Hardy Merriman is President of the International Center on Nonviolent Conflict (ICNC). He has worked in the field of civil resistance for over 15 years, presenting at workshops for activists and organizers around the world; speaking widely about civil resistance movements with academics, journalists, and members of international organizations; and developing resources for practitioners and scholars. His writings have been translated into numerous languages.
From 2016-2018 he was also an adjunct lecturer at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy (Tufts University).
Mr. Merriman has contributed to the books Is Authoritarianism Staging a Comeback? (2015) by Mathew Burrows and Maria Stephan (eds.), Civilian Jihad: Nonviolent Struggle, Democratization, and Governance in the Middle East (2010) by Maria Stephan (ed.), and Waging Nonviolent Struggle: 20th Century Practice and 21st Century Potential (2005) by Gene Sharp. He has also written about the role of nonviolent action in countering terrorism and co-authored A Guide to Effective Nonviolent Struggle, a training curriculum for activists. For a full publication list, click here. He has worked with the International Center on Nonviolent Conflict since 2005, and prior to that with the Albert Einstein Institution from 2002.
In addition to his international work with activists, Mr. Merriman was a Senior Advisor to the 2017 James Lawson Institute, and previously served as the Institute’s Director in 2013 and 2014, organizing two eight-day intensive programs for North American organizers and activists. His work with academics and members of civil society includes presenting at venues such as Cambridge University (UK), Central European University (Hungary), the Community of Democracies Secretariat (Poland), Georgetown University, Harvard University, the Latin American Faculty of Social Sciences (FLACSO) (Ecuador), Oberlin College, the Peace Research Institute of Oslo (PRIO), Stanford University, the United States Institute of Peace (USIP), University of Denver, University of Michigan, University of Sarajevo (Bosnia), University of Sydney (Australia), and many other venues. He is a graduate of Oberlin College.
Recent Blog Posts:
• “Small Grants, Big Commitment: Reflections on Support for Grassroots Activists and Organizers“, January 10, 2019
• “Supporting Civil Resistance Movements: Considerations for Human Rights Funders and Organizations“, September 11, 2018
• “A Movement-centered Support Model: Considerations for Human Rights Funders and Organizations, Part II”, May 21, 2018
• “A Movement-centered Support Model: Considerations for Human Rights Funders and Organizations, Part I“, April 30, 2018
• “Democracy Insurance“, September 7, 2017
• “A Field Whose Time has Come“, June 21, 2017