research
Social defence [book – free download]
Social defence is nonviolent community resistance to aggression and repression, as an alternative to military forces. Given the enormous damage caused by military systems, social defence is an alternative worth investigating and pursuing. Since the 1980s, Jørgen...
Facilitating an inclusive (indigenous, feminist) Q&A session
Replicating here a useful Twitter thread from @tuckeve 1/ Ever since I was in graduate school, I thought I hated giving public talks. But I soon realized it’s not the presentation, but the Q & A that can feel so awful. Academic audiences can be arrogant, hostile,...
The Upside of Conflict | new SSIR research
Intraorganizational conflict can arise from many different sources. A sudden shift in donor priorities can upend current programming. A change in politics or public policy can make an organization’s mission less relevant or viable. Potential negative publicity about...
Evaluating social movement power
Though social movements are not new, there is considerable confusion differentiating social movements from other types of social change and a lack of literacy about how movements build power to transform the status quo. Existing evaluation approaches provide critical...
Violence Will Only Hurt the Trump Resistance
Erica Chenowith writes: “black bloc tactics often hurt the causes that these activists claim to be fighting for. While violent flanks have sometimes produced short-term tactical advantages, they often come with painful long-term costs for movements seeking...
Civil resistance online library
The International Centre for Nonviolent Conflict aims to build the most accessible online library on civil resistance, with resources for activists, scholars, members of INGOs, journalists and the policy community. Whenever possible, we include links to download or...
NGO climate action strategies: A Ugandan case study
Kristen Lyons and Peter Westoby’s (2017) case study of NGO strategies to re-climate solutions. An analysis of selected NGO strategies in Uganda, based on the researchers’ long-term fieldwork and utilising Bill Moyers’ Movement Action Plan framework....
State of Evaluation 2016: Evaluation Capacity and Practice in the Nonprofit Sector
Recent findings (from 2016) about how nonprofits engage in evaluation, and the capacities and characteristics of their organizations. “Funding for evaluation is also moving in the right direction, with more nonprofits receiving funding for evaluation from at...
Making or Breaking Nonviolent Discipline in Civil Resistance Movements
How can we understand when nonviolent movements will stay nonviolent? When are they likely to break down into violence? In this monograph, Jonathan Pinckney analyzes both what promotes and undermines nonviolent discipline in civil resistance movements. Combining...
Why the environmental movement is not winning
This searing 2012 report says the environmental movement is not winning and lays the blame squarely on the failed policies of environmental funders. The movement hasn’t won any “significant policy changes at the federal level in the United States since the 1980s”...
Seeding Justice: Revenue-generating membership and fundraising canvasses for community organizing
While foundation funding plays a crucial role in enabling grassroots organizations to achieve their goals, it ebbs and flows and, in most cases, comes with mandates that reflect the priorities of foundation leaders. In the wake of the 2008 financial crisis, many...
Hahrie Han on how relationships improve mobilisation
I have shocking news for you: people are more likely to take action if a relationship exists. The are particular ideas associated with relational engagement, and using these ideas can improve mobilisation outcomes… “Responsiveness can take multiple forms,...
Learning from the ground up: Education for change
Aziz Choudry writes: “Social movements are not only significant sites of struggle for social and political change. They also represent important – albeit contested and contradictory- spaces of learning, knowledge production and research. Acknowledged or not,...
A theory of nonviolent action: How civil disobedience works
In A Theory of Nonviolent Action, Stellan Vinthagen draws on these examples as well as a rich collection of other historical social events that represent nonviolence movements that combined resistance and constructive change. With this groundbreaking book, Vinthagen...
Learning activism: The intellectual life of contemporary social movements
What do activists know? Learning Activism is designed to encourage a deeper engagement with the intellectual life of activists who organize for social, political, and ecological justice. Combining experiential knowledge from his own activism and a variety of social...
Journal of Resistance Studies
Issue 1 of Journal of Resistance Studies is out and it’s free! Following issues will be offered at a subscription rate. Make sure to spread the word and ask your local library to subscribe to the journal.
Gender and community organising
“The Alinsky model begins with “community organizing”-the public sphere battles between the haves and have-nots. The women-centered model begins with “organizing community”-building expanded private sphere relationships and empowering...
Digital activism and nonviolent conflict (research report)
Digital activism has a demonstrated, positive impact on drawing people to the streets to protest, especially when civil society groups use digital tools and changing government policy is the goal. If the objective is change in government or government policy, civil...