Gandhi’s Satyagraha: Exploring Non-Violent Alternatives for Effective Political Resistance and Transformation

Challenges confronting our contemporary world like terrorism, populism, and religious pluralism recommend revisiting Gandhi’s concept of satyagraha. Both this concept as well as his ecumenical opening for the religious plurality stem from his time in South Africa (1893-1914). Our project discusses Gandhi’s concept of satyagraha (practice of non-violent resistance), its historical development, its relevance for transformation in South Arica, and also its limits. A first part of the project reflects on satyagraha from the perspective of Girard’s mimetic anthropology focusing especially on mimetic rivalry as a main cause of human violence and addressing the religious roots of Gandhi’s concept. A second part of the project investigates Gandhi’s reading of the Hebrew Bible with a special focus on the Book of Daniel and its answers to persecution. A third part engages with Gandhi’s contribution to an interreligious theology. It will especially deal with Gandhi’s problematic understanding of Judaism addressing therefore relevant limits of satyagraha. Limits will also be addressed in the fourth part of this project that discusses satyagraha from a feminist perspective. It will focus on the role of gender and compare Gandhi’s non-violence with Winnie Mandela’s violent struggle.