In 2016, James Hansen, revered NASA Goddard Space Center climatologist and official who announced publicly in 1988, “Global warming has arrived,” stood next to me outside a North Dakota courtroom. The trial of Michael Foster, one of the five climate activists who became known as Valve Turners, was happening on the other side of the door. […]
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The Al Hrak al-Shababe movement gained traction largely thanks to its strategy of putting solidarity and unity first. In fact, the movement’s list of accomplishments—both concrete and abstract—is compelling. Alongside successfully thwarting the Prawer plan, the movement also re-examined its internal inequalities as a necessary step to resisting external discrimination and oppression. […]
“The last decade saw some very powerful movements—yet almost by definition their existence means that if many of us see a need for change, we have not yet succeeded in making that change central to our societies. What can we do, beyond more of the same? Part of the answer lies in what makes a movement a movement. Behind their visible, external aspect—protest, resistance, and other challenges to institutions and powerful actors, together with trying to change people’s minds—lies the work of organizing and self-education, building networks and coalitions, discussing who “we” are, and thinking about what we are doing and how we can do it better. […]”
El 2 de octubre de 2019 el presidente de Ecuador Lenin Moreno, mediante el decreto 883, anunció la eliminación de los subsidios a la gasolina y el diésel, lo que desencadenó 11 días de protestas. Las protestas terminaron el 13 de octubre con un acuerdo entre el Gobierno y el movimiento indígena – el principal grupo que se oponía a la medida – para derogarlo y reemplazarlo por otro elaborado en consulta con el movimiento. […]
Moving into 2020 calls for reflection on events and insights gained in recent years. Here are 20 key stories from Minds of the Movement—10 that were most-read by readers, and 10 picked by editors. We hope this helps you energize and refocus for “20-20” vision in the new decade of civil resistance work! […]
Last October, Ecuadorian president Lenin Moreno announced the removal of petrol and diesel subsidies, sparking 11 days of protests. The protests ended on October 13, following an agreement between the government and the indigenous movement—the main group opposing the move. A resolution was swift, but state repression and violence from both within the resistance movement and by outside actors left eight dead and over 1,300 injured. With such a heavy toll in such a short time, can the movement truly be considered a success? More importantly, what can be learned from this episode? […]
Today, December 26, is a day of remembrance in Iran, observed by a moment of silence for the approximately 1,500 estimated to have been killed in the government crackdown on protesters since late November. During this moment, people will stop wherever they are—in the street, on the sidewalk, at restaurants. Their standstill is a low-risk, hard-to-repress nonviolent method designed to send a clear signal of dissent and disapproval to the Rouhani government. […]
After Greta Thunberg, the social force that has drawn most attention to climate change in recent months is Extinction Rebellion (XR), a London-based environmental group committed to nonviolent civil resistance. In little more than a year, XR has seen its profile rise dramatically, owing in part to its disruptive tactics and use of art and theatre. […]
2019 is being called the year of protest. Citizens across the globe are galvanizing, in large part over the nexus of corruption, inequality, and a sense that governments and political elites are unaccountable and unresponsive to their needs. What comes next? How can people power be harnessed for the long haul? How can we move from the year of protest to a new decade of transformation? […]
This year, the global spotlight was briefly placed upon Sudan during its overthrow of Omar al-Bashir, and to a lesser extent, Algeria’s popular resistance to Abdelaziz Bouteflika whose 20-year rule has met its end. Yet 2019 has yielded at least nine other African political uprisings from which we can learn. […]
