What's on top?
It seems there's a gravity that pulls civil society groups toward centralisation. Groups that emerged from growing social movements can forget where they came from, lose touch with their base and lose power. Campaigning organisations do well to 'de-organise' periodically by doing away with structures and habits that just don't work, and returning to first principles.
It's been heartening to witness the attraction - in Australia, the U.S. and elsewhere - to the idea of decentralised campaigns and 'directed networks'. The excellent NetChange report, and other recent missives, have organisers thinking harder about strategies to build power. So too, Becky Bond and Zack Eckersley's excellent Rules for Revolutionaries has captured the attention of folks wanting to organise at a scale too few NGOs even image. And without control. This month's enews includes a review of their book by Amanda Tattersall, and an article by Joel Dignam that draws on the book's central ideas and arguments.
Knock Every Door, Indivisible, ProSocial and Organise at Scale demonstrate some of these ideas in action. What else is happening? We'd be pleased to include links that relate to network-based campaigns in next month's enews.
Enjoy this month's offering. And good luck out there!
