extremists got a foothold in Chile. The people were not prepared to take the brutality but not raise a hand in retaliation. The readings for class say that nonviolent resistance campaigns are defined as "an organized, purposeful action designed to use nonviolence to accomplish process, achievement and ultimate goals. They are usually organized on a geographic or issue oriented basis." Though the Chilean campaign had ultimate goals, the removal of the dictatorship, they lacked organization and lacked the ability to take minor steps to reach their larger goal.

The campaign would have been much more successful if they were better organized, choosing achievement goals that would slowly lead them to achieving their ultimate goal while maintaining the values of a nonviolent campaign. The campaign was focused on the ultimate goal, and while yes, this is an important step, it is not the only step in a nonviolent campaign. Those participating in the campaign should have been better prepared for the violence that would obviously be brought their way. They needed to understand better the philosophies of Gandhi and King before leaping into such a campaign.