Imagine this scenario: A civil resistance campaign emerges in your country. You agree with the goals of the resistance, but you are not the one facing oppression. In fact, in many ways you are complicit in upholding the regime of oppression. What do you do? How can you help the resistance campaign? […]
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If the police came and took your computer, would they be able to read all your documents and gain access to your activist contacts? If you’re using the public WiFi in a coffee shop, can someone else read the email you’re writing to organize your next nonviolent action? […]
Since the US government launched the war on terror in 2001, Pakistan’s Pashtun population has been caught up in the crossfire between Taliban and state security forces. But through nonviolent collective action that eventually became known as the Pashtun Protection Movement, the Pashtun have recently seen some of their demands met and at least some of their suffering eased. And still, their struggle continues. […]
Facebook is a marvelous tool for civil resistance organizing, but it can also be a dangerous place for activists. Which social media tools to use and how are strategic decisions that activists must make. The purpose of this blog post is to help you assess risks of using Facebook and other social media tools in your activism.
Before April 23rd, it seemed impossible to stop Serzh Sargsyan, Armenia’s president of 10 years, from becoming a lifetime prime minister. But thanks to the pressure of continuous mass protests—first in the capital of Yerevan then throughout the country leading up to this historic date—Prime Minister Sargsyan resigned, after being in office for only six days.
In early May 2017, in a small bookstore in Caracas, people from all walks of life and ages gathered to talk about protesting the Venezuelan government’s kidnapping of human rights and democracy. Within days, the Civic Laboratory for Active Nonviolence was founded—a space for ordinary people to express their disapproval, not through violence and destruction but through creative, innovative, nonviolent civil resistance. […]
Since 1992, Ekta Parishad has organized marches totalling 20,000 km as part of our struggle to keep land rights for marginalized populations on the Indian government’s agenda. Why marches? Because they serve as constant headaches for the government while simultaneously strengthening solidarity and re-energizing people suffering from landlessness and homelessness. Every action is a step on the ladder toward a just society, where recognized inclusiveness brings change first within us and ultimately beyond us, in the society and nation.
“The place doesn’t matter. Nor the food, nor the rain. What matters is that we have made ourselves heard. The revolution doesn’t happen in 5-star hotels with buffets of food and it doesn’t happen in the springtime when everything is beautiful. It happens in the moments of crisis,” said 15-year old Alfredo Turqui about demonstrations in La Paz, Bolivia. […]
From humble beginnings three decades ago, Ekta Parishad (“unity forum” in Hindi), a pluralistic movement for defending rights of marginalized communities in India, has grown to become today one of the world’s most massive—and exemplary—nonviolent movements. Last fall, I met Ramesh Sharma, National Coordinator of Ekta Parishad, and came to realize the richness, depth, and intelligence of this movement. […]
In my previous blog post, I shared with you my personal journey to becoming a civil resistance trainer and outlined a few takeaways about effective training approaches. In this post, I expand on those takeaways, which I hope civil resistance trainers in other parts of the world can use to improve their work. […]
