3.5% rule

High school (ages 12+)
People & Society

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/3-5--rule

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is the quantitative threshold?3.5% of a national population engaged in nonviolent protest
2. What is the originator?Erica Chenoweth (2013)
3. Why does 3.5% of people make a big difference?Because that many people together can show the government that many people don’t agree with it, making it hard for the government to stay in power.
4. How does the 3.5% rule help people who want to be peaceful?It shows that peaceful protests can be very powerful, especially when many different kinds of people, like women and older people, join in.

Nonviolent Resistance: A strategy of political or social change that eschews the use of violence, relying instead on methods like civil disobedience and protest.
Authoritarianism: A form of government characterized by strong central power and limited political freedoms, often suppressing opposition.
Civil Society: The aggregate of non-governmental organizations and institutions that manifest interests and will of citizens, often acting as a mediating force between the state and the individual.