Peter Ackerman was born in New York City, New York. He received his undergraduate degree in political science from Colgate University. After graduating from Colgate, he attended the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University where he earned a Ph.D. in 1976 in International Relations. While at Tufts, he studied under Gene Sharp and Robert Pfaltzgraff. Ackerman's thesis, Strategic Aspects of Nonviolent Resistance Movements, examined the nonviolent strategy and tactics used by people who are living under oppression and have no viable military option to free themselves.
In 1983 Ackerman helped to fund the Albert Einstein Institution, founded by his former PhD supervisor Gene Sharp. AEI is a non-profit organization specializing in the study of the methods of nonviolent resistance in conflict (according to Bloomberg News, "advises pro-democracy activists on how to topple dictators via protests and mock elections").
In 1989 Ackerman consulted with student protesters from China following the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre. In 1990 he moved to London, where he was a visiting scholar at the International Institute for Strategic Studies. During this time he co-authored the book Strategic Nonviolent Conflict: The Dynamics of People Power in the Twentieth Century with Christopher Kruegler.

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