OTPOR/CANVAS - Nonviolent Struggle: 50 Crucial Points

8/3/2019 OTPOR/CANVAS - Nonviolent Struggle: 50 Crucial Points

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NONVIOLENTSTRUGGLE

Center for Applie NonViolent Action an Strategies

CANVASCANVAS

CruCialPoints

50


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NONVIOLENT STRUGGLE

50 CRUCIAL POINTS


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NONVIOLENT STRUGGLE

50 CRUCIAL POINTS

A STRATEGIC APPROACh TO EVERydAy TACTICS

Centre for Applie NonViolent Action an Strategies (CANVAS)Belgrae 2006.

CANVASCANVAS

Srja Popovic Anrej Milivojevic Sloboan djinovic


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Tis publication was prepare pursuant to te UniteStates Institute of Peace (USIP) Grant USIP-123-04F,

April 1, 2005.

First publise in Serbia in 2006 b Srja Popovic,Anrej Milivojevic an Sloboan djinovicCoprigt 2006 b Srja Popovic, Anrej Milivojevican Sloboan djinovic

All rigts reserve.

The opinions, ndings, and conclusions or recommen-ations expresse in tis publication are tose of teauthor and do not necessarily reect the views of theUnite States Institute of Peace.

Grapic esign b Ana djorjevicComments by Robert L. Helvey and Hardy MerrimanPhoto on cover by Igor Jeremic

Printe b Cicero, Belgrae500 copies, rst edition, 2006.

Prouce an printe in Serbia

Introuction: how to rea tis book? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

I Before you Start . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Chapter 1. Introduction to Strategic Nonviolent Conict . . . . . . . . . 14

Capter 2. Te Nature, Moels an Sources of Political Power . . . . . . 24

Capter 3. Pillars of Support: how Power is Expresse . . . . . . . . . . 32

II Starting Out . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .38

Capter 4. Assessing Capabilities an Planning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42

Chapter 5. Planning Skills: The Plan Format . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50

Capter 6.Targeted Communication:

Message Development . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58Capter . Let te Worl Know your Message:

Performing Public Actions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66

III Running a Nonviolent Campaign . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Chapter 8. Building a Strategy: From Actions to Campaigns . . . . . . . 6

Chapter 9. Managing a Nonviolent Campaign: Material Resources . . . . 86Chapter 10. Managing a Nonviolent Campaign: Human Resources . . . . 94

Chapter 11. Managing a Nonviolent Campaign:

Time as a Universal Resource . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102

Chapter 12. Building the Real-Field Campaign

an te Inverse Planning Moel. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110

TABLE OF CONTENTS


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IV Working Uner Repression . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122

Capter 13. Working Uner Repression:

Morale and Communications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .124

Capter 14. Working Uner Repression:

Responing to te Opponent`s Sanctions . . . . . . . . . . 136

V Next Steps. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140

Capter 15. how to Use Tis Book:

Te ART Moel of Multilevel Knowlege Transfer . . . 142

Capter 16. how to Use Tis Book:

Online Learning an Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150

Annex:

I Metos of Nonviolent Action . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156II 10 Years of Nonviolent Conict in Serbia . . . . . . . .168

Bibliograp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180

Visual Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182

Man Tanks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .184

About te Autors. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .186

Crucial point1.

dONT FORGET:

TIP

CASE STUdy:

IMPORTANT:

QUESTIONS TOASK yOURSELF:

?

KEEP IN MIND!


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This book is a primer on applying strategic nonviolent action in real campaigns. Thetechniques outlined in the following 15 chapters have been used successfully in manyparts of the world. The British historian Eric Hobsawm described the twentiethcentury as the age of extremes because of the devastating wars waged in the lasthundred years and the inuence of extreme ideologies which were used to justifythe destruction of entire peoples, classes and faiths. At the same time, the spread ofdemocracy and economic prosperity has transformed much of humanity. Today, thepotential for ruinous conict persists - but so also does the opportunity for nonviolentalternatives.

Contained in the book are lessons learned from many long and difcult nonvio -lent struggles against nondemocratic regimes and other opponents of basic human

freedoms. The book is written for those activists who are already working or are con-sidering working on establishing freer and more open and equitable societies.

Fifty crucial points about strategic nonviolent action are presented in three thematicsections. The rst, Before You Start, provides you with a basic conceptual and ana-lytical framework. The second, Starting Out, teaches you the basic skills that suc-cessful practitioners of strategic nonviolent action have mastered, such as crafting amessage and planning public actions. The third section, Running the NonviolentCampaign, teaches you more advanced skills, such as managing a nonviolent cam-paign. Te fourt section, Working Uner Repression, offers guielines for ow too our work as safel as possible. Te last section suggests concrete was to upgraeour skills an knowlege.

Capters witin te sections are organize aroun answering ke questions: if ouunerstan te answer to a question, ou unerstan a crucial point about strategicnonviolent action. You can either read a specic question that interests you, or an en-tire chapter or section. To help you, each point is rst explained, and then illustrated

with an example, a case study, or a practical exercise that helps to develop your skills

and knowledge. Additionally, emphasize practical advice, important material appearsin a series of short tips, which can be easily remembered and applied.

The authors hope and believe that communicating crucial points in this way will helpou learn ow to operationalize strategic nonviolent action, so tat ou can win ourrights, overcome repression, resist occupation, achieve democracy or establish justicein your lands - thus making another age of extremes unlikely.

Introduction:How to read this book?


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IBEF

OREyOU

START

Coups tat, terrorist attacks, conventional warsor even the use of horrible weapons of mass de-struction are all was of struggling for politicalpower. In tis book, ou will learn about anoter

wa: strategic nonviolent struggle.

In order to conduct a nonviolent struggle, you rstnee to unerstan te nature of political power.developing tis knowlege is crucial, since oneof the main objectives of any struggle is either toobtain political power, or to deny it to somebody

else.

After you understand the models, nature and sourc -es of political power, ou will ten learn about teorganizations an institutions troug wic pow-

er is exercise, calle pillars of support.At te en of te section ou will iscover watlies at te eart of political power -obeience - anunerstan tat if people o not obe, te rulercannot rule!

Capter 1:Introduction to Strategic Nonviolent Conict

Capters outline questions:

W are we reaing tese pages?

Does power really come from the barrel of the gun?

Is tere a realistic alternative?

So, wo is rigt?

Capter 2:The Nature, Models and Sources of Political Power


Wat is political power?

how o we see political power?

Wat are real sources of power?

Capter 3:Pillars of Support: How Power is Epressed?


how is power expresse witin societ?

how oes tis power structure operate?

W o people obe?

Section Outline:

Before you Start


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IntroductionTo

StrategicNonviolentConflict

1


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Introduction To Strategic Nonviolent Conict Introduction To Strategic Nonviolent Conict

W are we reaing tese pages?

If we look at the nondemocratic parts ofte worl as a great battlegroun, we cansee two ver ifferent concepts for gainingpolitical power. Te two are in confron-

tation even as ou rea tese pages, anhave been through most of the twentiethcentury. The rst concept, the one usedmore frequently is captured by the say-ings of some of best know revolutionar-

ies. Chairman Mao, the leader of ChineseCommunist Party, said that politics is warwitout bloose, wile war is politicswit bloose. We are avocates of teabolition of war, we o not want war; butwar can onl be abolise troug war,

an in orer to get ri of te gun, it is nec-essar to take up te gun ( Mao Zeung,Quotations from Chairman Mao)

Te use of violence to attain an ten to

maintain and increase political power is theoperating principle of the rst model. Putsimply by Chairman Mao, political powergrows out of the barrel of a gun. Osamabin Laden makes the same point by insist-

ing that repression cannot be demolishedexcept in a hail of bullets. In this model,the competition for political power is not ac-complished through free and fair elections.Rater, as Josef Stalin sai, Te people wocast te votes ont ecie an election, te

people wo count te votes o.

Te oter approac for gaining politicalpower is te use of nonviolent struggle.

Violence, te great Argentine writer,Jorge Luis Borges observes, is te last ref-uge of te weak. Tese pages are eicat-e to tose wo see te secon approacas the embodiment of the kind of state

te wis to acieve.

Jorge Luis Borges

Does power really come from the barrel of a gun?

August 1990: Saddam Hussein of Iraq

orere te invasion of Kuwait. Was eexercising political power? Yes. He mo-bilize te power of te state towarspolitical objectives: Iraqi control overKuwaiti oil an territorial expansion

Spring 1999: te Serbia ictator, Slobo-dan Milosevic, attempted to address theproblem of Kosovo Albanians, whooverwhelmingly wanted independencefrom Serbia, using similar methods as

Saddam Hussein. Police and army unitsexpelle unres of tousans of et-nic Albanian from their homes.

September 11, 2001: Al-Qaeda applied

its monstrous model of attaining po-litical power. Nineteen suicie ijackerscrase airplanes into builings in New

york Cit an Wasington, dC, killingalmost 3,000 people.

All of these examples were attempts togain power using violent methods, and alleventuall inspire violent responses:

There are certainly many who think so. Let us remember a few recent examples werviolence was use to exercise political power:

January 17, 1991: An American-led coal

tion of over 30 countries began a mitary campaign to push Iraqi forces out oKuwait.

March 24, 1999:A NATO-led bombin

campaign began in Yugoslavia, leading tte witrawal of Serbian securit forcete return of Albanian refugees, but alsto civilian casualties.

October 7, 2001: American-led forces in

vae Afganistan

March 20, 2003 American-led forces, dspite domestic and international oppostion, invae Iraq.

1. 2.

Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic chooses

confrontation over accommodation with NATO

countries in 1999.


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Is tere a realistic alternative to violence?

India achieved independence from theBritish Empire in 1947 largely as a resultof a strategic nonviolent struggle tatstarte in 1916. As Moanas Ganimobilized the people, restoring their self-

respect and self-condence, he pres-sured the British government by leadingmass non-cooperation and establishedinstitutions outsie of Britis control,thereby undermining British dominance

bot in Inia an abroa.

Te abolition of apartei in Sout Afri-ca was the culmination of a decades-longstruggle marked in its decisive phase inthe 1980s by effective mass nonviolentaction. Nelson Mandela, the paramountleader of the struggle, was imprisoned

for most of this period. But the boy-cotts, strikes an protests use b isfollowers put so much pressure on theregime that it was eventually forced tonegotiate a new political system, which

guarantee equalit of rigts.

Contrary to the popular belief that power only comes from the barrel of a gun thereare numerous examples of the effective exercise of power without violence:

Nonviolent struggle was a major factorin te 1986 people power revolutiontat causes te collapse of te FerinanMarcos ictatorsip in te Pilippines.

Among their many actions, nonviolentresisters in this struggle protected Armyunits that withdrew their loyalty fromthe regime.

Te Soliarit organization in Polan

wage a successful, ecae-long nonviolent struggle tat brougt aboutthe 1989 collapse of communist partycontrol. Solidarity rst used strikes toestablis a free trae union, an ten

use unergroun actions tat furterchallenged and delegitimized the gov-ernment during martial law. Eventually,Polands communist president invitedSoliarit to negotiate an prepare for

free an fair elections.

In May 1992, people in Thailand removed

a military dictatorship through a nonvi-olent struggle tat feature uge strikesan protests. In earl 2006, a nonviolentmovement forced the resignation of the

Thai Prime Minister, who was widely be -lieve to be corrupt

3.


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More recently, nonviolent movementssuccessfully removed authoritarian re-

gimes or compelled foreign troops toleave te countr in:

Serbia in 2000

Georgia in 2003

Ukraine in 2004

Lebanon in 2005

Even today, there are numerous coun-tries where democratic movements

are opposing authoritarian regimesb using strategic nonviolent struggle.

Tese inclue::

Belarus

Burma

Iran

West Papua

Zimbabwe

There are many other struggles that have not received as much media attention,such as Azerbaijan and Papua New Guinea. There are also many struggles of

workers, peasants, an isenfrancise groups in bot evelope an evelop-ing countries ghting for rights, equality, freedom, and justice..

Hae you neer looked at things in this way?

Now is the time to start!

PUSh

So, wo is rigt?

The examples of violent conict alreadymentioned represent the most prominentrecent instances of reling on violence toacieve political goals. here is a partialscorecar:

On the other hand, in many countriewere nonviolent struggle was use uringte last ecae, te scorecar looks quitifferent:

1. SERBIA: From being the sourceof many problems in the Balkansregion, Serbia as gone a long watowards becoming democratic and

stable in the last ve years, and itslowly but surely moves closer tojoining te European Union.

2. GEORGIA: This has become acountr were political rigts ancivil liberties ave increase con-

sierabl an were electoral teftseems unlikely in the future.

3. UKRAINE: Wile political instabil-ity persists, this remains a country

were elections an te politicalprocess are used to settle conict,

an poisoning our opponentseems unlikely to be tried again.

This was proven in democratic elec-

tions in 2006.4. LEBANON: A countr known for

its long civil war an te presenceof tens of tousans of Srian

soliers nonviolentl pressure teSyrian government to withdraw itstroops.

1. KOSOVO: despite te presenceof tousans of UN peacekeep-er, this remains an unstable re-

gion. Continued drug and armssmuggling, violent confrontation

between political opponents anetnic strife are just a few of teunfortunate consequences of teuse of violence.

2. AFGhANISTAN: despite tepresence of tousans of NATO

troops, armed conict still con-tinues in many parts of the coun-try, while the most import exportcommodity, unfortunately, contin-ues to be eroine.

3. IRAQ: Over one unre tou-

san troops statione in Iraq avenot been able to prevent increas-

ing terrorist attacks an civil wartat ave cost tousans of Iraqiand American lives.

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If tese successes appear as faint praise,consider the empirical evidence offered ina 2005 Freedom House study by AdrianKaratnycky and Peter Ackerman, enti-tled How Freedom is Won: From CivicResistance to Durable Democracy. Thisstu foun tat in 50 of te 6 transi-tions democratic transitions in the past33 ears, nonviolent civic resistance wasa key factor. Furthermore, when op-position movements used nonviolent re-sistance, the transition was far more likelyto result in a freer, fairer societ, wereas

in contrast, when opposition movementsuse violence to acieve a transition, techances for sustainable democracy weregreatl reuce. Terefore, not onl isnonviolent struggle a realistic alternativeto using violence, experience as sownthat social changes won using methodsof nonviolent struggle an strategies canachieve more positive and longer lastingsolutions than violent methods do.

Violence means that non-partici-pants in the conict also suffer. Justthink about the collateral damagein the bombing of Serbia, Iraq

or Afganistan, an about all teestruction tpical in guerrilla ancivil wars. The social and econom-ic costs of violence, in sort, are

wiel sprea

Wile guerrillas an oters wo relon violence may have many hardskills (such as knowledge of mili-tar tactics, logistics, an planning),many lack the soft skills (such as

mass communications, compromise,an coalition-builing) neee in ademocratic society. In contrast, us-ing methods of strategic nonviolentstruggle increases among activists

te skills tat will be essential forworking in a democratic society.

Tese pages areeicateto tose ofou

wo believe in te nonviolentstruggle model, and especially to all of you

who are willing to dedicate your time and

energ to nonviolent struggle for abetter futureof your homelands.

Te Autors

Keep in mind the following lessons:

Even guerrillas need to make

the trains run on time!


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TheNature,ModelsandSourcesofPolitical Power

2


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Te Nature, Moels, an Sources of Political Power Te Nature, Moels, an Sources of Political Power

Te Nature, Moels, an Sources of Political PowerPolitical power is generally only perceived indirectly, through itsexternal forms, such as the state apparatus, the political system, orthe media, but the essence of political power remains hidden to themajority of ordinary observers. Understanding political power repre-sents one of the first necessary steps towards preparing a successfulnonviolent campaign. It is important to understand that politicalpower in society can be fluid and that the individuals who make upsociety constitute one of the key sources of political power.

Power is te abilit to pro-uce intene effects.

Bertran Russell

Wat is political power?Political power is the totality of means, inuences, and

pressures - incluing autorit, rewars, an sanctions -available to acieve te objectives of te power-oler,especially those of government, the state, and thosegroups in opposition.

Gene Sarp, The Politics of Nonviolent Action

In dening power, Dr. Gene Sharp follows the centralinsight about power made by the famous German so-ciologist Max Weber, namely that those with power areable to have an effect on others and on the environment

even wen tere is opposition to suc a course of action.Power based on social norms, such as rules that attachpunishments or rewards (sanctions) to social behaviour, iscalled authority. To be effective, power must be seen as

legitimate by most of those subject to authority.

hIGh AUThORITy LOW AUThORITy

hIGhPOWER

President in democracy Popular ictator

Plane ijacker Unpopular ictator

LOWPOWER

Nobel Prize winner Teacer

Cil People on state ai

ON

OFF

You cannot change society without having the political power needed to implement youreforms. Strategic nonviolent struggle is not only about ghting for ideals. It is a strugglfor political power in which the main goal is to make your vision come true.

how o we see political power?

Mainl, we see power as testate wants us to - as a mon-olit! So we believe power

is xed; and nothing cancange except te people

at te top. Wat te rulerdecides today becomes re-ality for people tomorrow.

you can cange te personat te top - tat is revolu-tion - but the model staysthe same: whoever gets tote top ens up controlling

te power in te societ.

But, te true nature opower is ver ifferent. Ia societ, power can cang

very swiftly. It can becomfragile an can be reistributed, especially in nondemocratic regimes and othehighly regimented organ

zations. Ultimately, powein society comes fromte peoples obeience An tose people - eacof whom is individualla small source of powe

- can change their mindand refuse to follow commands.

TIP

God does not give

political power,

people are providing it!

3.

5.

6.


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2. hUMANRESOURCES

3. SKILLS ANdKNOWLEGdE

4. MATERIALRESOURCES

5. SANCTIONS

6. INTANGIBLEFACTOR

1. AUThORITy


Wat are te real sources of political power?

The ability to issue a command and have people submit to it. Itsbuilt slowl an patientl, an is lost easil b engaging in poc-risy, reneging on promises, and not delivering positive outcomesfor societ.

Te strengt of te organization or ruler epens on teNUMBER of people wo labor for tat organization or ruler.

The more trained and knowledgeable the people (human re-sources) in an organization, the more efcient and capable they

become.

The money and other assets that can be used to increase othersources of power. Tese resources inclue tings suc as print-ing capacity, ofce space, hardware, access to logistics planningand communications technologies, and control of other scarceresources.

It is actually the fear of sanctions that make this an importantpillar. If an organization can preictabl punis a etractor ancause fear, ten it as power. If oters in societ perceive tepunishment as legitimate, it has even more power. In terms ofa nonviolent campaign, this aspect of power relates to the abilityof te organization to creibl, persistentl, an publicl sowhow the regime abuses basic human and civil rights. This creates

a punishment (sanction) that the nonviolent movement can useagainst a regimes use of illegitimate force.

Te group of pscological, traitional, cultural, religious ansometimes ideological factors (i.e. habits, attitudes, sense ofresponsibility ) that may induce people to obey and assist therulers. Those factors usually owe their existence to some com -bination of religion an culture, or conventions, suc as a trai-tion of obeying people in uniforms or representatives of thereligious establishment.

1. CASE STUdy: Te janitor

After te 9/11 terrorist attacks on te Unite

States, it was crucial for te countrs leaers tomake strategic decisions. Following procedures inthe case of a national security emergency, Presi-dent Bush was ying in his plane, Air Force One,and his administration was holding consultations

in an underground bunker somewhere near Wash-ington, d.C.Te faces were as eal serious as were te is-

sues before te countrs leaers, an ecisionstat woul ave worlwie effects were about to

be made

But imagine now that there was a collapse of theclimate system in this important place. It is impos-sible to hold even a trivial meeting in WashingtonD.C. in early September weather without air con-

ditioning, with all of the humidity and the heat.Te onl person wo as te skills an knowlegeto repair the climate system appears to be a jani-tora poorly educated, badly paid, middle-agedand VERY nervous man.

An individual who can decide to x the climatesystem can also REFUSE to do so.Now, who would be the most powerful man in theworld at that moment? Of course, if it were notan emergency, many people other than the janitor

could x the system. As the number of peoplewo coose to witol consent increases, so oesteir potential to exercise political power, an teeffect of their collective choice becomes greaterthan the sum of individual moral gestures.

TIP

Those who control thesources of power can con-

trol the exercise of power!

According to Gene Sharp, the main sources of political power in a society, on whichdecision-makers, institutions, organizations and movements rely, include these ele-ments:

.


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While analysing your society with the sources of power framework, also think aboutwat te inicators of power are in societ.

QUESTIONS TO ASK yOURSELF:

1. how o people in our societ see power?2. Do people believe that power may shift from one major

group to anoter (if not, w not)?3. What sources of power operate the most transparently in

our societ?

4. Are there sources of power still available for your move-

ment? What are they?5. Wat is te nature of our rulers autorit?

?

IMPORTANT:

dECISION-MAKING:

Those who make politi-cal, economic, or other

policies an ecisions

tat are seen in societ asimportant have power.

INFLUENCE:

Te powerful ave te

ability to inuence peo-ples points of view about

important issues.

REPUTATION:

Those whom we see as

powerful by denitionave power. Tis relates

to autorit (see earliersection Wat is PoliticalPower?)

Tese tree inicators of power overlap but are analticall useful:

Adopted from Robert Dahl, Modern Political Analysis


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3Pillars of Support:

How Power is Expressed


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Pillars of Support: how Power is ExpresseBy themselves, rulers cannot collect taxes, enforce repressive lawsand regulations, keep trains running on time, prepare national budg-ets, direct traffic, manage ports, print money, repair roads, keep mar-kets supplied with food, make steel, build rockets, train the policeand army, issue postage stamps or even milk a cow. People provide theseservices to the ruler though a variety of organizations and institu-tions. If people would stop providing these skills, the ruler could notrule.

Gene Sharp The Politics of Nonviolent Action

Power in societ is expresselargel troug institutionsan organizations. Most in-dividuals do not exert much

political power by them-selves, but institutions aremade of groups of peoplewo can be persuae tocange teir point of view

an witraw support col-lectivel.

Tese institutions, olingup te structures of power,are calle te Pillars of Sup-

port. If people witin tesepillars start to witrawteir support, ten te gov-ernment or other opponentwill begin to collapse.

PO L I CE

AND

MILITARY

BUREAUCRACY EDUCATIONAL

SYSTEM

ORGANIZED

RELIGION

M ED IA B US IN ES S/

COMMERCIAL

INSTITUTION

dictator

colonels

seargants

infantry

genera ls

majors

how is power expresse witin societ?

how oes tis power structure operate?

Within every single society various pillars of support can be identied. They can inclue: the police, military, and other coercive structures the judiciary and electoral commission, and other elite professionals

te civil service (bureaucrac) an oter specialists an tecnical experts the educational system and other structures that produce and control knowledge organize religion an oter traitionall respecte institutions the media and those who manage the provision of information to the public the business community and others who manage the nancial and economic sector

Each individual government is based on very few crucial pillars. Identifying crucial pillars and developing a multi-level strategy that weakens those pillars may make the difference between success an failure for our nonviolent struggle.

Obedience or acquiescence of individuals and, more specically, their willingness t

follow orders, keeps each pillar functional, even where a governments economic poweis based mainly on a single industry or resource such as oil. Even in these cases, thepyramid could not stand without thousands of individuals following orders. Thereforindividuals and the community as a whole have the power to withdraw their supporand not act in the way that the opponent wants them to.

TIP

The nonviolent campaigns

primary task: pulling individuals

out of the pillars of support!

Pillars of Support: how Power is ExpressePillars of Support: how Power is Expresse

8.

9.


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W is obeience regare

as te eart of politicalpower? The answer is sim-ple: if people o not obe,the decision-makers cannotimplement their decisions.

Strategies for nonviolentstruggle are base uponthis insight. Mechanismsand methods of nonvio-lent struggle, exercise

troug political actionsand campaigns, are exclu-

sivel targete towars tewitrawal of support tatpeople are proviing toour opponent.

TIP

Obedience is at the heart

of political power!

QUESTIONS TO ASK yOUR SELF:

1. What pillars of support for the current regime exist in mycountr?

2. What pillars are crucial for my opponents survival? What

pillars are crucial to my movements survival?3. Wat is te basis for loalt of people working in tese

crucial institutions an organisations?4. how can tese people be approace?5. What are the primary reasons that people obey the govern-

ment?

?

W o people obe?

Obedience is a crucial concept in strategic nonviolent struggles. There are several majorreasons why people obey their decision-makers. With an understanding of why peopleobey, a movement can more effectively promote collective disobedience to unjust laws.Also, unerstaning te reasons w people obe provies a powerful rebuttal to tebelief that obedience is simply natural.Human beings are not genetically predisposed towards obedience, but rather to living in

communities, in a society in which good reasons are available for voluntary compliancewith laws and conventions. But when compliance is forced and obedience is demandedby a government through threats and sanctions rather than by popular consent, obedi -

ence becomes less stable.

Militar parae, Ini1930.A classic exam-ple of an expression of

obedience staged in orde

to increase the public

authority of the colonia

regime

Pillars of Support: how Power is ExpressePillars of Support: how Power is Expresse

10.


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IIS

TARTING

OUT

Once ou unerstan te nature of political pow-er an te was in wic power is expressetroug institutions an organizations (we callte ke institutions an organizations pillars of

support)an tat obeience is at te eart ofpolitical power, you can move from strategic non-

violent theory to taking the rst practical steps to-wars appling tat teor.As in any serious operation, your most importantactivities will be related to assessment and planning.Planning is the rst and foremost requirement in

order to keep any major action, such as campaign,organized. Without proper planning, your cam-paign is just a series of guesses, an our successis based on luck. Every aspect of your campaignshould be planned before it is implemented, from

te overall strateg to funraising to g rassroots or-ganizing to media relations.One of the most important issues in your plan istargeted communication. Through targeted com-munication you may persuade people in your so-

ciet to cange teir point of view, pa attentionto your activities, and eventually, join your move-ment. This section also offers several useful toolsfor planning communication activities and publicactions.

Capter 4:Assessing Capailities and Planning


W o we assess capabilities?

Wat is SWOT analsis?

W o we nee a plan?

Main themes include:

Successful an unsuccessful struggles

Tree founational concepts of Strategic Nonviolent Action (SNVA):

1. Strategic analsis of strengts an weaknesses

2. Planning

3. Never focus on intentions, focus on capabilities

Capter 5:Planning Skills:

The Plan Format


What are the main questions in this struggle?

Wo will o wat, wen, ow, were an w?

How do we use the plan format?

The main themes include:

Importance of planning and the 10 minute pitch

Plan Format Template

Section Outline:

Starting Out


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Capter 6:Targeted Communication:

Message Deelopment


How do we plan communications?

Wat is our target auience?

What is our message?

How do we develop messages?

The main themes include:

Denition of targeted communication

Selection te target auiences

Denition of the message

Capter :Let The World Know Your Message:

Performing Pulic Actions

Wat is a public action?

how o we plan a public action?

How do we put our opponent in a dilemma?

Main themes include: Planning public actions

Dilemma actions and proting from them

IIS

TARTING

OUT


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Assessing Capabilities

and

Planning

4


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Assessing Capabilities an Planning Assessing Capabilities an Planning

Assessing Capabilities an PlanningPlanning is an essential first step in conducting a nonviolent strug-gle. The first step in making your plan a reality is to perform a detailedassessment of the capabilities both for your movement and your op-ponent, and then develop a plan for your campaign based on realisticparameters.

If you know your enemy, and know yourself, you will know the outcome of athousand battles. Sun Tzu, The Art of War

W o we nee to assess capabilities?

Sun Tzu, famous strategistof ancient China

Just as you dont jump into water before you check itstemperature, you dont launch nonviolent struggle beforeexamining the conditions on the ground. Assessing ca -pacities is a place where many newcomers to nonviolentstruggle make mistakes. Underestimating the opponent or

overestimating your own strengths makes a plan of actionunrealistic, an terefore its goals unattainable. One ofthe most important things is to distinguish between inten-tions an capabilities.

TIP

Never focus on intentions;

focus on capabilities!

EXAMPLE: distinguising between intentions an capabilities

Intentions Capabilities

I want a inner in a fanc restaurant. I only have enough money for a fast foodmeal.

We want to organize a mass demonstration. We ave onl a few ozen supporters.

Te opponent wants to arrest all of te op-position leaers.

The opponent has limited information on theopposition leaersip.

Think for a moment like a shopkeeper trying to decide what will sell in the store. Sh

woul ave to tink about at least two tings: First, wat o people bu in er sop, ansecond how much does it cost her to get those items? Similarly, we can gain insights bfocusing on the demand for public action by individuals and on the resources needed tsuppl tat action.

Assess both the opponents and your own capacities when thinking about the demanand supply for action. (Adopted from by Paul Heyne, The Economic Way of Thinking)

To estimate demand for a

nonviolent action, consider these

factors:

Individual benefts to eac participant:when the individual benet is perceived assmall, even though the benet to societycould be high, demand tends to be low(well return to tis point later!)

Aailale alternaties to participation: wen a person believes tat tere aremany substitutes to nonviolent action,

their demand for such an action againtens to be low

To approximate the ability to

generate nonviolent action, or its

supply, consider these factors:

Costs of organizing are iger wen tenumber of participants and people affectedis large

Geographic coerage of activists: even ifthe number of activists is large, if they areconcentrated (in cities, or regions) this lim-its the ability to generate some actions, likea national campaign

Resources include the time necessary to or-ganize and implement the action, as well asthe required human and material resource(well come back to this in Chapters 9-11)

11.


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With a good assessmentof capacities, wic takesinto account the benetsan costs to te opponentan to our organization of

taking specic actions, youcan move to the next level.SWOT analsis is a tool forassessing an organizationand its environment. It is

the rst stage of planningan elps organizations fo-cus on ke issues. SWOTstans for strengts, weak-nesses, opportunities, antreats. Strengts an weak-

nesses are internal factors.Opportunities an treatsare external factors.What makes SWOT analy-sis particularl powerful is

tat wit a little tougt, itcan elp ou uncover op-portunities of wic ouare well-place to take a-

vantage. An b uner-staning our weaknesses,you can manage and elimi-nate treats tat woul ot-erwise catc ou off guar.

Wat is SWOT analsis?

Strengts Wat avantages o ou

ave? Wat o ou o well? Wat relevant resources

o ou ave access to? Wat o oter people

see as our strengts?

Weakness What could you im-

prove? Wat o ou o bal? Wat soul ou avoi?

Opportunities Were are tere goo

opportunities facing ou? Wat are te interesting

trens ou are aware of? Are tere possible allies

in your environment?

Treats

Wat obstacles o ouface? Wat is our opponent

oing? Coul an of our

weaknesses seriouslthreaten your move-ment?

W o we nee a plan?

Planning is the foremost way a major ac-tivity, such as a campaign, can stay organ-ize. Section II, Running a NonviolentCampaign, deals with these issues in depth

an sows tat witout proper planning,your campaign is just a series of guesses,an our success is terefore te result ofchance. Every aspect of your campaignshould be planned before it is implemented,

from strategy to fund-raising to grassrootsmobilization to media coverage. There-fore it is necessary to develop multi-levelplanning for a nonviolent movement.

Tere are 5 rules in usingSWOT analsis:

1. Be realistic about testrengts an weakness-

es of our organization.

2. Analsis soul istin-guis between wereour organization is to-

a, an were it coulbe in te future.

3. Be specic. Avoid greyareas and ambiguity

wen possible.

4. Alwas analze in rela-

tion to our opponente.g. superior to or infe-

rior to our opponent.

5. Keep our SWOT sortand simple. After con-siering all te angles,

conense an carefullorganize our analsis.

Assess carefull an actstrategicall since re-

sources are limited forbot ou an our op-ponent.

IMPORTANT: CASE STUdy: OTPOR, Serbia2000. Levels of planning eveope after late 1999

After NATOs bombing of Serbiaan Montenegro in te spring of1999, the Milosevic regime triedto consoliate power an iscrei

all of its opponents as traitors anirelings of te countries tat participated in the bombing. Manypro-reform parties could not agreeto a stable an coerent politicaplatform. These factors helpedcreate te space for a non-partisan

movement to mobilize the publicOtpor lled this space very visibl in 2000, but tis coul onlbe one because of te planningone uring te fall of 1999.

12. 13.

Success consists of going from failure tofailure without loss of enthusiasm.Sir Winston Churchill


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Running a campaign is similar to running a business. In order to succeed, you must havanswers to two questions: First, were ou are going? an, secon, ow ou are going to get there? Your vision answers the rst, the Strategy answers the second. Durinthe heat of the campaign, you will be too busy to map out strategy and tacticsinsteadyou will rely on the plan you created to determine the next course of action. Of cours

because campaigns are always changing, your plan is a uid document. It will, howeveprovie a great founation for all of our efforts.

ALWAyS NEVER

perform realistic assessments focus on capabilities, rater tan inten-

tions

build support for your plan amongst

our supporters ecie on our objective(s) ecie on our targets to elp ou

acieve our objectives(s) be exible and adaptable

prot from opportunities learn from mistakes

underestimate the opponent overestimate your capacities assume resources are unlimited

Where? How?

1.Granstrateg

how we aregoing to wintis struggle?

Build-up movement until elec-tions

Launch three a level campaign-negative for opponent, positivefor te opposition, an get out tovote (GOTV)

Prepare for election frau borganizing a general strike an

nonviolent takeover of te gov-ernment with key allies

2.Strateg

Select temostimportantarenas

Mobilize youth, mass recruitment,all wit NGOs an te opposi-tion

Communicate with a symbol Sta on te offensive

3.Tactics

Pick battlesou can win

Low-cost but dramatic publicactions, street teatre, stuentstrikes

Boycott of ofcial media usedby the regime for propagandapurposes

The table below outlines key components of Otpors strategy and tactics; plans were developedfor each level, from the grand strategy down to the individual tactics.


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5Planning Skills:

The Plan Format


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Planning Skills: The Plan Format Planning Skills:The Plan Format

Planning Skills: The Plan FormatSince planning is the first and foremost step that your campaign, orany other major activity, needs to stay organized, you will need a briefand precise How to? instruction for every level of planningfromstrategic to tactical. It is well known from the field of business thatno product may be sold if you cannot persuade the potential buyerwithin 10 minutes that it is necessary for him or her to have it. Like-wise, it is crucial for nonviolent movements not only to keep theirvarious program and operational documents brief, but also to struc-ture them in a standardized format that ensures clarity as to purpose,

actions to be taken, and assigned responsibilities.

What are the main questions in this struggle?

What is the current environment in which your planned actions will take place?

Wat is to be one (planne activit/activities)?

how are ou going to acieve it (concept of operation)?

What tasks and assignment of responsibilities should be identied?

What information is essential regarding support and communications?

Wat is our opponent going to o to stop ou?

It should be written clearly, concisely, and using simple language.

Wo will o wat, wen, ow, were an w?

One quality that successful movementssare is goo organization of teir work.

Te ke to goo planning is attention toetails. For ever propose activit, it isnecessar to answer te question: Wo

will o Wat, Wen, how, Were anW?

There are two main benets of having aclear format for planning that is oriented

to tose wo soul execute te tasks:

Another important benet to the organiztion is tat a plan serves as a tool for inte

nal control, revealing te present capacties of te organization an wat nees tcange insie te organization to enanc

tese capacities.

How do we use the plan format?

The plan format should have ve sections,an eac section soul be as brief an as

clear as possible. Except for documentsthat describe a whole campaign, the sec-tions soul be about a paragrap longand t on two typed pages.

A template for a plan format document

appears below.

1. A clear plan will be unerstoo b ouactivists after the rst reading; and2. With the Plan Format Document, movement can increase the capability oevery single activist to spread the movements ideas within their own local community.

The plan format patternsupports ever level ofcampaign planning. It canbe use for bot particu-lar actions and a campaignwith multiple actions on

several fronts. It answersthe most important ques-tions tat a reaer nees toknow:

No product may be sold, if you

cannot persuade the potential buyer

within 10 minutes that it is neces-

sary for him or her to have it.

14.

15.

16.


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Planning Skills: The Plan Format

Plan format paragraph: Content:

I Situationdescribes relevant current activities of te opponentan te nonviolent opposition in te area in wic teplanne activities are to occur.

II Mission StatementConcisel an clearl state: Why the activity is important (e.g. in order to protest

media censorship) Howthe activity will be done (e.g. public demonstra-

tions)

When anwhere it will take place (e.g. noon in frontof state TV station) Who will owhat (e.g. stuents will rea inepen-

ently collected news on camera)

III Executiondescribes howanwhen the nonviolent campaign oraction will unfold from the beginning to the end. If you are running a full campaign, this section

identies all the phases, including preparation andintermediate objectives. Phases can be either time orevent oriente.

IV Administration and LogisticsIdenties what administrative and logistics supportwill be available an howto obtain it.

Outlines needed material and human resources(when anwho) for example, there may be funding,printed materials, lms, speakers and entertainersavailable to support GOTV events.

V CoorinationanCommunications

Explains proceures for: Who will coordinate between and among the groups

participating in the campaign and/or local activities,an wen tis will be one.

What is to be communicated. How that communication is to be accomplished.

This could include telephone numbers, email ad-resses, couriers, etc.

PLAN FORMAT TEMPLATE: You can think of the plan format as accle or a ring.

Te situation starts te ring, an leas todening the mission, which has goals anobjectives for eac goal. Execution oulines ow eac goal will be acieve anthis leads into administration and coordnation. Evaluation closes te ring, an is not part of the plan format, but it is thcomponent that links across different situations: from each plan we can learn somting valuable about our organization an

te opponent.

TIP

Insist that this format be

used when planning and

when briefing others!

TIP

First brainstorm and then

organize all information

relevant to your plan!

Evaluation of Activities

Planning Skills: The Plan Format


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Mission statement example:

The Committee to Promote Free and FairElections, in order to establish a democrat-ic government, initiates a nonviolent cam-paign on June the 1st 2006 to mobilize thepublic to:

Support and vote for democratic reformcandidates in the parliamentary elec-tions

Prevent frauulent actions at te polls

Establis a national strike committeeto impose nonviolent sanctions againstte opponent in te event tat electionfrau occurs

Prepare for the establishment of a newdemocratic government

CASE STUdy: Pasing te Ex-ecution Using a Plan Format: Plan-ning te Get Out To Vote (GOTV)campaign can be broken into threepases:

during Pase I (preparator pase):tasking the training element of theorganization to prepare a curriculumto train a care to conuct a Get Out

To Vote (GOTV) campaign in eachvoting istrict.

during Pase II (intermediate phase):GOTV training in eac voting istrict

will be conucte b te traine ca-res.

during Pase III (execution pase):traine activists provie irect assist-ance to get voters to te polls, per-form exit poll services, and report re-sults perioicall trougout te a,and announce nal election results at

midnight.

TIP

Break your plan

into phases!

Planning Skills: The Plan Format Planning Skills: The Plan Format

P L NA

OTPORs GOTV campaign for the

September 2000 presidential elections

consiste of tese tree pases. hav-

ing te infrastructure in place to launc

te preparator pase quickl prove e-

cisively important. Unlike most of the

pro-reform parties in Serbia, OTPOR in-

veste in te continual upgraing of te

skills of its volunteers (see Capter 14),

an a establise working relations

with domestic and international NGOs

tat coul provie valuable training an

expertise, suc as ow to conuct exit

polls and what the domestic and interna-

tional legal stanars were for fair voting.

A similar approach, but under less repres-

sive circumstances, proved successful in

the GOTV campaign in Slovakia, OK 98,

which mobilized enough citizens to get

Prime Minster Vladimir Meciar voted out.

In bot Georgia in 2003 an Ukraine in

2004, GOTV campaigns succeeded.

If a plan calls for a national bo-cott of regime media, but the or-ganization onl as activists in afew provinces, ten eiter te planhas to modied or the organiza-tion nees to evelop a plan forrecruiting supporters across tecountr.

The movement can bring realityin line wit te plan, or bring teplan in line wit realit.

dONT FORGET:


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MessageDevelopment

6

TargetedComm

unication:


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Targeted Communication: Message Development Targeted Communication: Message Development

Targeted Communication: Message DevelopmentThere is an Old English saying that goes: The pen is mightier thanthe sword. If those words were written today, they would probablycome out as The WORD is more powerful than armies. Targeted com-munication can attract people to your mission and, eventually, inspirethem to act for social change. Effective targeted communication re-quires four elements: target identification, a message, a messenger,and a feedback mechanism.

You must be the change you wish to see. Mahatma Gandhi

How do we plan communications?

Tus far we ave learneow power operatestroug pillars of support,ow to assess capabili-

ties of the movement andte opponent, an ow toevelop a plan of actionbased on that assessment(Capters 4 an 5). Making

a plan for communicationsis very similar to making aplan for a campaign or apublic action.

To achieve these goals, you need to decide who you want to impact (the target), whaneeds to be said (the message) and how to communicate things that need to be said (thmessenger). You also need to know what effect your message and messenger are pro

voking, so ou can ajust our actions accoringl (feeback).

1. TARGET

If we want to mobilize thepublic against repression,our communication with thepublic soul be carefull

planne an ver precisean targete. Te goals oftargeted communication in-clue:

ChANGING PUBLIC OPINION ABOUT AN ISSUE

ChANGING ThE hABITS ANd BEhAVIOUR OF ThEPUBLIC IN RELATION TO ThAT ISSUE

2. MESSAGE 3. MESSENGER 4. FEEDBAC

Wat is our target auience?

Experience shows that if a nonviolent movement communicates with four main targeauiences, ten it greatl increases te cances of gaining support for its goals.

GROUP MEMBERS INCLUdE: yOU WANT ThIS GROUP TO:

Membershipan supporters

People wo support our or-ganization eiter activel or pas-sivel

Be bold, motivated and ready to act Accept risks in pursuit of movemen

goals an objectives

Wier Auience A broad spectrum, ranging fromour opposition an its sup-porters, to stuent unions angroups who may share yourmovements values

Be receptive to your message so youcan attract as many individuals aspossible, incluing supporters ofour actual opponent

Potential Allies Te rest of te opposition, in-cluing ever single sociall ac-tive group that has similar values,

a similar commitment to thenonviolent approac, an annoticeable kin of infrastruc-ture

Become active allies in a wide coalition capable of reaching compromises and staying together until each

groups strategic goal is acieve

International

AuiencesInternational NGOs promot-ing human rights, foreign media,and other governments andbusiness community

Promote and support your mission Limit and sanction repressive actions

of our opponent

1. 18.


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Eac target auience as its own rules, an te iniviuals witin tese groups avetheir own specic opinions, interests, and wants. You should use these to attract indi-viduals to your movement, and also to appeal to the target audiences values, which aresocially dened ideas about what is good or desirable.

What is a message?

The National Democratic Institute, aninepenent organization linke to te

US Democratic Party, uses the followingdenition in its trainings: A message is a

limited body of truthful information, thatis consistentl convee b a caniate,party, or nonviolent movement in order toprovie te persuasive reason for an aui-

ence to coose, an act on bealf of tatcoice (davi Goo, Message develop-ment)

Messages must be based on veriable

facts because oterwise te lose creibil-ity! Your message states the facts as yousee them. At some point you may spinthose facts to create impressions that maynot naturall occur to te target auience.

For example, undue importance may begiven to an event or a stor to encouragete target auience to reac te esire

conclusions about an issue.

Your message should promote action or

soul conition people to respon to alater call for action. The message shouldrelate to your Mission Statement (seeCapter 5)

How do we develop a message?

Tis Is Te Face of SerbiaPoster in which the image of a beaten

Otpor activist showed the repressive side of the op-

ponent, the Milosevic regime.

Serbia, 2000.

For the purposes of message development you will once again refer to the SWOT anal

sis, rst introduced in Chapter 4; this assessment can serve as a useful starting point fomessage development.

STRENGTh:

We aboutOurselves

OPPORTUNITIES: We aboutThem

DemocratichonestPopularProgressive

dictatorialIllegitimateCorruptRutless

ThREATS:

Them aboutUs

WEAKNESS:

Te aboutThemselves

TraitorsWeakManipulative

Terrorists

PatrioticInvincibleResponsible

Guarians

This model helps us create the right message, an prepares us for te opponent

propagana attack, wic is increasingllikely as the movement becomes perceive

as a growing threat. The model works bhelping you create a frame for the messagelike for a building, the frame structures th

ieas convee b te actual wors in tmessages.

George Lakoff, a respecte cognitive linguist, shows how framing issues has

powerful inuence in political debatesWhen the opponent calls the movementraitorous, do not argue against that fram- negating a message actually reinforces as true by framing you as someone on thdefensive. Instead, change the frame an

introduce your frame of, for example, being patriotic, wic soul inclue value

tat are consiere positive in our societbut violate b our opponent.

EXAMPLE: SWOT Message Box:

Nonviolent Movementsvs.

Autoritarian Rulers

REMEMbER:

Facts do not speak for themselves, andonly obtain meaning when positionedinto context!

19.

20.


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Using te results of Message Box, create amessage by:

Outlining te ke values of our aui-ence: Facts are important, but they are

more likely to motivate people to sup-port the movement when you connectthem with peoples values.

Relating tese values to te Situation:

The Message follows from the Situationjust like te Mission oes in planning an

action. Te Situation can be ver spe-cic (arrest of activists) or broad (mediacensorship), but it must be well dened.

Generate the Message from the SWOTframes: Dene the opponents positionabout the Situation by using the framesdeveloped, and contrast it with the move-ments position.

Problem: Write in yourAnswer:

do we want tosend the same

message to differ-ent groups?Example: ruralfarmers

Example: students

Sample message forrural farmers :

Sample message forstuents:

Soul te stu-ents an ruralfarmers get thesame message leaf-lets, or tere arebetter messengersfor each of them?

Messenger for ruralfarmers:

Messenger forstuents:

Wat are te was

to obtain feebackabout our messag-es? (Governmentreactions, inter-national attention,growth of move-ment, etc).

Samplefeedacktools:

EXAMPLE: Right and wrong use of a messenger:

RIGhT WRONG

Using an Englis language internet site tocommunicate with international organiza-tions like Human Rights Watch and theUnite Nations.

Using the same website to communicatewit rural population witin our countrwo o not speak Englis an ave neverear about te internet.


Keep your message clear!

This Otpor sticker, made in early 2000, communi-

cated to the youth in a simple way what the goal of

the campaign wasfor Milosevic and his regime to

disappear, to fade away.

OTPOR Sticker, Serbia 2000.

Te Worl Wie Web a power-

ful tool for communicating with in-ternational audiences, but also with

parts of the domestic audience!

EXERCISE:

Message, Messenger an Feeback

Create appropriate answers in te rigt

column. Design a proper message, thenmessenger for different target groups.


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7LettheWorldKnowYourMessage:PerformingPub

licActions


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Let the World Know Your Message: Performing Public Actions Let the World Know Your Message: Performing Public Actions

Let te Worl Know your MessageTo let a wider audience know about your mission and hear your mes-sages, performing public actions and staging events have proven tobe effective tools in nonviolent struggles. Careful planning, organi-zation and conduct of public actions maximizes the benefits of theseactions and forces the opponent to respond, which in turn increasesthe visibility of the struggle and can increase the movements au-thority.

Wat is a public action?

Public actions, or events, are the rst toolsthat are picked among the vast arsenal ofmethods of nonviolent struggle for mostof the movements worldwide for threegoo reasons:

Individual public actions may be per-formed with limited time and humanresources

Public events may be organized even un-

er increase levels of repression, an inver narrow political space

They attract media attention, which al-

lows for a powerful, an virtuall freepossibility to present your message vis-uall to a large auience - one pictureposted in a visible place is worth moretan a tousan wors

how o we plan a public action?

Public events should be planned using the following study planner format, which

takes its name from a well-established tool used by teachers to prepare their studentsfor tough exams:

Rmid pricip , cirm im d plc

h

Prpr pr rl, d plic m

wih icrprig h lcd mg

Hld pr crc (i cr)

24 HouRs befoRe event

Prrm il riw h im chdl

cr mril

sd pr rl, iiig jrli h

Dlg pril k r pricip

event Day

Ghr pricip i hdqrr d

mi hm r h

e (xci)

sd pr rpr h h

jrli

afteR tHe event

Cll h pricip, giig hm rcgii

r pricipig h Prdc pr clippig mdi

crg

el cc h

stuDy PLanneR-PubLIC event

The detailed planning of public events should always incorporate exibility (in case of unexpected weather cond

tions, or certain actions by your opponent, for example) and your plan should be regularly updated.

Birta cake for Milosevic, Serbia 1999.Otpor activists offer President Milosevic a birthdaycake (20 August 1999). Each slice has a label witha major crime that he had committed.

10-15 Days befoRe PubLIC event

Pick i ccd h mm

mii

Dig ci, cr m d cc

hm h mg Dcid h im d plc h mximiz

iiili

Drw cldr d p i i h iil

plc

Cr dg

Prpr prid mril (i rqird)

C idr lgl rqirm.

(This does not mean that an illegal event will

never be conducted. As a rule, more planning will be

required for any action where arrests are possible. )

7 3 Days befoRe PubLIC event

M wih h pricip d, xpli k,

gr k

Diri prid ll d hr

prmil mril

Pl dild cri alz pi l pill, d pl r rpri

48 HouRs befoRe event

tk cr lgl p (irm plic, r

xmpl)

IMPORTANT:

Learning to plan, perform, and evalu-ate public actions effectively is a musthave for a movement!

21.

22.


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Let the World Know Your Message: Performing Public Actions

How can we put our opponent in a dilemma?

Dilemma actions place the opponent ina situation where any response made willresult in a negative outcome for the op-ponent. Nonviolent strategists attemptto create a lose-lose framework for the

opponent, and a win-win framework forthe movement.Dilemma actions can be tactical or strate-gic, and have three major components:

1) Creating or ientifing an issue tat is

meaningful to the public and around whichpeople will rally. The most effective issuesare usually related to government prohi-bitions or policies tat contraict wielel beliefs an values.

2) designing te Action: Use te StuPlanner format, making sure to assess ca-pacities of the movement and the oppo-nent (see Capter 4).

3) Performing an action and benetingfrom possible outcomes.

PRESENT GOVERNMENT

POLICy

dILEMMA ACTION WIdELy hELd BELIEFS

Censorsip Publis Buist literature People ave te rigt to realiterature

Gaterings are i llegal Gater in large groups for afuneral or a sports match

People ave te rigt tomourn and celebrate together

Curfews def te curfew in groups People ave te rigt to beoutside their homes at anytime

The government is left to respond: Donoting... or engage in sanctions. In

either case the government loses, be-cause doing nothing means allowing itspolicies an laws to be isobee, anreacting with sanctions means violat-ing what most of the population feels

are important beliefs and values. Itsimportant to note that many dilemma

actions can plant te sees of alterna-tive institutions an organizations runby the opposition or nonviolent move-ment, such as a publishing house. Iden-

tifing issues takes a little practice, butthe SWOT analysis and message box(Capters 4 an 6) ave bot proven tobe valuable ais in ientifing issues.

CASE STUdy: Ientifing an Is-sue: Gandhis Salt Campaign (Spring1930)

An example of an ingenious issuearound which a dilemma action wasdesigned was the Salt March cam-paign, launce b Moanas Gan-i uring te Inian inepenence

struggle against Britis colonial occu-pation. Making salt onl require teboiling of seawater an collecting ofte salt resiue. Te prouction ofsalt was controlle b te Britis an

was a source of tax revenue. Since allpeoplepoor and wealthy, men and

women, Hindu and Muslimneededsalt on a ail basis, proibitions onits production symbolically showed

te subjugation of all Inians. WenGandhi was able to get massive num-bers of Inians to go to te oceanand make salt in deance of the laws,the British were faced with a dilemmaabout ow to respon. If te Britis

occupiers arreste Gani an oter

salt lawbreakers, te woul look ri-diculous and make heroes out of theactivists. If Britis i not take action,they would not only lose the salt mo-

nopol an tax revenues, te woulalso lose autorit in te ees of temillions of people they ruled.

Gandhi marching to the sea, 1930.

Let the World Know Your Message: Performing Public Actions

EXERCISE:

Design a Dilemma Action:

The rst and most difcult step is toidentify the most pressing and imme-diate problems that people are facing

directly due to government policies.Then, in a column on the right side ofte page, write own te wiel elbeliefs an values of te people in ourcommunity, and not just those that you

sare wit our supporters.In the middle of the page, insert theDILEMMA ACTION column andplace te action wic ivies te peo-ple from the government policy. Drawa wege an write own te action.

?

23.


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IIIRUNNIN

GA

NONVIOLENTCAMPAIGN

Te exercise of political power toug ke pillars of support revealste strengts an weaknesses of ones opponent. A well-organizemovement has a clear message, a comprehensive understanding ofits capabilities, and a commitment to spread its message thoughpublic actions. But, how does a movement relying on nonviolentstruggle actuall use its strengts an te opponents weaknessesto win? Tis section answers tis question.

First, the tools from the previous section, Starting Out, are com-bined into a whole. Actions become a campaign. A campaign

is a strategicall planne an execute set of nonviolent actionsaimed at a targeted group. The actions, according to Gene Sharp,fall into tree broa categories, incluing protest an persuasion(i.e. marches, displaying symbols, vigils, etc.), noncooperation (i.e.a bocott of proucts, a strike, refusal to pa taxes, etc.), an inter-

vention (i.e. a sit-in, picketing, unger strikes, etc.). Ever publicaction should be a part of some larger effort, or campaign, andyour strategy should explain why specic types of actions are per-formed as building blocks of a campaign.

Next, the management of three strategic resources in campaignsis iscusse:

Material resources, like money, communications equipment, andofce space

Human resources, people involved in the campaign

Time spent by human resources utilizing material resources

Lastly, you will learn to use the inverse planning model to maximizethe effectiveness of your campaign. Taken together, this sectionshows the main requirements of going from individual actions toa comprehensive campaign of nonviolent struggle. Experienceshows that a special challenge often emerges during this phase- repression. Te following section, Working Uner Repression,describes how a movement can respond to its opponents use ofrepressive measures.

Capter 8:building a Strategy: From Actions to Campaigns


Wat is a strateg?

How do we create links between campaign strategies?

What are the main resources in all campaigns?


Strateg an levels of strateg

Strategic sequencing an tactical capacit builing

Three key resources: human resources, material resources, andtime

Capter 9:Managing a Noniolent Campaign (Part 1):

Material Resources


Why are material resources important?

What types of material resources might we need?

What are potential sources of material support?

Main themes include: Material resources and the importance of fundraising and security

culture

Assessment of needs for material resources

Four sources of material resources:

1. Supporters; 2. Potential Allies; 3. Business Community;

4. International Organizations.

Section Outline:

Running a Nonviolent Campaign


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Human Resources


Why are volunteers important?

W o people join groups?

how o we recruit new supporters?

How do we use and conserve new human resources?

Main themes include: Public versus private section action

Support pyramid: 1. Activists; 2. Volunteers; 3. Supporters;4. Future Supporters

Level upgrae as a strateg for preventing attrition ofvolunteers


Time as a Uniersal Resource


What is time?

What makes time unique in nonviolent struggle?

How do we utilize time in a campaign?

How do we write a campaign calendar?


Time pie chart

Inverse planning

Template for a campaign calendar

Capter 12:building the Real-Field Campaign and the Inerse Planning Model


How do we build the real-eld campaign?

How do we keep campaigns organized?

Why should the campaign plan be exible?


Key campaign functions:

1. Human Resources; 2. Analysis; 3. Communication; 4. Logistics Organizational esign

Campaign Plan Cycle Template:1. Strateg; 2. Situation; 3. Mission; 4. Execution; 5. Evaluation

IIIRUNNINGA

NONVIOLEN

TCAMPAIGN


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8BuildingaStrat

egy:

FromActionstoCampaigns


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Building a Strategy: From Actions to Campaigns

Building A Strategy: From Actions to CampaignsBuilding the right strategy, identifying campaigns, and choosing dif-ferent tactics have been crucial in determining the outcomes of allkinds of conflicts in history. Building and managing a nonviolentmovement or campaign are complementary, mutually reinforcing ac-tivities. The more you build your movement, the more you will need tounderstand the principles of how its key resources function.

Wat is a strateg?

A strateg is te conception of ow bestto act in orer to acieve objectives, givenlimited resources and conditions of un-certaint. Strateg is concerne wit eter-

mining whether, when or how to ght, andthen deciding how to achieve maximumeffectiveness in orer to gain certain ens.There are four levels of strategic manage-ment: grand strategy, strategy, tactics andspecic methods (See Chapter 4).

Level Gran Strateg(Mission)

Strateg Tactics SpecicMetos

Explanation how o we electour representa-tives?

What is the mosteffective wa toget to te futurestate given temovements lim-ite resources?

how are spe-cic objectivesdened by thestrateg acievegiven limitedresources ante opponentsactions?

Wat is te bestway to accomplishspecic tasks withavailable resourcesand time in thepresent environ-ment?

Example Free an fairelections

Monitor elec-tions to prevent

frau

Organize ine-pendent monitor-

ing uring tenext elections

Place monitorteams in all voting

precincts.

CASE STUdy:

In 1968, stuent protests occurre

across the world. Similarly, the Tianan-men Square protests in Beijing, Chinain 1989 starte at te universit as iprotests in Teran, Iran in 1999. Sincemany movements cluster around uni-

versities, a summary of how universityautorities suppresse te stuent un-rest of the 1960s remains quite useful

for nonviolent movements interestedin mobilizing student support (adopt-ed from Cornelius Lammers Tactics

an Strategies Aopte b UniversitAutorities).

Building a Strategy: From Actions to Campaigns

To me, the university is as im-

portant as any farmers coopera-tive.

June 1992, Slobodan Milosevic, presi-

dent of Serbia.

The grand strategy aims at achieving theoverall objectives of te struggle trougeffective mobilization of the strengths ofour supporters against our opponent.Strategies for individual campaigns guidehow particular conicts are to be waged

uring te struggle an witin te scopeof the grand strategy. Campaign strate-gies will nee to be linke an esigne toacieve an reinforce te objectives of tegran strateg.

STRATEGY

TACTICS

SPECIFIC METHODS

GRAND STRATEGY

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Building a Strategy: From Actions to Campaigns Building a Strategy: From Actions to Campaigns

Goals Eliminatestuentmovement

Calm movement Avoiemergence ofmovement

Cooperate witmovement

Strateg Repressive Concession Preventative Experimental

Tactics ght off bu off stan off join in

SpecicMetos

Preventive meas-ures

Cannel anmanage con-frontation

Alter conitionstat coul sparkemergence

Keep administra-tion exible

Pattern ofinteraction

wit stuents

Conict Negotiations Cooperation Competition

however beautiful te strateg, ou souloccasionall look at te results.Sir Winston Churchill

In te case of Beijing an Teran, te au-torities followe a repressive strateg. Inoter cases, like in te US an WesternEurope uring te 1960s, te autoritiessaw tat one strateg i not work, an

changed to another; in most cases a com-bination of strategies were use. Now tatou know te basic strategies evise buniversity administrations, you can useSWOT analsis (Capter 4) to position

your movement to take advantage of theuniversits tactical responses an targetecommunication (Chapter 6) to bring yourmessage to a wider audience.

How do we create links between campaign strategies?

Contrary to the impression you may get from watching the news, successful strategi

nonviolent movements and campaigns are not organized spontaneously: Black bus riers in Montgomery didnt just decide to boycott segregated buses, workers in Polanint just ecie to go on strike in August 1980, nor i tousans of protesters jusappear on te streets of Belgrae in 2000, Tbilisi in 2003 an Kiev in 2004. Bein eacof these stand concerted and meticulous planning. These successful campaigns show

two principles of strategic planning:

Te strategic selection an sequencing of

a variet of nonviolent tactics is essential.Tactics soul be irectl linke to inter-mediate goals which in turn ow from themovements or campaigns grand strategy.

There are over 198 documented types ofnonviolent tactics, an eac successfulmovement invents new ones. (See annex:Metos of Nonviolent Action)

Successful movements build up their c

pacit to recruit an train activists, gatematerial resources, and maintain a communications network an inepenent outletfor information, such as encrypted email

short-text messaging, an undergrounpress, an alternative web sites. Tis alsinvolves detailed campaign and tacticaplanning, and efcient time managemen

Time is perhaps the most important rsource in a struggle.

25.

1. STRATEGIC SEQUENCING OFTACTICS

2. TACTICAL CAPACITy BUILdING


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Building a Strategy: From Actions to Campaigns Building a Strategy: From Actions to Campaigns

CASE STUdy: Combating ElectionFrau in Serbia

In November 1996, pro-democratic par-ties in Serbia won local elections. Unwill-ing to surrener power, te Serbian ic-tator, Sloboan Milosevic, annulle teresults of local elections an announcenew ones. After three months of pro-tests took place across 50 cities, anunder pressure from the internationalcommunity, the Milosevic regime nallyaccepte te election results in te spring

of 1997. This strategic campaign by pro-reform parties to get the election resultsaccepted was implemented on severallevels:

1. Mobilizing te citizenr: Sporaicsmall-scale protests in several urbancentres soon sprea nationall antook place ever a.

2. Stuent protests: Tousans of stu-dents demanded during daily proteststat te votes of citizens soul berespecte.

3. Advertising campaigns: From leaf-lets, to posters, billboars, raio an

TV ads, the opposition informed thepublic about te elections an tesubsequent protests.

4. Campaigns of allies: NGOs and the

local independent media boycottedrepresentatives of the government,thus isolating government supporterstroug te use of social sanctions.

5. Campaign for mobilizing internation-al support: Tis resulte in te arrivalof representatives of an expert groupfrom the European Organization forSecurit an Cooperation.

What are the main resources in ALL campaigns andow are te relate?

There are three main groups of resourcesin all campaigns: Human resources consist of te peo-ple who support your movement or cam-

paign, and a major way that they do this isthrough their collective labour. Human re-sources are also crucial to obtaining masssupport for your movemenet. They alsobring your movement invaluable skills andknowlege.

Material resources inclue tangible as-sets such as money, supplies, communi-cations equipment, property, and modesof transportation. Needs assessment andplanning for the most effective allocation

of material resources will enable a move-ment to function operationally even undersevere repression.

Time itself is a nite resource. It mustbe carefull planne an use in orer togain maximum efciency from human and

material resources.

Ke resources are positivel epenenton eac oter

These three key resources (Human, Material, and Time) are interdependent. For example, the recruitment of new activists for a movement increases the possibility for accesto critical skills and material resources (1), but material resources are needed and used

during the process of recruiting and mobilizing new activists (2).Carefully planned time will enable a nonviolent movement or campaign to maximizthe effectiveness of both material (3) and human resources (4). however, tis also aits costs both in terms of engaging people (5) (working hours) and of the material rsources use (6) (from coffee for meetings to travel expenses, etc.).

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REMEMBER:

TIP

Time is valuable: it is a

finite and

non-renewable

resource.

Te Inverse (Backwar) Planning process- in wic ou plan an action b workingback from the end to the beginning in terms

of activities an ates - is a useful tool forminimizing the waste of this precious re-source as well as for insuring tat ke tasksare not overlooke (see Capter ).

Te growt of eac of tese ke resourc-

es has a positive impact on the other two.Similarly, a crisis in one resource adverselyaffects te oters as well.

Building a Strategy: From Actions to CampaignsBuilding a Strategy: From Actions to Campaigns

A strateg is a plan of ow ourgoals an our vision will be

acieve Tactics and specic methods must

follow from the strategy and bebased on a realistic assessment ofavailable resources

Three key resources are time, hu-

man resources and material re-sources

Meticulous planning and record keeping enabled the almost complete

reconstruction of the urban core of London consumed by blazes in the

September 1666 Great Fire of London.


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Managing a Nonviolent Campaign:

Material Resources

9


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Examples

Managing a Nonviolent Campaign: Material Resources Managing a Nonviolent Campaign: Material Resources

Managing a Nonviolent Campaign: Material ResourcesIt is said, and not without a good reason, that Money is the mothersmilk of politics. We should also remember that material resources areone of the primary sources of power within a society. In order to runa successful nonviolent campaign, you should know how much andwhich kinds of material resources are required to fulfill the grandstrategy, and discover ways to fundraise in order to keep your move-ment on a permanent offensive.

Material resources are important for twomajor reasons. First, in terms of the threemain resources (see also Chapters 10 and11), the material resource gap between theopponent and the movement is typically

the largest. The opponent has a competi-tive advantage over the movement that isvery difcult to overcome, since the op-ponent may have access to thousands ofbuilings, tens of tousans of veicles,print and electronic media, and even the

entire national buget at its isposal, aswell as access to valuable natural resourcesor foreign support. Second, in terms ofsecurity (see Chapters 14 and 15), mate-rial resources are among the most sensitive

areas of te organization. Te opponentwill go right after your fundraising and -nancial ofcers, and information about thefunds and how they are spent must be keptsecure at all times!

Why are material resources important?

It may seem surprising, but one of themost common similarities among success-ful nonviolent movements has been theirhigh fundraising potential, combined witheffective management of material resourc-

es.

What types of material resources might we need?

In order to conduct a successful campaign,various material resources need to be ob-taine.Material resources are neee for at leastfour inispensable functions:

SURVIVAL ANdMAINTAINING MORALE

Food, clothing, shelter, medical aid, funds for victims andout-of-work people

COMMUNICATIONS ANdTRANSPORT

Computers, mobile phones, transmitters, supplies, vehicles,gasoline, airplane tickets

FIXEd OPERATING COSTS

Ofce space Telephone, fax, copying machine, computers Postage (bot for newsletters an general

corresponence) Ofce supplies Coffee Ofcers expenses (these should be low!)

dIRECT NONVIOLENTACTIONS (CAMPAIGNS)

Flyers, brochures or other recruitment material Event room rental Refreshments at social events and work-parties Newsletters (printing, paper, postage, potograps) Meia releases (printing, paper) Posters Expenses related to hosting speakers (hotel, meal, promo -

tion) Rewars or incentives for workers Political action projects, suc as Stuent Union elections or

issue campaigns Travel an registration expenses for elegates to provincial

or federal conventions and seminars

TIP:Make needs assessments for

each upcoming activity!

Essential Function

TIP

Raise money early,

and raise it often!

2.

28.

WeeksMoneyRaise

d


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Managing a Nonviolent Campaign: Material Resources Managing a Nonviolent Campaign: Material Resources

you also nee to keep an ongoing inventor of available resources, prioritize te use ofthose resources in accordance with strategic plans, and maximize the effectiveness ofteir use.

What are potential sources of material support?

Nonviolent movements always face the

callenge of getting enoug support foracquiring essential material resources.Sometimes support can be entirely domes-tic, and other times the campaign or move-

ment also garners recognizable amountsof international assistance.

Domestic support generally comes fromlocal civil societ groups an non-govern-mental organizations, religious institutions,businesses, unions, an professional organ-

izations. Some youth groups have tappedanother age-old source - their families!

TIP

Make the most of each

opportunity to fundraise! POTENTIAL SOURCEOF MATERIALRESOURCES

MATERIAL RESOURC-ES ThEy MIGhT

SUPPLy

STANdARd METhOdS

Membership and support-ers, and their family andfriens

Food, clothing, medical aid,computers, mobile phones,

veicles

Mobilization of the mem-bership, charging member-sip fees

Potential allies (e.g. NGOs,political parties)

Telepone, fax, copingmachine, computers, ofcespace, postage

Participating in a broa co-alition in which the move-ment critically contributesto satisfying importantinterests of te allies

Local business community Flers, brocures or oterrecruitment material, post-ers, gasoline, medical aid,food, coffee, refreshment

Informational campaignsthat convince the com-munity that the nonviolentmovements goals will alsoserve teir interests (sinceentrepreneurs an busi-nesses pa attention to te

bottom line).

International organizations Various resources Networking wit inter-national actors troug

grant programs

As these groups are diverse, your representatives who approach them will be more effetive if te ave strong language, negotiation an grant-proposal writing skills.

Nonviolent movements can also seek assistance from the international community, sucas multilateral organizations, nongovernmental organizations, foundations, organiztions or aid agenc

Documents

OTPOR/CANVAS - Nonviolent Struggle: 50 Crucial Points