Home

Erik van der Zanden is a peaceful revolution strategist, who lives in the historical city of Delft (Netherlands). He has devoted his life to fight for peace since he was 20. In the last 13 years during his many adventures in Africa and beyond, he discovered that negative peace is no peace, but a prison’s peace. To gain just peace, freedom is essential. 

Peaceful revolutions aim to return power back to the people without using violence. This approach is inspired by the ancient strategist Sun Tzu, who said that: “the acme of skill is to defeat the enemy without bloodshed.”

Erik van der Zanden speaks Dutch, English, Swahili (B1) and Bahasa Indonesia (A1). He holds a BA International Studies and MA African Studies from Leiden University, while he is currently pursuing his second Master at the Netherlands Defence Academy (NLDA). This is the prestigious Military Strategic Studies, where he is trained together with specialists and higher-rank officers in the art of (nonviolent) war.