The Boycott or the Bullet by Doug Mcgetchin

The Boycott or the Bullet by Doug Mcgetchin

The Boycott or the Bullet: A Global History of Debates over Nonviolence since 1850 examines debates within nonviolent movements, including labor movements in Europe, Gandhi’s Indian independence struggle, and Martin Luther King’s US civil rights campaigns.

Behind the scenes, nonviolent activists pressured those on their own side to maintain discipline and not to escalate to violence. Resolving these internal tensions is part of a wider worldwide dynamic debate between proponents of nonviolent direct action and those of violent revolt. This account reveals how nonviolent proponents have successfully managed to curtail advocates of violence, pursuing boycotts instead of bullets.

Doug McGetchin is Professor of History at Florida Atlantic University, USA, specializing in connections between Modern Germany and South Asia. His publications include Indology, Indomania, Orientalism: Ancient India’s Rebirth in Modern Germany (2009), Sanskrit and "Orientalism": Indology and Comparative Linguistics in Germany, 1750–1958 (with Park and SarDesai, 2004), Transcultural Encounters between Germany and India in the 19th and 20th Centuries: Kindred Spirits (with Cho and Kurlander, 2014), Gendered Encounters between Germany and Asia: Transnational Perspectives since 1800 (with Cho, 2016), and Modern Germany: A Global History (with Kurlander and Grewe, 2023). His grants include DAAD (Leipzig, Germany) and Fulbright-Nehru Senior Scholar Research (Kolkata, India). He was the FAU Peace Studies Program director, an interim director of the FAU Peace, Justice, and Human Rights (PJHR) Initiative, president of the Southeast World History Association (SEWHA), and a founding member of the Gandhi-King Global Initiative (GKGI) and the World House Project.