Speaking & Commentary

Erica Chenoweth is a sought-after speaker. Please contact the Leigh Bureau to inquire about rates and availability.

Erica Chenoweth provides public comment on nonviolent resistance, terrorism, counterterrorism, and international relations topics in general.

Online Magazines, Blogs, and Podcasts

• The Breakdown (co-host with Steve Levitsky)
• Political Violence @ a Glance (former co-editor with Barbara F. Walter, Joe Young, & Christian Davenport)
• The Monkey Cage (former occasional contributor)
• The Duck of Minerva (former occasional contributor)
• Rational Insurgent (former host)

Notable Podcast Appearances

• Prof G, with Scott Galloway (2026)
• We Can Do Hard Things, with Glennon Doyle, Abby Wambach, and Amanda Doyle (2025)
• Pod Save America, with Jon Favreau (2025)
• Paul Krugman (2025)
• Why Is This Happening? with Chris Hayes (2025)
• Clear and Vivid, with Alan Alda (2025)
• Hidden Brain, with Shankar Vendatam (2022)
• Planet Money, with Stacey Vanek Smith & Darian Woods (2019)

On Nonviolent Resistance

• Erica Chenoweth and Matthew Cebul, “Why Gen-Z is Rising,” Journal of Democracy, Vol. 37, No. 1 (January 2026), pp. 5–14.
• Erica Chenoweth, Soha Hammam, Jeremy Pressman, and Christopher Wiley Shay, “The Resistance Reaches into Trump Country,” Waging Nonviolence, October 16, 2025.
• Gretchen Goldman and Erica Chenoweth, “Scientists’ Role in Defending Democracy,” Science, August 14, 2025.
• Erica Chenoweth, Soha Hammam, Jeremy Pressman, and Christopher Wiley Shay, “New Data Shows No Kings Was One of the Largest Days of Protest in US History,” Waging Nonviolence, August 12, 2025.
• Erica Chenoweth, Soha Hammam, Jeremy Pressman, and Christopher Wiley Shay, “American Spring? How Nonviolent Protest in the US is Accelerating,” Waging Nonviolence, June 12, 2025.
• Erica Chenoweth, Soha Hammam, and Jeremy Pressman, “Resistance is Alive and Well in the US,” Waging Nonviolence, March 19, 2025.
• Erica Chenoweth, “The AI and Democracy Movements Workshop: A Postscript,” Ash Center for Democratic Innovation and Governance, March 3, 2025.
• Zoe Marks, Fatemeh Haghighatjoo, and Erica Chenoweth, “Iran’s Women on the Frontlines,” Foreign Affairs, October 31, 2022.
• Erica Chenoweth, “People Power,” The New Statesman, October 19, 2022.
• Erica Chenoweth and Zoe Marks, “Pro-Democracy Organizing in the United States: A Strategic Assessment and Recommendations,” HKS Faculty Working Paper Series, RWP-17 2022, October 12, 2022.

• Erica Chenoweth, “People Around the World Are Protesting the Russian Invasion. Will Their Protests Work?” Washington Post, Monkey Cage, March 14, 2022.
• Erica Chenoweth, “The Role of Activism in Protecting Civil Rights,” in Roe v. Wade Has Been Overturned. What Does That Mean for America? HKS Faculty Analysis, June 28, 2022.
• Erica Chenoweth and Zoe Marks, “The Patriarchs’ War on Women,” MS. Magazine, April 29, 2022.
• Erica Chenoweth, “People Around the World Are Protesting the Russian Invasion. Will Their Protests Work?” Washington Post, Monkey Cage, March 8, 2022.
• Erica Chenoweth, “On Prefiguration, Diversity of Tactics, and a New Anti-Militarism,” Forum on Chris Rossdale, Resisting militarism: Direct action and the politics of subversion (Edinburgh University Press, 2019) at The Disorder of Things, February 9, 2021.
• Erica Chenoweth, Tommy Leung, Nathan Perkins, Jeremy Pressman, and Jay Ulfelder, “The Trump Years Launched the Biggest Protest Movement in U.S. History. It’s Not Over,” Washington Post, Monkey Cage, February 8, 2021.
• Erica Chenoweth and Jeremy Pressman, “This Summer’s Black Lives Matter Protesters Were Overwhelmingly Peaceful, Our Research Finds,” The Washington Post, October 17, 2020.
• Lara Putnam, Jeremy Pressman, and Erica Chenoweth, “Black Lives Matter Beyond the Big Cities,” The Washington Post, July 8, 2020.
• Lara Putnam, Erica Chenoweth, and Jeremy Pressman, “The Floyd Protests are the Broadest in U.S. History–and Are Spreading to White, Small-Town America,” The Washington Post, June 6, 2020.
• Erica Chenoweth, Lara Putnam, Tommy Leung, Jeremy Pressman, and Nathan Perkins, “Media Coverage Has Blown Anti-Lockdown Protests Out of Proportion,” Vox, May 10, 2020.
• Erica Chenoweth, Austin Choi-Fitzpatrick, Jeremy Pressman, Felix Santos, and Jay Ulfelder, “The Global Pandemic Has Spawned New Forms of Activism—And They’re Flourishing,” The Guardian, April 20, 2020.
• Erica Chenoweth, Matthew Smith, and Salil Shetty, Reimagining Social Movements and Civil Resistance during the Global Pandemic,” Carr Center COVID-19 Discussion Series, Issue 4, April 17, 2020.
• Interview: Ezra Klein and Erica Chenoweth, “How to Topple Dictators and Transform Society,” The Ezra Klein Show, January 3, 2020.
• Erica Chenoweth and Maria J. Stephan, “Violence is a Dangerous Route for Protesters,” Foreign Policy, December 18, 2019.
• Erica Chenoweth, Sirianne Dahlum, Sooyeon Kang, Zoe Marks, Christopher Wiley Shay, and Tore Wig, “This May Be the Largest Wave of Nonviolent Movements in World History. What Comes Next?” Washington Post, November 16, 2019.
• Erica Chenoweth and Margherita Belgioioso, “The Physics of Dissent,” Nature Research, August 5, 2019.
• Erica Chenoweth, Tommy Leung, Nathan Perkins, and Jeremy Pressman, “The Anti-Trump ‘Lights for Liberty’ Events Might Be the Most Significant Protests You’ve Never Heard Of,” Washington Post, July 31, 2019.
• Erica Chenoweth, Tommy Leung, Nathan Perkins, and Jeremy Pressman, “Turnout at Last Weekend’s Impeachment Marches Was Modest. Why?” Washington Post, June 24, 2019.
• Zoe Marks, Erica Chenoweth, and Jide Okeke, “People Power Is Rising in Africa,” Foreign Affairs, April 25, 2019.
• Erica Chenoweth and Jeremy Pressman, “The 2019 Women’s March Was Bigger Than You Think,” Washington Post, February 1, 2019.
• Erica Chenoweth and Jeremy Pressman, “3 Ways to Look at August’s Protests – and 2 Charts Showing All Protests Since January 2017,” Washington Post, November 12, 2018.
• Erica Chenoweth and Jeremy Pressman, “In July, the Trump-era Wave of Protests Started Taking a Back Seat to Campaign Rallies,” Washington Post, October 19, 2018.
• Erica Chenoweth and Jeremy Pressman, “Millions of Protesters Turned Out in June – More Than in Any Month Since the Inauguration,” Washington Post, August 31, 2018.
• Kanisha Bond, Erica Chenoweth, and Jeremy Pressman, “Tens of Thousands of People Protested in April and May – On Topics Like Gun Violence, Labor Rights, and Science,” Washington Post, August 1, 2018.
• Jenna Arnold, Kanisha Bond, Erica Chenoweth, and Jeremy Pressman, “These Are the Four Largest Protests Since Trump Was Inaugurated,” Washington Post, May 31, 2018.
• Jonathan Pinckney and Erica Chenoweth, “New Data Offers Insights into Dynamics of Nonviolent Resistance,” Waging Nonviolence, May 12, 2018.
• Kanisha Bond, Erica Chenoweth, and Jeremy Pressman, “Did You Attend the March for Our Lives? Here’s What It Looked Like Nationwide,” Washington Post, April 13, 2018.
• Erica Chenoweth and Jeremy Pressman, “New Count of U.S. Protests Shows More than 300 Separate Rallies Against Gun Violence in Feb,” Washington Post, March 30, 2018.
• Erica Chenoweth and Jeremy Pressman, “January’s Women’s March Brought Out More Than a Million People – And Many More Protested During the Month,” Washington Post, February 26, 2018.
• Erica Chenoweth and Jeremy Pressman, “The Women’s March Could Change Politics Like the Tea Party Did,” The Guardian, January 31, 2018.
• Erica Chenoweth and Jeremy Pressman, “In December, Thousands of Americans Protested against the Tax Plan, for DACA, and About All the Other Usual Suspects,” Washington Post, January 25, 2018.
• Erica Chenoweth and Jeremy Pressman, “One Year After the Women’s March on Washington, People Are Still Protesting En Masse. A Lot. We’ve Counted,” Washington Post, January 21, 2018.
• Erica Chenoweth and Jeremy Pressman, “The Republican Tax Bill Spurred More Than 120 Public Protests in November,” Washington Post, December 29, 2017.
• Erica Chenoweth and Jeremy Pressman, “Trump’s Attacks on #TakeAKnee and DACA Spurred Hundreds of Protests in October,” Washington Post, December 1, 2017.
• Erica Chenoweth and Jeremy Pressman, “Sometimes a Handful of Protesters Can Spark an Enormous Discussion. That Certainly Happened in September,” Washington Post, November 1, 2017.
• Erica Chenoweth and Jeremy Pressman, “Last Month, 83% of U.S. Protests Were Against Trump,” Washington Post, September 28, 2017.
• Erica Chenoweth, “Scientists of the World, Unite!” Bulletin of Atomic Scientists, September 14, 2017.
• Erica Chenoweth, Emily Kalah Gade, and Jeremy Pressman, “Defending Obamacare, Cheering President Trump, Opposing Animal Cruelty: Here’s Who Rallied in July and Why,” Washington Post, August 21, 2017.
• Erica Chenoweth, Devin Finn, and Jeremy Pressman, “More People in the U.S. Protested in June than in Any Month Since the January Women’s Marches,” Washington Post, July 25, 2017.
• Erica Chenoweth, Erica Macdonald, and Jeremy Pressman, “In Trump’s America, Who’s Protesting and Why? Here’s Our May Report,” Washington Post, June 26, 2017.
• Erica Chenoweth, Evan Perkoski, Jeremy Pressman, and Ches Thurber, “New Data Shows a Sharp Increase in Protest Activity in April,” Washington Post, May 22, 2017.
• Erica Chenoweth, David Prater, Jeremy Pressman, Ches Thurber, and Stephen Zunes, “In Trump’s America, Who’s Protesting and Why? Here’s Our March Report,” Washington Post, April 24, 2017.
• Erica Chenoweth and Robert Wright, “Robert Wright & Erica Chenoweth,” The Wright Show, BloggingheadsTV, April 20, 2017.
• Erica Chenoweth, “Now is Not the Time to Despair,” Acting in Faith, American Friends Service Committee Blog, April 14, 2017.
• Erica Chenoweth, Jonathan Pinckney, Jeremy Pressman, and Stephen Zunes, “In Trump’s America, Who’s Protesting and Why? Here’s Our February Report,” Washington Post, April 5, 2017.
• Erica Chenoweth, “When Engaged Scholarship Means Resistance,” Political Violence @ a Glance, March 28, 2017.
• Erica Chenoweth, ” ‘What Can I Do?’ A Living Guide to #TheResistance in Denver & Beyond,” Rational Insurgent, February 26, 2017.
• Erica Chenoweth & Waleed Shahid, “How to Topple a Dictator,” The Nation, February 24, 2017.
• Erica Chenoweth, “Violence Will Only Hurt the Movement Against Trump,” The New Republic, February 7, 2017.
• Erica Chenoweth and Jeremy Pressman, “This is What We Learned by Counting the Women’s Marches,” Washington Post, February 7, 2017.
• Erica Chenoweth, “Worried about American Democracy? Study these Activist Techniques,” The Guardian, February 1, 2017 (commissioned).
• Jody Avirgan, Clare Malone, Nate Silver, Julia Azari, Harry Enten, and Erica Chenoweth, “The Beginning of the Trump Presidency,” 538 Politics Podcast, January 23, 2017.
• Erica Chenoweth, “People Are in the Streets Protesting Donald Trump. But When Does Protest Actually Work?” The Monkey Cage, The Washington Post, November 21, 2016.
  • Read this article in Chinese.
• Erica Chenoweth, “How Social Media Helps Dictators,” Foreign Policy, November 16, 2016 (commissioned).
• Erica Chenoweth, “Civil Resistance: Advancing Peace?” International Day of Peace Snapshot, Carnegie Corporation of New York, September 21, 2016 (commissioned).
• Erica Chenoweth, “The Rise of Nonviolent Resistance: Implications for Policy and Practice,” Peace Research Institute Oslo Policy Brief 19-2016, August 2016.
• “Why is Nonviolent Resistance on the Rise?” Diplomatic Courier, July 23, 2016 (commissioned).
• Erica Chenoweth, “From Occupy to Black Lives Matter: How Nonviolent Resistance is Shaping the 2016 Elections,” Vox, April 18, 2016 (commissioned).
• Erica Chenoweth and Hakim Young, “Seeing Flight as a Non-Violent Option,” Political Violence @ a Glance, January 26, 2016.
• Erica Chenoweth and Maria J. Stephan, “How the World is Proving Martin Luther King Right about Nonviolence,” The Monkey Cage, The Washington Post, January 18, 2016.
• Seyward Darby, Erica Chenoweth and David Scheffer, “What is the Breaking Point for Nonviolent Resistance?” Foreign Policy Podcasts, November 17, 2015.
• Interview on Peace Talks Radio, “The Effectiveness of Nonviolent Resistance,” KUNM Radio, November 2015.
• Steve Inskeep, Maria J. Stephan, and Erica Chenoweth, “Why Civil Resistance Movements Work,” Morning Edition, NPR, August 21, 2014.
• Erica Chenoweth, Maria J Stephan, and Lewis Perry, “Book Salon: Why Civil Resistance Works,” Firedoglake, August 8, 2014.
• Erica Chenoweth and Maria J. Stephan, “Drop Your Weapons: When and Why Civil Resistance Works,” Foreign Affairs, June 16, 2014.
• Erica Chenoweth and Stephen Zunes, “A Nonviolent Alternative for Ukraine,” Foreign Policy, May 28, 2014.
• Erica Chenoweth and Robert Farley, “The Illogic of Violent Resistance,” Bloggingheads.tv, November 27, 2013.
• Erica Chenoweth, “The Dissident’s Toolkit,” Foreign Policy, October 25, 2013.
• Erica Chenoweth, “Why Sit-Ins Succeed–Or Fail,” Foreign Affairs, August 11, 2013.
• Erica Chenoweth, “Changing Sides Doesn’t Always Make for Transformation – Just Look at Egypt,” OpenDemocracy, July 31, 2013.
• “The Success of Nonviolent Revolution: An Academic Minute with Erica Chenoweth,” Inside Higher Ed, November 6, 2012.
• Erica Chenoweth, “Why Civil Resistance Trumps Violent Uprisings,” CNN’s Global Public Square, September 19, 2012.
• Erica Chenoweth, “Creative Nonviolence Can Defeat Repression,” New York Times, August 20, 2012.
• Eric Stoner, “Participation is Everything – A Conversation with Erica Chenoweth,” Waging Nonviolence, July 14, 2012.
• Jenny Gustafsson, “Professor’s Work Shows People Power Trumps Violence,” Narco News, May 21, 2012.
• Octavia Manea, “Civil Resistance as a Form of Unconventional Warfare: An Interview with Professor Erica Chenoweth,” Small Wars Journal, March 21, 2012.
• Erica Chenoweth, “You Say You Want a Revolution?” University of Dayton Magazine, January 2012.
• Erica Chenoweth, “Revolutioner vokser sjældent ud af geværløb,” Information, November 18, 2011 (in Danish).
• Interview on Wisconsin Public Radio’s “Veronica Rueckart Show,” November 11, 2011.
• Erica Chenoweth, “Backfire in the Arab Spring,” Revolution and Political Transformation in the Middle East: Government Action and Response, Vol. II, Middle East Institute, September 16, 2011.
• Interview on KPFK/NPR’s “Background Briefing,” August 25, 2011.
• Erica Chenoweth, “Think Again: Nonviolent Resistance,” Foreign Policy, August 24, 2011.
  • “Think Again: Nonviolent Resistance” in Arabic.
• Interview on KBOO Portland’s “Voices from the Edge,” August 18, 2011.
• Erica Chenoweth and Maria J. Stephan, “Why Civil Resistance Works,” The Page 99 Test, August 17, 2011.
• Erica Chenoweth, “Nonviolent vs. Violent Revolutions: Studies Diverge,” The Boston Globe, August 7, 2011.
• Interview on “The Doug Noll Show,” August 4, 2011.
• Interview on “Free Talk Live,” July 26th, 2011.
• Erica Chenoweth, “People Power,” Sojourners, May 2011.
• Interview on NPR/KPFK’s “The Insighters,” March 27, 2011.
• Interview on BBC Radio’s The World Today, March 20, 2011 (begins at about the 43:20 mark).
• Erica Chenoweth, “Give Peaceful Resistance a Chance,” New York Times, March 10, 2011.
• Erica Chenoweth, “A Skeptic’s Guide to Nonviolent Resistance,” March 9, 2011.
• Erica Chenoweth, “Why Security Studies Should Take Nonviolent Resistance Seriously,” The Monkey Cage, March 1, 2011.

On Patriarchal Authoritarianism and Women in Nonviolent Resistance

• Zoe Marks, Fatemeh Haghighatjoo, and Erica Chenoweth, “Iran’s Women on the Frontlines,” Foreign Affairs, October 31, 2022.
• Interview: Daniel Kurtz-Phelan, Zoe Marks, and Erica Chenoweth, “Beyond Roe: The Mutually Reinforcing Nature of Misogyny and Autocracy,” The Foreign Affairs Interview, July 7, 2022.
• Zoe Marks and Erica Chenoweth, “The Patriarchs’ War on Women,” Ms. Magazine, April 29, 2022.
• Interview: Meghna Chakrabarti, Anna Wingenter, and Erica Chenoweth, “What Happens to Women’s Rights When Democracy Backslides?” On Point, NPR, April 26, 2022.
• Erica Chenoweth and Zoe Marks, “Revenge of the Patriarchs: Why Autocrats Fear Women,” Foreign Affairs, March/April 2022.
  • Selected as an Editor’s Pick for the Best of 2022 (Top 10).
• Erica Chenoweth, Conor Seyle, and Sahana Dharmapuri, “Women’s Participation and the Fate of Nonviolent Campaigns: A Report on the Women in Resistance (WiRe) Dataset,” One Earth Future Foundation Policy Brief, October 1, 2019.
• Marie Berry and Erica Chenoweth, “Training Women in Nonviolent Resistance is Crucial to Movement Success,” Waging Nonviolence, February 24, 2018.

On Terrorism, Insurgency, and Responses

• Christopher Blair, Erica Chenoweth, Michael C. Horowitz, Evan Perkoski, and Philip B.K. Potter, “The Death and Life of Terrorist Networks: How Alliances Help Militants Survive,” Foreign Affairs, October 5, 2020.
• Erica Chenoweth, “Under Threat: Do Terrorist Attacks Justify Giving Security Services Greater Powers?” GREECE IS – Democracy, a joint publication of Kathimerini and New York Times International (September 2016), pp. 132-137.
• Erica Chenoweth, “Evidence-Based Policy Meets the Politics of Terrorism,” Political Violence @ a Glance, September 6, 2016.
• Erica Chenoweth, “Yes, Mass Shootings Tend to Produce Copycats. So Do Terror Attacks,” The Monkey Cage, The Washington Post, December 4, 2015.
• Interview on Colorado Matters, “Assessing the Threat of ISIS Terrorism in Colorado,” Colorado Public Radio, November 25, 2015.
• Erica Chenoweth, “Is Bombing a Civilian Airliner a Game-Changer for the Islamic State?” Political Violence @ a Glance, November 10, 2015.
• Interview on World Have Your Say, “Is Real Power in the Hands of the Bombers?” BBC News, April 29, 2013.
• Erica Chenoweth, “The Good, the Bad, and the Promising: The State of Research on Counter-Terrorism,” Canadian Diversity, Vol. 9, No. 4 (Fall 2012).
• Erica Chenoweth and Laura Dugan, “Moving Beyond Deterrence,” Social Science Space, September 11, 2012.
• Erica Chenoweth, “Lots of Buzz about Drones,” The Monkey Cage, June 22, 2011.
• Erica Chenoweth, “The Satellite Dishes Finally Make Sense,” The Monkey Cage, May 7, 2011.
• Erica Chenoweth, “Why It Matters That Bin Laden Was Behind Recent Terrorist Plots,” The Monkey Cage, May 7, 2011
• Erica Chenoweth, “Al-Qaeda Bomb Plot Reveals Vulnerabilities,” Hartford Courant,November 2, 2010.
• Erica Chenoweth, “Odds Against Democracy in Iraq, Afghanistan,” Hartford Courant, November 18, 2008.
• Erica Chenoweth and Susan E. Clarke, “Homeland Security: How to Improve Interoperability for State and Local Responders.” A Memo to Homeland Security Officials. Cambridge, Mass.: Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, March 3, 2008.

On International Relations as a Field

• Erica Chenoweth,Kathleen Cunningham, Page Fortna, Sara Mitchell, Burcu Savun, and Jessica Weeks, “How to Get Tenure (If You’re a Woman),” Foreign Policy, April 21, 2016.
• Erica Chenoweth, “Who Are the ‘Authorities’ in International Relations Scholarship?” The Monkey Cage, July 13, 2011.
• Interview on NPR/KPFK’s “The Scholar’s Circle,” July 11, 2011 (begins at about the 29:00 mark).