ICNC is pleased to announce its fifth annual Monograph Awards call for proposals. The goals of the award are to support research and writing that:

• develops robust conceptual frameworks for understanding the nature, dynamics, power and impact of civil resistance movements;
• enhances the strategic use of civil resistance;
• produces relevant findings for our target readership: academics, activists and organizers, civil society professionals, the policy and developmental communities, and journalists.

In 2019, up to four awards of $5,000 each will be offered to prospective authors, or shared by co-authors, who have a background in the study and/or practice of civil resistance and excel in writing accessibly (for general and academic audiences). We encourage applications that focus on under-researched or under-published topics in the field of civil resistance.

Specifically, ICNC is interested in receiving monograph proposals that pertain to our priority research topics and other themes, of particular interest to our diverse target readership.

In addition to presenting ground-breaking analyses or findings, monographs are also expected to present general and specific recommendations relevant for our target readership.

ICNC Monograph drafts go through an external review process before they are accepted for publication. The reviews are conducted by experts in the field, including though not limited to the ICNC academic advisors.

Please make sure to read through all of the information below before submitting an application. Applications that do not meet ICNC’s requirements (outlined below) will not be considered for the the 2019 Monograph series.

The application window for ICNC’s 2019 Monograph Fellowship is now closed.

Educators, scholars, practitioners, and writers who have substantive knowledge of civil resistance literature, demonstrated writing ability, and relevant research or practical experience are encouraged to apply. We are open to various evidence of eligibility, including but not limited to:

• academic and non-academic publications (journal articles, chapter, books, manuals, journalistic pieces, blog posts) related to civil resistance;
• completed coursework on civil resistance;
• curricular and teaching experience related to civil resistance;
• activist-related manuals and experience training on civil resistance;
• recorded public lectures and public speaking on civil resistance;
• interviews on civil resistance given to online media that were published, recorded, or aired;
• multi-year experience as an activist and organizer of nonviolent campaigns.

We particularly welcome applications from promising young researchers, scholar-practitioners, and educators who view the opportunity to write a monograph as an important part of their in-depth reflection on civil resistance practice or scholarship.

In addition to furthering research, study and resources in the field of civil resistance, these awards have been developed to expand the ICNC network of collaboration. Therefore, preference is given to proposals from people whose research or writing ICNC has not supported in the past.

Published monographs must use the following format. Authors may want to review published ICNC monographs to familiarize with themselves with publication format.

Length & Style

• The length of the monograph should be between 15,000 and 17,000 words, or around 60-70 pages (double space, 12 pt. font size, Times New Roman).
• The author must use Chicago-Turabian style and in-text citations.
• We highly encourage authors to provide their own images (with permission), such as fieldwork photos, for inclusion in the monograph.
• ICNC Monographs are written with the non-specialist reader in mind. The quality of analytical and empirical analyses equal that of a serious academic publication, but the language and terminology used are not overly academic and are accessible to a broad-reaching general readership. Applicants must therefore avoid unnecessarily complex or overly scholarly jargon and demonstrate the ability to write clear, accessible, and vivid prose.

Content Format

Introduction: The introduction should specify the central issue or thesis to be addressed and state clearly the main questions to be answered. It should also explain the added-value of the study to existing literature.

Analysis: Analytical frames and concepts will ideally be supported by empirical examples, observations, narratives, historical or contemporary accounts provided by dissidents, organizers and activists, and cases of civil resistance. Authors should use qualitative or quantitative methodologies, or both, supported by practical examples of nonviolent resistance.

Relevance of Findings and Analysis: Based on the analysis presented, the monograph must provide an explanation of how its findings and analysis are relevant for general and specific readerships, and for movement practice in the field. In the conclusion, authors also include policy recommendations and key takeaways for different constituents (activists and organizers; international practitioners; policy makers; scholars) informed by the findings of their monographs.

Monograph Dissemination

After the completion of the final draft and graphic design, ICNC makes the monograph available on-demand via Amazon, where the readers can order a hard copy and/or e-book for a small fee that covers printing costs. The monograph PDF is also made available free of charge on the ICNC website. ICNC and the author will collaborate to strategically disseminate and promote the monograph.

As stipulated in the contract, the authors might be expected to present their monographs during a webinar and/or at an ICNC public event in the United States or in another country where appropriate as well as write a blogpost on the monograph’s subject for the ICNC Minds of the Movement blog.

Authors are expected to deliver their draft monographs within 6 to 9 months of receiving their award (once appropriate documents are signed by all parties). Authors should expect to collaborate regularly and closely with the ICNC Series Editor,  internal evaluators  and an in-house copy editor to ensure the quality of the final publication. Responsiveness to the editors and their requests is crucial to ensure smooth writing progression.

After the proposal is accepted ICNC signs an independent contractor’s agreement with an awardee. The contract usually stipulates the following submission process:

1. Submission of 5,000 words of any text pertaining to the accepted proposal;

2. Submission of 10,000 words of text that follows recommendations provided by ICNC on the first text submission;

3. Submission of the first full draft that incorporates and addresses ICNC suggestions and comments on the second text submission;

4. Submission of the second full draft that incorporates and addresses ICNC suggestions and comments on the first full draft;

5. Submission of the third revised full draft that incorporates and addresses ICNC suggestions and comments on the second full draft;

6. Once ICNC and the author are satisfied with the completed work, the monograph draft is submitted to at least two external, independent reviewers to determine the quality of the monograph, including whether further improvements are needed, and if so, what kind;

7. After the external reviews are submitted to ICNC we pass them onto the author. If the monograph is recommended for publication by both reviewers, ICNC asks the author to address reviewers’ suggested changes, if any. The author lets ICNC know which of the suggested changes were incorporated into the monograph and which ones were left out and why;

8. Once the revised monograph draft is submitted to ICNC we initiate copyediting and layout/graphic design, and continue working closely with the author during this process.

ICNC Priority Research Topics in Civil Resistance (2019-2020). The research will either be informed by a large N quantitative analysis and/or in-depth case studies and/or comparative analysis of nonviolent campaigns and movements.

Topics are not listed in order of priority.

• What is the impact of violent flanks on nonviolent movements, on the trajectory of nonviolent struggles, their effectiveness, eventual outcome and impact and how nonviolent movements can plan better to prevent violent groups from taking over
• Civil resistance to counter populism and nationalism at the age of democratic backsliding: civil resistance in falling and failing democracies
• Civil resistance strategies, including leverage and resilience of nonviolent mobilization and organizing at a time of re-emergent authoritarianism
• Nonviolent resistance strategies to reduce societal violence and/or marginalize violent radicals and other non-state actors (i.e. criminal groups; militias and paramilitaries engaged in civil war; extremist and terrorist groups)
• Assessing the impact of civil resistance knowledge and skills acquisition on civil resistance movements
• The role and impact of women in civil resistance movements
• Gender analysis of civil resistance
• Civil resistance strategies to fight climate change
• Psychological factors and the role of emotions in movement emergence and civil resistance
• The impact of civil resistance on defections from supporters of a movement’s opponent such as members of the business community, banks and finance, bureaucracy, religious organizations, members of the security forces, state-controlled media, and other pillars of support
• Strategies for civil resistance campaigns against abusive or unaccountable practices involving multinational corporations—where and how do movements and their allies target or pressure; what strategies, tactics, and framing are most effective; etc.
• Popular grassroots movements on the margins (landless peoples, unemployed, underprivileged) that demand inclusion, an end to discrimination, access to resources and better services in a nominal democracy
• Constructive resistance in the form of parallel institution-building, alternative services and networks and  the broader political, social and/or economic impacts of nonviolent movements
• Civil resistance and how it can contribute to peacebuilding
• The role and impact of a variety of external actors in civil resistance struggles
• Nonviolent national defense (sometimes referred to as civilian-based defense) in the area of foreign-led hybrid or disinformation warfare

Additional themes of interest:

• Study of intersectionality between broad based pro-democracy movements and non-traditional, under-represented movements and groups such as LGBT, or ethnic minorities
• Why some actors choose nonviolent resistance and others resort to violent means
• Assessment tools for movements—how do movements assess their current state and progress over time?
• How localized protests, and everyday resistance turn into national political movements
• Analysis of strategic approaches to sustaining movements and building resilience, despite fear and apathy
• The role and impact of civil resistance on people’s and states’ identities and/or aspirations
• Civil resistance and negotiations
• Different forms of leadership in civil resistance
• Civil resistance and international law—Are acts of civil resistance protected under international law? How civil resistance impact international law
• National or local surveys on the potential for, and effectiveness of, civil resistance methods in war-torn societies
• Review of studies across disciplines about the onset of civil resistance movements under repressive conditions using a civil resistance perspective
• Conceptual analysis and empirical study of formation of diverse social coalitions as part of civil resistance movements
• Civil resistance and the prevention of major atrocities
• The use and impact of new technologies in civil resistance struggles
• The role of constructive programs and alternative institution building in civil resistance
• Failure of civil resistance in crucial cases/campaigns: lessons learned
• Recovering historical cases of civil resistance struggles that are unknown or under-researched
• Comparative studies of recent civil resistance cases in a region or across regions, with emphasis on Latin America, sub-Saharan Africa, Asia and the Pacific region
• Studies of the situations in which civil resistance is justified and appropriate and situations in which it may be misused or used by repressive actors
• The role of nonviolent resistance strategies in international solidarity movements in support of nonviolent struggles
• The role and impact of civil resistance before, during, and after political transitions
• Why and how civil resistance movements maintain nonviolent discipline

To learn more about past Monograph Awardees as well as Published and Forthcoming Monographs, see the following links:

Published Monographs

When Civil Resistance Succeeds: Building Democracy After Popular Nonviolent Uprisings
By: Jonathan Pinckney
Date of publication: October 2018

Civil Resistance against Coups: A Comparative and Historical Perspective
By: Stephen Zunes
Date of publication: December 2017

People Power Movements and International Human Rights: Creating a Legal Framework
By: Elizabeth A. Wilson
Date of publication: July 2017

Making or Breaking Nonviolent Discipline in Civil Resistance Movements
By: Jonathan Pinckney
Date of publication: October 2016

The Tibetan Nonviolent Struggle: A Strategic and Historical Analysis
By: Tenzin Dorjee
Date of publication: September 2015

The Power of Staying Put: Nonviolent Resistance Against Armed Groups in Colombia
By: Juan Masullo
Date of publication: August 2015

Forthcoming Monographs

Revisiting the Methods of Nonviolent Action (tentative title)
By: Michael Beer, 2019

Prison Hunger Strikes as Civil Resistance: A Global Perspective on Political Resistance in Prisons (tentative title)
By: Malaka Shwaikh and Rebecca Ruth Gould, 2019

Interested applicants are asked to fill out the online application form and submit requested information, including a:

• tentative monograph title
• monograph proposal (1,000-1,200 words),
• draft table of contents,
• detailed CV, and
• at least one writing sample, preferably on some aspect of nonviolent civil resistance or social movements in general.

NOTE: In general, a monograph proposal should address at least one of the identified priority research topics or other themes in civil resistance that an author would be able to justify as warranting our interest.  Specifically, in your proposal identify the main research questions, possible answers (hypotheses), arguments and expected findings as well as explain the added value of your study to the scholarship and practice of civil resistance and/or its relevance for the outside actors whose work might benefit from an informed perspective on nonviolent movements and civil resistance.

Application Deadline and Next Steps
The deadline for proposal submissions has now passed.