On the Minds of the Movement blog, Sonja Stojadinovic comments on the 2015-2016 nonviolent movements for freedom from corrupt government that have set the people and politics of North Macedonia on a new historical path.
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A natural response to suspected co-optation may be for activists to name and shame persons who were bought out, labeling them as traitors who cannot be trusted. Yet there might be a more shrewd way of handling co-optation: discreetly isolate, then disarm, then show them the exit. […]
Uno de los momentos menos favoritos en mi trabajo como gerente de emergencias en las protestas contra el oleoducto de Standing Rock en 2016-2017, fue contemplar el cierre de una cocina del campamento debido a conflictos culturales entre dos grupos tribales nativo americanos. La cocina del ‘Campamento California,’ inicialmente dirigida por una chef profesional de la tribu Kurok, servía hasta 400 comidas diarias en su apogeo. […]
Luego del período de conflictividad social y protestas de 2017, los venezolanos comenzaron a perder la esperanza. En mayo de 2017 el régimen de Nicolás Maduro convocó a la elección de una Asamblea Nacional Constituyente, mediante un proceso que la oposición y 40 países calificaron como un fraude. […]
A powerful pro-democracy civil insurrection in Sudan which has ousted a longstanding dictator and his successor is still in progress, but Sudanese are hopeful for a full democratic transition. This uprising challenges a number of prevailing myths many people have in the West regarding unarmed civil insurrections. […]
The record of civil resistance in Algeria so far is impressive: In just six weeks, the people have not only forced their long-term serving president to renounce pursuing a fifth term in office, but have also obtained his resignation before the end of his current mandate. Equally remarkable, Algerians have reclaimed ownership of public space to voice their political demands.
“One year ago, the Venezuelan people were disheartened and apathetic. Since then, we have built the foundations of a broad-based opposition to the regime—and one with a powerful, peaceful, and organized agenda for pushing for change. […]”
Last month, Kenyan media undermined a nonviolent movement against extrajudicial killings by propagating a harmful news story involving an activist. The media attack forced the movement to deal with humiliation, shame, and social polarization, instead of focusing on its struggle for justice. But the movement is now picking up the pieces and finding ways to bounce back from the attack. […]
December 28 marks the one-year anniversary of a new wave of civil resistance in Iran, that had been brewing in various towns and cities around the country since the 2009 Green Revolution. Corruption and economic hardship—although not entirely new problems—are the two main grievances that link the past year’s demonstrations […]
Without a strategic approach to countering disinformation warfare from abroad, activists are in danger of becoming “useful innocents”—unwitting assistants for external interests bent on sowing discord and undermining democratic practices and trust in democracy. As such, activists must be better prepared for the authoritarian onslaught, and An Activist’s Guide to Fighting Foreign Disinformation Warfare aims to serve just this purpose. […]
