The 3.5% Rule
Type: Concept
As of November 2026, The 3.5% Rule has been mentioned in one podcast episode on The Daily Show (Nov 2026). Erica Chenoweth recommended it: The 3.5% rule is basically the idea that no mass movements had failed ... — explained by Erica Chenoweth in the interview.
The 3.5% rule is a concept in political science that states that when 3.5% of the population of a country protest nonviolently against an authoritarian government, that government is likely to fall from power. The rule was formulated by Erica Chenoweth in 2013. It arose out of insights originally published by political scientist Mark Lichbach in 1995 in his book The Rebel's Dilemma: Economics, Cognition, and Society. Other scholars have criticized the dataset used to construct these findings for
| Mentioned in | 1 episode on 1 podcast (as of November 2026) |
|---|---|
| First heard | Nov 2026 on The Daily Show |
| Field | Political science / Social movements |
Who talks about The 3.5% Rule on podcasts?
The 3.5% Rule came up; the most recent mention was Nov 2026 on The Daily Show.
What is The 3.5% Rule mentioned alongside?
The 3.5% Rule is most often mentioned alongside No Kings, Michael Kosta and Erica Chenoweth.
Mentioned together: No Kings, Michael Kosta, Erica Chenoweth, Nonviolent resistance, Civil Resistance: What Everyone Needs to Know