Can John Hume’s campaign of civil disobedience challenge the political status quo and take violence off the streets of Northern Ireland? In Hume's opinion there was no military solution to the problems that beset Northern Irish society. Instead, we here see him promote passive resistance, including the instigation of a rent strike. He believed that through such protests the silent majority could make their voice heard. However some believe Hume is a man who pleads pacifism, but whose actions "keep the pot boiling".