The Commons Social Change Library Feed Items

Introduction

Two frameworks for assessing the different kinds of policy and political spaces activists can engage in or create to effect change. 

These frameworks are explained in Just Power: A Guide for Activists and Changemakers by JASS Just Associates. The excerpt below is from Chapter 6: Power and Strategy – Theme 5: Engaging and Resisting.

Engaging and Resisting

Policy and legal advocacy – focused on visible power – tend to dominate public perceptions about how change happens.

In many contexts, engaging with, reforming, and using the mechanisms of formal decision-making – whether through government, corporate, civil society, trade union, or religious structure (among many other examples) – remains a critical tool for influencing and changing power.

Policy and advocacy efforts may be strategic in specific moments or contexts, but not always.

Some movements choose not to get involved in formal lobbying or advocacy directed at governments and to focus instead on shifting power in other arenas, such as generating new narratives, investing in political education that challenges the dominant norms and beliefs of invisible power, building their own alternatives, creating autonomous communities – self-defined and self-governing groups – or resisting through protests, marches and occupations.

Introduction

Factors and questions to consider when shaping strategic choices in developing your campaign strategy. Factors are the trends, forces, and questions to consider in making strategic choices.

The choice and mix of strategies are shaped by many factors unique to every place, people, moment, set of issues and organisations. Careful (power) analysis of all of these determines the pathways for contesting and changing power. – Source

The factors below are from the JASS Power Guide. There is also a handout and an activity to explore as a group.

Introduction

If you are an organiser, a movement builder, a community leader, an ‘artivist’, a student, a social justice NGO worker, a philanthropist, or someone from any other part of the social change ecosystem – this Guide is for you!

This Guide, Just Power: A Guide for Activists and Changemakers, by JASS is based on decades of experience in and alongside movements, and is by and for change-makers of all kinds.

Based on two decades of movement accompaniment and strengthening, the Just Power Guide combines provocative thinking and concepts with tried and tested activities for groups. Several years in the making, this cutting edge Guide supports activists, organizations and movements to be strategic as they navigate increasingly hostile contexts. It provides movement allies and donors with conceptual frameworks and analysis to understand what movements are facing and what they need.

This Guide is intended for use by a wide range of people and groups. We believe that there are many roles to play in terms of creating change. We think about this in terms of an ecosystem, in which movements define and lead change and many others contribute and play important roles.

Introduction

This workbook, Love Notes to Our Social Justice Leaders: A Workbook to Support Your Reflective Leadership Practice, introduces key leadership concepts, reflective leadership questions, inspirational and thought-provoking quotes, as well as resources you can use to deepen your leadership practice.

This workbook was authored by Elsa A. Rios and Surei Quintana and sponsored by Strategies for Social Change. It is organized into seven chapters by topic, covering subjects such as:

• challenging the mythology of leadership
• practicing emotional intelligence, and
• leading in the context of racism and trauma.

Every chapter includes some foundational information on the topic as well as exercises to kickstart reflection, and quotes to spark inspiration.

Introduction

Transforming Narrative Waters: Growing the practice of deep narrative change in the UK provides background on narrative change practices as well as the opportunities and challenges for narrative work in the UK.

The report examines what it takes to design deep narrative change, how to design narrative interventions, and offers recommendations for building more successful narrative change projects in the UK.

While we might win occasional policy battles, these wins are constantly under attack and in danger of being reversed. We win some battles, but we are losing the war. One of the reasons for this is that we are often working against powerful narratives that are embedded in the overarching culture. Thus we also need to look beyond the policy sphere, as narratives are embedded in the larger culture and in institutions. They shape the way in which problems and priorities are identified; they limit the types of solutions that are viewed as acceptable and possible, and determine how certain types of people are categorized and treated. – Brett Davidson

Contents

Introduction 04
Defining deep narrative change 07
What it means to do deep narrative change 14
Current practice in the UK 19
Barriers to practice 32
Recommendations 42
Concluding thoughts 60
Sources 61

Introduction

During the early years of Narrative Initiative, we interviewed more than 100 thought leaders working on narrative change. This report captures some of what we learned.

In early February 2017, we set out on a listening tour of over 100 experts, innovators, and visionaries from a range of disciplines and communities working at the intersection of social justice and narrative change.

This report presents an overview of common challenges, hard-earned lessons, and urgent needs for the field, as well as insights into best practices. 

Foreward

The field of narrative change is both emerging and eternal. From mythology to marketing, the human impulse — no, necessity — to make sense of the world, to justify values and bolster beliefs, is innate and immutable. We build, inherit and rely on schematic shortcuts for our own cognitive comprehension and physical survival. We learn codes and internalize signals meant to protect us: which colors and sounds represent safety or danger, whose authority we trust or reject, whose lives and dreams matter.

Humans, as pattern-seeking social creatures, assemble collections of mutually-reinforcing stories, in turn establishing shared common sense and constructing stereotypes about people and places, communities and cultures, ideologies and institutions.

Introduction

Starting in 2016, Narrative Initiative began gathering up different ways people talk about narrative change, how it’s structured, and how it moves in the world. As our staff—a team experienced in capacity building, organizing, communications, philosophy and culture work—engage partners and practitioners, we’ve found it helpful to highlight existing terms in use and offer shared terminology where we identify gaps.

Narrative change is a practice that draws on many different disciplines. Some have well established standards, like the legal profession. Others, digital organizing for instance, rely on an evolving set of practices to get the job done.

We and many others are doing the work of “narrative change” every day and, depending on where we’re coming from, we talk about it in many, many different ways.

What is Narrative Change?

A narrative reflects a shared interpretation of how the world works. 

Narrative change, writes Brett Davidson, “rests on the premise that reality is socially constructed through narrative, and that in order to bring about change in the world we need to pay attention to the ways in which this takes place.”

Introduction

Here is a list of definitions of different organising models, including the snowflake model, strike circles, distributed network, Ganz model, etc. This list of definitions is from an academic paper published in 2025 in The Organizing Journal, which summarises the first known exploration of the community organising landscape across Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand. The list illustrates the combination and evolution of organising models and approaches mentioned by the survey respondents.

The academic paper was developed from a project by the Commons Social Change Library, Australian Conservation Foundation, and Australian Progress which aimed to fill a gap in understanding how advocacy groups organise in Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand.

Organising Models

Ganz Model

Marshall Ganz’s organizing model focuses on developing leadership through relationships, storytelling, and strategy.

It emphasizes the importance of building teams, creating shared purpose, and developing the capacity for strategic action. The model combines personal narrative (the “Story of Self”), collective identity (the “Story of Us”), and a vision for change (the “Story of Now”) to motivate and mobilize people for collective action (Ganz 2010).

Introduction

Campaigning

Introduction

These notes were compiled from a skillshare session in early 2025 as part of an afternoon of workshops in Musgrave Park, Kurilpa called ‘The Last Sunset’. This convergence of activists and community organisers was organised by volunteers through the Institute of Collaborative Race Research.

This article, originally published here, doesn’t cover how to make and sew together large banners (but you can easily find other resources online covering that).

Hanging a large protest banner or a flag from a bridge or monument is an effective and reasonably simple tactic to draw attention to a cause or show solidarity with a particular struggle.

Here are a few tips that might be useful for anyone planning an action like this…

Prepping your Banner

When hanging large banners (more than around 5m x 5m) off structures where they won’t have a solid wall behind them, it’s important to add some weights to the bottom and cut flaps/holes for the wind.

For a bigger banner – e.g. 10m x 15m – you usually only need 1 or 2 kilograms of weight in total along the bottom to stop it blowing in the wind too much.

Introduction

Understand how progressive organisations navigate the complexities of community organising in Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand.

This overview of an academic paper published in 2025 in The Organizing Journal summarises the first known exploration of the community organising landscape across Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand.

The academic paper was developed from a project by the Commons Social Change Library, Australian Conservation Foundation, and Australian Progress which aimed to fill a gap in understanding how advocacy groups organise in Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand.

The researchers invited 97 groups across the two countries that engage in community organising, and 24 of those group responses.

These were groups that mainly worked on

• climate change (44%),
• political issues like democratic rights and unions (29%),
• environmental concerns (21%), and
• social issues (4%).

By examining these survey responses, the research team uncovered patterns in how different groups structure their organising work and the common hurdles they face along the way.

Findings

One of the main findings is that these groups use a bespoke mix of community organising approaches. Most of them use mixed approaches that blend local, relationship-based organising with centralised professional support.

Introduction

It’s the question progressives are all asking: how can we grab the opportunity presented by the 2025 Australian Federal election to steer the public narrative – in the media, on the streets and online – in the direction of care and connectedness for people and nature? 

No matter what policies or campaigns we’re working on, our messages can influence the election outcome for good at this crucial time.

But there’s no doubt we’re up against it.

Organisations like Advance are prepared to spend millions to promote a very different story – one based on the neoliberal ideals of wealth accumulation, competition and social power for a selected ‘in-group’. Even a glance at the news from the USA shows we can’t dismiss their appeal to the voting public – especially when it’s all they’re hearing. 

So what the heck can we do? What must we do, if we want to gain traction for our ideas, our policy asks, and our own worldview? 

The good news is that plenty of very astute thinkers have been applying themselves to this very question.

Narrative Lessons

Here are some important narrative lessons for progressives in Australia in 2025.

Introduction

In the opening months of 2025 a wave of protest and resistance has rolled across the United States as people grapple with sustained attacks on the rights and livelihoods of those from all walks of life.

In raising their voices protesters have pushed back against the “shock and awe” approach of the federal government and its allies by showing that resistance is alive and possible. 

Amongst the many strategic questions raised by all this activity is that of where action can be most effectively carried out and how protests can move away from standard locations and predictable actions to wrongfoot opponents and garner greater public attention.

In their book, Re:Imagining Change: How to Use Story-Based Strategy to Win Campaigns, Build Movements, and Change the World Patrick Reinsborough and Doyle Canning discuss the importance of selecting and effectively targeting points of intervention, “specific places in a system where a targeted action can effectively interrupt the functioning of the system and open up opportunities for change.” 

Introduction

Training resources about campaign strategy for changemakers including workshop exercises, activities and templates to explore in a group setting. You can draw on these materials to put together training workshops and planning sessions. Remember to modify materials for your particular context.

This guides shares tools and activities which have been developed by many different trainers and strategists. Thank you to everyone who has made their work available for others to learn from. If you use materials please acknowledge the source and respect any licenses that apply.

This is a live list. If you have a resource to add please let us know.

Here are other training tools that may be of interest.

Introduction

Tools for activist training and strategy development, including campaign strategy, power, conflict, narrative and storytelling. Follow the links to find materials to put together your own training workshops and planning sessions.

Learning, reflecting on action and preparing for the future are key elements in any social change project.

These guides share tools and activities which have been developed by many different trainers and strategists. Thank you to everyone who has made their work available for others to learn from. If you use materials please acknowledge the source and respect any licenses that apply.

Remember to modify activities and session plans to fit your context, including:

• the time you have available
• the space you are meeting in, including whether it is in person or online
• the purpose of your training or planning
• the access needs and skill levels of your participants
• stories and case studies that are relatable to your audience or your own experience
• your style and comfort level as a trainer or facilitator

The Commons will continue to gather training materials to support social change trainers and facilitators. If you have resources to add please contact us.

Introduction

This article, Narrative Power in Crisis: How to Narrate Towards Action by the Narrative Initiative, presents five guides to use when narrating through a crisis. This article was written in the context of Trump becoming president of America in Jan 2025, but is applicable to be used in any crisis situation.

How to Narrate Towards Action

A key element of the Trump administration’s strategy is to convince the public that the MAGA movement is unstoppable. They will broadcast the message that “No one can beat us” with each advance, whether the arena is legal, journalistic, educational or civic. They will be doing this on multiple issues simultaneously, hoping to send community, labor and cultural groups into panic mode. When everyday people, without whom mass movement is impossible, absorb the idea that something is unstoppable, they lose the political will to organize and act. We can narrate in a way that inspires action, rather than contributes to its depression.

Introduction

Protest is powerful! This guide connects you with resources about the impact of protest, how to organise protests, making protest strategic, and protecting the rights and safety of protesters.

I am no longer accepting the things I cannot change. I am changing the things I cannot accept. – Angela Davis

Before you jump in we’d like to remind you that protest can take many forms. Gene Sharp defined 198 Methods of Noviolent Action and there are many more. All kinds of people engage in protest, for all sorts of reasons. Protests can channel outrage and anger as well as grief, compassion, solidarity, humour and more.

Protests are important for the messages they send to powerholders, but also for the connections between the people taking action. Feeling part of something bigger than ourselves, instead of being isolated individuals, can be empowering and life changing.

Introduction

The Health Equity Narrative Lab is a groundbreaking initiative designed to transform public perception of the need for health equity.

These guides provide storytelling and powerbuilding strategies to expand the choir and base of people supporting health equity.

About

Initiated by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and led by the BLIS Collective, in coordination with Story Strategy Group, the Lab developed an innovative narrative tool designed to help organizations, advocates, and funders inspire action to shift cultural perceptions around health in the United States. At the heart of this work is the Health Equity Narrative House, a comprehensive schematic that guides storytelling and powerbuilding strategies.

The Health Equity Narrative House

The purpose of the Narrative House is to provide an understanding of the narratives we need to disrupt, amplify, create, and organize around in order to build an environment and society where achieving health equity is possible.

The Narrative House is a schematic that can be used for framing, storytelling, organizing, and grantmaking.

Introduction

Learn how to create an effective campaign plan with your group with this series of short videos from Friends of the Earth UK.

Are you planning a new campaign? STOP!

Your campaigning will be far more impactful if you create a strong and clear campaign strategy.

Follow this short video series, download the activity sheets and learn how to create a campaign plan with your group.

5 Key Questions

A lot of successful campaigns have been based on methodologies established by Marshal Ganz, a veteran US community and union organiser. His approach involves answering 5 key questions which we’re going to work through – with the help of some video tutorials – to help you develop your campaign.

These questions are: 

Introduction

This guide provides a clear introduction to Bluesky—its features, benefits, and how political movements can use it for outreach and organizing.

Whether you’re an individual, an organization, or a political party, this resource will help to establish a presence, build an audience, and navigate the platform with confidence.

Social media is in chaos right now and X is one of the most chaotic, not to mention its evolution to become a space more reminiscent of bedlam than a network of thriving online communities.

In this guide we give you an overview of the biggest alternative – Bluesky and some basics for how progressives, organisations and political parties can utilise it. 

What is Bluesky 

Bluesky is a social media app designed to be open and independent, rather than controlled by a single company. It runs on the AT Protocol, an open-source system that allows anyone to build and connect social apps.

​It is a microblogging platform where users can share short text, video or images. It looks and feels very similar to Twitter. 

Introduction

Training resources about conflict for changemakers including workshop exercises, activities and templates to explore in a group setting.

This is a live list. If you have a resource to add please let us know.

Training and Planning Resources

Exercises and Activities

Analysis / Understanding Conflict

Understanding Conflict, NEON, see pg 40
This tool will help you understand what conflict looks like now in your organisation and what you would like it to look like. This tool is adapted from this guide from the Centre for Community Organizations – adapted from Dismantling Racism Works, and can be done individually or in collaboration with other members of your team.
Time: 1-2 hours as a self-reflection exercise or as a group.

Introduction

In these hard times find your joy! Here is a collection of podcasts to listen to about finding joy in activism, resistance, and movements.

Listen

How to Find Joy in Activism

There is no one way to change the world. That’s what Karen Walrond realized when she wrote a book about the relationship between joy and activism.

Throughout her life, Walrond has marched in parades, given motivational speeches to thousands and gone on humanitarian trips for efforts against HIV and AIDS. “But in my mind, activism was something that you did and got arrested for, it was something that you did and got tear gassed.”

It’s true, activism can look big, like organizing a march for racial justice or occupying a pump station to protest a pipeline. But after reflecting on interviews and research for The Lightmaker’s Manifesto: How to Work for Change Without Losing Your Joy, Walrond realized it was time to expand her definition of activism.

23 mins, NPR – Listen below or here.

Introduction

In recent years, climate and animal rights activists have increasingly turned to provocative and disruptive tactics. Actions such as throwing soup on famous paintings or disrupting major sporting events often appear disconnected from their stated goals—what researchers call having “low action logic.”

Activists turn to these methods because they believe they are more likely to capture public and media attention—but are they right? Do these tactics help movements advance their goals?

This new report sheds light on the real impact of these tactics, analysing how different forms of protest influence two key outcomes:

Introduction

Interested in activist archiving and radical recordkeeping? Explore this open source book, Archiving The Voices of Change: A radical recordkeeping guide for activists, archivists, and disruptors, by Katherine Jarvie-Dolinar.

Radical recordkeeping is a broad concept for both ways of recording, and part of advocating for change and challenging societal norms. – Source

Contents

The voices in the title of this book can redress the gaps in archival institutional memory. These archives can include the stories of the voiceless, such as animals, to provide a more comprehensive record of activist groups’ impact on society. – Source

Part 1 describes the theoretical grounding for the ideas in this book, stemming from archival concepts and theories and theorists whilst combining sources at the intersection of activism and academia.

Introduction

What are wicked problems? This article looks at what wicked problems are, different examples and how we can communicate about them.

This article is from Chapter 6, Wicked Problems, from the book, Public Interest Communication, by Jane Johnston and Robyn Gulliver. It was published by the University of Queensland in 2022.

The Commons librarian has made minor formatting changes, e.g. adding headings, paragraph breaks and quotes.

Wicked Problems are…

The concept of ‘wicked problems’ was first proposed by planning engineers Horst Rittell and Melville Webber in 1973 to contrast the difference between ‘tame’ problems – which could be resolved using standard scientific techniques – and complex, policy-based problems – which were neither simply nor completely resolvable. They said because wicked problems exist within pluralistic societies there was no way of knowing what was an “undisputable public good” and there was no clear picture of what “equity” meant when making decisions (1973, p. 155).

Wicked problems may have emerged from urban policy planning, but they are now used to describe social, political, environmental and economic problems more broadly.

How Rising Tide organises and mobilises to achieve broad movement appeal in the current activist landscape.

Introduction

Rising Tide is a grassroots climate justice movement. Based out of Newcastle, New South Wales, but organising nationally, Rising Tide takes action with the goal of ending fossil fuel exports from Australia. In a changing activism landscape where established environmental organisations struggle to organise and mobilise in large numbers, Rising Tide turned out three thousand people to its People’s Blockade in 2023. In 2024, these numbers more than doubled, with over seven thousand people turning up to block the world’s largest coal port in Newcastle.

Written in late 2024, this case study seeks to investigate how Rising Tide organised and mobilised over a two year period to achieve this broad appeal across the climate movement. The entirely volunteer run, grassroots movement employs a range of mobilising and organising techniques and models, drawing from momentum organising, and using hub and spoke and affinity group organising to varying extents. 

Location

Australia, with a strategic, local focus in Newcastle 

Time Period

2022 relaunch – 2024 

Introduction

In this podcast Movement Monitor Fellow Isabella Todd interviews Dan Sherrell, from the Australian Council of Trade Unions, and Desiree Cai, from the Tomorrow Movement. They discuss the lessons learnt from campaigning around a policy and legislation win, in the form of the 2024 founding of the Net Zero Authority. In particular they explore how this work brought together and strengthened relationships between unions, climate activists and others.

Isabella Todd carried this interview as part of the 2024 Movement Monitor Research Fellowship.

Listen

Transcript coming soon.

Introduction

Impact Storytelling: the Ecosystem, the Evidence and Possible Futures” is a ‘go-to’ report for storytellers, artivists, students, scholars and impact practitioners interested in impact storytelling (often referred to as “storytelling for social change”).

This large study from University of the Arts London’s UAL AKO Storytelling Institute has been designed to help answer questions such as:

• What is ‘impact storytelling’?
• What evidence is there that impact storytelling works?
• What is the history and current landscape of impact storytelling, in the UK and internationally?

It maps the structure of the impact storytelling ecosystem, identifies its key players, listens to current live debates and questions how to better collaborate in an emerging space that is still fairly siloed. By bringing to the foreground some of the ecosystem’s gaps and blind spots, it hopes to open a space for reflection and debate. The intention is to serve as a base towards cross-industry collaboration and cross-disciplinary consolidation.

Introduction

The Nuclear Truth Project (NTP) works towards the total elimination of nuclear weapons and associated nuclear harms. This includes redress and assistance for those who have been harmed, the remediation for the widespread health and ecological damage from past and present nuclear activities, and preventing future nuclear harms.

The NTP began in 2021 working with a small group of affected community members and organisational leaders from a diverse range of international groups, to discuss challenges when working within, alongside or for communities and individuals impacted by nuclear harms.

The NTP identified a need to establish Protocols to ensure any consultations and asks of affected communities were being practiced in good faith and with a ‘do no harm’ approach to engagement.

Goals

Educate

Document and demonstrate to people the genocidal nature of nuclear weapons and the harms that nuclear weapons and associated nuclear activities have caused and continue to cause;

Advocate

Build agency to empower people, including those who have suffered disproportionately and those who face nuclear annihilation;

Introduction

Part history lesson, part preparation for today’s fight. There is a powerful history of anti nuclear movements across this continent.

This quote was from a panel discussion at a conference called FWD+Organise 2024 in Naarm | Melbourne. The session was presented by:

• Kirsten Blair, Australian Nuclear Free Alliance
• Sanne Deswart, Friends of the Earth

Participants heard from these two frontline anti-nuclear campaigners who shared lessons from their community building, creative tactics, organising and mobilising work from decades past. They explored what those experiences can teach us for the fight ahead. This article based on their session focuses on the campaign that stopped the Jabiluka Uranium Mine in the Northern Territory, Australia, and shares resources for future anti-nuclear campaigns.

Campaign Case Study: Stopping Jabiluka Uranium Mine

The Mirarr Traditional Owners led an extraordinary mass movement to stop the Jabiluka uranium mine – and won!

Introduction 

Climate activists have often engaged a wide range of tactics in their efforts to bring down fossil fuel emissions and halt climate change. But what about the tactics used by fossil fuel companies to obstruct climate action and suppress critique?

If activists are to stand up against these powerful forces, understanding their strategies and tactics is important.

Drawing on the work of Lacy-Nichols and colleagues (2022), this article explores key methods used by fossil fuel companies to obstruct and suppress critique.

Strategic Areas

Grouping these methods under eight core strategic areas, the article offers insights to any activist trying to fight back against fossil fuel hegemony. 

The fossil fuel obstruction playbook (based on the corporate playbook developed by: Lacy-Nichols et al. 2022):

Introduction

Want to make a sign that gets noticed? Here is a template and tips shared by the Visibility Brigade, who make different signs each week.

Origin and Mission

The Visibility Brigade model was born in 2020 out of a frustration due to the lack of physical messaging in the real world regarding the existential crisis we face as a nation. We present our messages at a pedestrian walkway over Route 4 in Paramus, New Jersey.

Our goal is to remind folks of this crisis, to suggest simple actions to take and to support pro-democratic state and national candidates. However, perhaps the greatest purpose at present is to comfort heartbroken voters and let them know that they are not alone.

Who We Are And What We Do

As Margaret Meade once wrote,

Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world, indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.

A Visibility Brigade needs only a handful of dedicated members (5 minimum) to create weekly actions. This requires a weekly dedication of 60-90 minutes a week of placing a simple message in a public location, usually an overpass or other well-trafficked locale.

Introduction

Looking for narrative and storytelling directories, libraries or hubs? Here is a live list collated by the Commons librarians. Contact us if you if a suggestion to add.

Introduction

A live list of training and planning tools about narrative and storytelling collated by the Commons librarians. If you have a resource to add please contact us.

Training Resources

Exercises and Activities

Crowdsourcing what Narratives Mean, Feminist Basket of Resources, Oxfam, see pgs 103-104
Purpose: Collectively build an idea of what narratives mean to the group. Useful for when you want to explore narratives but not everyone has the same idea of what they are and how narratives impact but can also be useful in social justice work.
Time: 10-25 mins

Counter or Transformative Narratives, Feminist Basket of Resources, Oxfam, see pgs 105-106
Purpose: Exploring the differences between “counter” and “transformative” narratives this is a simple exercise to source this knowledge and build it collectively. We do this because often we get stuck in responding or reacting to others, rather than thinking about our own narratives, what we believe in, what we are for.
Time: 20 mins

Introduction

Here is a live list of resources to read, watch and listen to collated and recommended by The Horizons Project and their partners about resisting authoritarianism. These resources are sourced from their monthly newsletters, The Vista.

Resources

Reading

Twenty Lessons on Tyranny
by Timothy Snyder

Introduction

The Global Nonviolent Action Database details some 40 cases of mass movements overcoming tyrants through strategic nonviolent campaigns.

This article written by George Lakey was originally published on Waging Nonviolence. The Commons librarian has added quote marks and additional images to the original article.

Read Article

With Donald Trump set to take office after a fear-mongering campaign that reignited concerns about his desire to become a dictator, a reasonable question comes up: Can nonviolent struggle defeat a tyrant?

There are many great resources that answer this question, but the one that’s been on my mind lately is the Global Nonviolent Action Database, or GNAD, built by the Peace Studies department at Swarthmore College. Freely accessible to the public, this database — which launched under my direction in 2011 — contains over 1,400 cases of nonviolent struggle from over a hundred countries, with more cases continually being added by student researchers.  

Introduction

Here are training and planning resources to help trainers and groups explore the many aspects of power, including:

• different forms of power
• patterns of power
• power mapping and analysis

Other useful tools for trainers related to power include:

Introduction

How can you organise more efficiently and effectively? Coaching is a leadership practice that is essential to ensure the success of your campaigns – from the initial stages of a campaign strategy and managing your team, to building the right work processes and mapping your biggest challenges.

Here is an introduction to coaching from a session held at the FWD+Organise Conference in 2024 in Naarm/Melbourne, Australia. This session explored best practice approaches based on the works of Marshall Ganz and the Leading Change Network. Learn more about coaching using the Marshall Ganz approach.

Leadership is enabling others to achieve shared purpose in the face of uncertainty. Coaching enables others. – Marshall Ganz

Coaching 101

Coaching is different from managing or mentoring. Whilst Managing focuses on performance and accountability and Mentoring focuses on guidance and providing perspective – Coaching focuses on facilitation of self-discovery and personal growth.

Introduction 

The Loci of Power and Connection (LOPAC) framework is a tool for civil society organisations to use to consider their role and activities.

This article is a summary of The Loci of Power and Connection: a Framework for Exploring the Democratic Relationships of Civil Society Organisations published in the Interest Groups & Advocacy journal. 

Context

Pretty much every civil society organisation (CSO) I’ve come across over the years wants to do something good for a particular community. 

This can be as small scale as a local neighbourhood centre aiming to provide spaces where locals can connect, with each other as well as with any services they need. It can be at a much a wider scale, like climate action groups which campaign to save the whole planet from the potential impacts of global heating. Hell, even the National Rifle Association aims to represent the interests of its members – albeit those interests are far removed from mine, and dare I say yours.

Introduction

In our work as organisers and campaigners, there is often an element of debate or conflict in our work, especially when it comes to shifting power and lobbying external decision-makers. But what about conflict within our spaces? How we approach it, hold each other accountable, and move through it requires practice.

This article reflects on key learnings from a workshop facilitated by Noura Mansour, a Palestinian activist, and Anisha Senaratne, a Naarm based facilitator, at the FWD+Organise Conference in Naarm/Melbourne in December 2024.

The workshop explored the intersections of personal and political conflict, applying a decolonial lens and lived experiences to examine how conflict transformation can be a powerful tool in both our personal and political lives.

Leaning into conflict is political. – Anisha Senaratne

Decolonial Theory 

Noura and Anisha began the workshop with a grounding in decolonial theory.

From a decolonial perspective, conflict is not just something to resolve or manage – it is an opportunity to transform systems and cultures that perpetuate harm and inequality.

Introduction

The Commons librarians have put together a handout of recommended resources for the Climate Adaptation Fair hosted by Friends of the Earth in Naarm/Melbourne, Australia on 8 February 2025.

More information about the event here.

It’ll be a day of celebrating and uplifting community-led climate adaptation! There will be information on adapting to locked-in climate change impacts – how we keep each other safe. Those already implementing projects in their communities will share their story and knowledge, so others can be inspired and learn how to do the same in their communities.

Introduction

The Activists Resource Hub, is a website to help activists find the brilliant resources available for them quickly and easily.

We have scoured the online world to bring the best of what is available to you in one small, manageable, easy-to-navigate place. While these resources are predominantly aimed at UK activists, many of the insights they provide are applicable to other countries and contexts.

The hub is especially useful for people who are new to campaigning and activism.

It has practical help for everything from how to write a great press release to finding a fiscal host to manage your money. It also has inspirational stories to help you learn about other people’s strategies, tactics, setbacks and successes. 

The Activists Resource Hub was put together by Social Change Lab and the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, both organisations who are passionate about supporting grassroots activists.

Practical Tools

The Practical Tools section provides practical advice on things all campaigners and activists are likely to need to do, namely:

Introduction

Insights and inspiration from two campaign strategists from a learning session held by For Purpose in 2024 in Aotearoa | New Zealand.

The two strategists were Kristin Gillies, founder and director of For Purpose, and Chennoah Walford, former Green Party Campaign Manager and now NZEI Te Riu Roa Online to Offline Organiser. Between the two of them, Kristin and Chennoah have stacks of campaigning experience, and they’ve seen what works and what doesn’t. They have shared five key insights into what makes for an effective advocacy campaign.

Here is a summary of the 5 insights and you can watch the full video of the session below.

Insights

1. Meet People Where They Are 

Campaigning today means understanding that people are online more than ever, but they’re scattered across different platforms. We’ve learned the importance of tailoring our approach—like using SMS to engage younger audiences who may not respond to traditional calls.

Get to know your audiences, how to reach them and how to understand what content and messaging is working.

Introduction

Disruptive protest tactics, such as road blockades, vandalising art or disrupting sports events, have drawn widespread attention and sparked debate.

Are these actions essential for raising awareness and pressuring institutions, or do they risk undermining popular support for social movements?

In this talk, Sam Nadel shares Social Change Lab’s research on the impact of such tactics across various outcomes, examining whether they are ultimately helpful or harmful for advancing progress on critical social issues.

The talk was held as part of the Effective Altruism Global EAGx Virtual conference in 2024.

Introduction

In this conversation Alex Kelly interviews Jackie Turner about the importance of building solidarity, community and knowledge of history while combating disinformation. Alex is an activist,filmmaker and the Economic Media Centre Communications Director. Jackie is the Director of the Trans Justice Project.

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Introduction

Making Movements and Advocacy Accessible was a break out session run at the FWD+Organise 2024 conference hosted by Australian Progress in Naarm/Melbourne. 

In order to win on the biggest challenges facing society today, it’s critical we actively prioritise working in a way that’s inclusive and accessible for all people. 

As a sector, we run thousands of events each year and communicate with the public at a vast scale. Yet rather than embracing inclusion, too often we impose unnecessary and harmful barriers. 

The session was an honest discussion sharing best practice principles and takeaways to improve the accessibility and inclusivity of your next event or email-blast. The session was presented by:

Introduction

Commons Library Director Holly Hammond chats with activist Allison Rich and activist-scholar Dr Alicia Pawluczuk about their creative activism and the Endo Violence Collective. The collective works to amplify the voices of those affected by endometriosis and foster a rich, inclusive dialogue that transcends conventional boundaries.

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Introduction

Explore this case study of how a union campaign engaged with influencers on TikTok to amplify their message and build support.

These key insights are based on a presentation by Maddie Lucre, NSWNMA Campaigns and Communications Coordinator, at FWD+Organise, a conference held by Australian Progress in Narrm/Melbourne in December 2024.

The NSW Nurses and Midwives Association (NSWNMA) is campaigning to get fair and equal pay for nurses and midwives in NSW to be equivalent with other states around Australia. This campaign included two strikes and other protests and is still ongoing at the time of this piece being published. Find out more about the campaign.

Background

For 12 years, the Liberal-National Government in New South Wales, Australia enforced a restrictive industrial landscape for public sector workers. This was characterised by the implementation of a public sector wages cap, which was in place for 10-years between 2011 to 2022. This cap limited wage increases for public sector employees to 2.5% per year.

Introduction

How can direct action campaigners use social media? Here are 2 case studies from Australia – Blockade Australia and Disrupt Burrup Hub.  This article is the second installment in a two-part series focussing on the role of media in the strategies of Australian direct action climate groups. Read part one on traditional media here.

In the 21st century, social media has been utilised for political ends by a diverse range of actors. For example, progressive activists used Twitter to organise and network during the Arab Spring uprisings and Occupy protests of the early 2010s.

More than a decade later, tech billionaire Elon Musk bought the same platform and renamed it as X. He transformed it into a key component of a right-wing online media ecosystem that was a key contributor to Donald Trump’s 2024 reelection. Clearly, social media platforms can be both powerful and volatile.