Minds of the Movement

An ICNC blog on the people and power of civil resistance

Ideas & Trends

Articles

Three Ways Faith and Spiritual Leaders are Shaping Movements Today

Throughout history, civil resistance movements in North America have included preachers, healers, spiritual leaders, and creative artists who have helped to rouse the public out of complacency while providing nourishment, inspiration, and consolation to those on the frontlines of the struggle. […]

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Ideas & Trends

“Fake News”: A New Weapon against Dissidents in Southeast Asia

In response to dwindling public trust in their officials and institutions, authoritarian governments in many Southeast Asian countries are exploiting “fake news” as a political tool against their critics. This growing trend can be understood as systematic attempts to undermine the men, women, and organizations behind these dissenting opinions […]

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Ideas & Trends

Cinco consejos para construir una organización de apoyo a los movimientos

He pasado la mayor parte de mi corta vida de adulto consolidando y liderando una organización cuyo objetivo es apoyar a los movimientos de resistencia. Desde 2012, Solidaridad Uganda ha pasado de ser un colectivo local de voluntarios en una comunidad campesina remota a una red internacional de apoyo a movimientos de resistencia de base en más de 70 países. […]

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Ideas & Trends

“The Way Between”: Principled Fiction at an Exciting Tempo

The Harry Potter bug never bit me. Glancing at the back cover of Rivera Sun’s The Way Between (Rising Sun Press Works, 2016) last month, my first thought was “I’m not sure this is my genre.” But I had noticed the novel making its way around my professional circles for some time, so I was curious to see for myself what the buzz was about. […]

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Ideas & Trends

Protest is Not Enough: Nonviolent Struggles against Corruption in Nigeria and Romania

Anti-corruption movements, campaigns, and civic initiatives have become a familiar phenomenon in civil resistance and reform-oriented uprisings in many countries, particularly in the Global South. But what specific tactics and broader approach can people utilize to turn an anti-corruption movement into real change?

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Ideas & Trends

How Online Courses on Civil Resistance Can Make Real Impact

With the growth of online courses on civil resistance comes the challenge of measuring and assessing their impact. To this end, ICNC developed and conducts different surveys to evaluate its online courses that may serve as a useful template to others. This blog post shares the instruments we use to measure the impact of online education and the real changes we can discern from this work.

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Ideas & Trends

Five Tips for Building an Organization that Supports Movements

Since 2012, Solidarity Uganda has grown from a local volunteer collective in a remote farming community to an international network supporting grassroots resistance movements in over 70 countries. I hope the below tips—derived from Solidarity Uganda’s victories and shortcomings—can assist those walking similar paths, and help progressive funders understand what to look for in movement-minded organizations. […]

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Ideas & Trends

“Revolutionizing” Revolution: A New Path for Political Change in Latin America

The term “Revolution” has ceased being associated uniquely with bloody revolts that generally end up with new dictatorships in power, and has become a synonym of truly mass movements with poetic names, capable of paving the road to lasting democracies. Latin America is not exempt from this reality, in spite of all stereotypes that try to restrict and disqualify the development of strategic nonviolent action on our continent. […]

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Ideas & Trends

How “Movement Halfway Houses” Can Increase Activist Learning

January 21 is a national holiday in the United States that honors Martin Luther King, Jr., who first came to prominence as a civil resistance leader during the Montgomery Bus Boycott. Yet, the boycott was not inspired by King. It was inspired by Rosa Parks, one of the Highlander Folk School’s best-known graduates […]

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Ideas & Trends

Small Grants, Big Commitment: Reflections on Support for Grassroots Activists and Organizers

An increasing number of human rights foundations focus on supporting “movements” and the “grassroots.”  Definitions of these terms may vary, as do approaches. Amidst this backdrop, I want to offer some reflections and lessons learned on this topic from ICNC’s work.  Consider this one of many reference points in the growing conversation. […]

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