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The tide of authoritarianism is rising across the world, and U.S. leaders from a range of political persuasions recognize the threat to democracy. Yet many democracy advocates, trained to “speak truth to power,” have doubled down on strategies that aren’t working as well as they used to.
Legal strategies, while still important for movements, have very real limitations.
In an age of cynicism about politics, authentic community connections are the most valuable currency.
The best organizing recruits potential converts as well as believers.
To prevail, we need to shed some preconceived notions about how change happens and learn from pro-democracy movements in U.S. history and around the world.
Current Landscape Changes
- Legal action, while still important, isn’t going as far as it used to.
- Rational, fact-based arguments aren’t moving politicians or the public.
- Mass mobilizations rarely win and sustain policy change.
What's Worked Before in Pro-Democracy Movements
The great British economist John Maynard Keynes once said, “When the facts change, I change my mind. What do you do, sir?” As conditions have changed, pro-democracy forces must change our strategies.
The good news is that we can draw upon a long tradition of effective social change rooted in battles against authoritarianism both in the United States before 1965 and globally. The key lesson from this tradition: Rather than “speak truth to power,” democracy advocates must build power of their own.
Keys for Pro-Democracy Activists
- Organizing in communities, churches, and workplaces.
- Recruiting from core parts of society, even when the terrain may seem hostile.
- Engaging in civic engagement work.
- Relearning how to disrupt the day-to-day functioning of anti-democratic forces and systems.
- Remembering that even in authoritarian contexts, everyday people always have power.
Authoritarian movements worldwide are following a playbook familiar from history, persecuting vulnerable groups, scaring moderates out of participation in politics, and shutting down avenues of dissent. Pro-democracy movements can win the future, but to do so they’ll need to expand their repertoire and foreground the proven strategies long used by working-class people to change the world.
Read the full article about making pro-democracy movements stronger by Deepak Bhargava at The Chronicle of Philanthropy.
Deepak Bhargava is president of the JPB Foundation, which helps people who have been denied power to build it so they can change unjust systems and create a more democratic, inclusive, and sustainable society.