Introduction
Ive spent the last fifteen years heading the Centre for Applied Nonviolent Action and Strategy (CANVAS), an NGO that assists prodemocracy activists in Asia, Africa, Latin America, the Middle East, and also parts of the former Soviet Union. For over two decades I have been an advocate for democracy and human rights. Since my freshman year at Belgrade University, as I have led struggles for democracy, Ive been under surveillance, arrested, even beaten up. Ive also traveled the world to train prodemocracy activists, written books, lectured internationally, and taught students on the topic.
I used to think Id become famous for my music, not for activism. When I was just twenty, I released my first album with the goth rock band BAAL. I played bass guitar and I was pretty good. We had a following. But then it became too hard to ignore what was happening in my country. The next thing I knew I was part of a student-led group that effectively took down Slobodan Miloevi. Well, actually, thats not exactly right. We didnt just accidentally overthrow a dictator. We used unique and specific tactics. Over the years, as Ive worked with activists across the globe, Ive refined my approach to the most effective techniques for overthrowing autocrats.
Ive had many thrilling experiences helping nonviolent shakers and shapers push for positive social change. In this process of turning my personal experiences into strategies and tactics I can teach others, I have come to realize that successful nonviolent movements tend to share a common ingredient: they use dilemma actions that force those in power into a lose-lose situation. In other words, if you can trap those in power in an irresolvable dilemma, the action is more likely to accomplish its goals. Those goals might include recruiting more supporters, spreading the movements vision, attracting attention to the cause, pressuring unjust leaders to cede power, or advancing democracy. I realized that if I could explain how, why, and to what extent dilemma actions succeed in advancing democracy, I could help activist groups become far more effectiveregardless of whether they were planning their next move in a caf in Cairo or in a home office in New York City.
But before I explain all my goals for this project, lets take a moment and play one of my favorite games. Its called Pretend Police. Its fun. Here goes. Pretend youre the police in Ankara, Turkey. A few days ago, a couple of security guards in one of the busiest subway stations in town spotted a couple making out on the platform. Being strict Muslims, the guards were annoyed by such immodest behavior in public, so they did the only thing they could really do, which was get on the subways PA system and ask all passengers to behave themselves and stop kissing each other. Because everyone in Ankara has smartphones, the incident reached the press within minutes; by the afternoon, politicians opposed to the ruling Islamist-based party realized that they had a golden egg in their hands. They encouraged their supporters to stage huge demonstrations to protest this silly anti-smooching bias.
This is where you come in. On Saturday, the day of the demonstration, you show up in uniform, baton at hand, ready to keep the peace. Walking into the subway station, you see more than a hundred young men and women chanting antigovernment slogans and provoking your colleagues. Someone shoves someone. Someone loses their cool. Soon its a full-blown riot.
If youre seriously playing along, its probably not hard to figure out what to do. Youre a police officer, and youve probably spent a whole week at the academy training for situations just like this. Its what police all over the world do. You put on your riot gear, you move in, you get in formation, and you start to thump your baton on your shield to intimidate the crowd. You probably dont feel too bad about it, either. Youre only doing your job, protecting yourself and your fellow cops. It takes you an hour, maybe two, before thirty or forty of the protesters are in jail, ten or twenty are in the hospital, and the rest have run away. You return to the precinct house, drink a coffee with your buddies, and go to bed feeling content with a days work.
That was easy. Now, lets play again.
Its Saturday morning. You arrive at the subway station. There are more than a hundred people there, protesting against the censorious announcement from the day before. But theyre not saying anything against the government. Theyre not shouting or chanting. Theyre kissing each other loudly, making those gross slurpy sounds nobody likes, drooling and giggling. There are almost no signs to be seen, but the ones you do notice have little pink hearts on them and read Kiss Me or Free Hugs. The women are in short-sleeved, low-cut blouses. The men have their button-downs on. No one seems to notice youtheyre too busy holding each others heads as they suck face.
Now what? Go ahead and game it out if youd like, but let me save you the trouble. The answer is that theres nothing you can do. Its not only that the amorous demonstrators arent breaking any laws; its also that their attitude makes a world of difference. If youre a cop, you spend a lot of time thinking about how to deal with people who are violent. But nothing in your training prepares you for dealing with people who are funny and peaceful.
The story I have just told you really did happen in Turkey in May 2013. And it is an example of what we might call an accidental dilemma action. It was a protest that worked because the protesters instinctively understood that it would be effective. They lucked out. But what would have happened if they had thought through their tactic as part of a well-understood strategy? What if the kissingand putting the police force in an irresolvable dilemmahad been planned from the start? Moreover, how can we ensure this kind of success for other nonviolent activists who want to strengthen democracy?
Turning Luck into a Strategy
Examples of accidental dilemma actions abound. Most smart activists know that if they can find a peaceful, creative way to put an authority in a tight spot, they will help their cause. But what would happen if we took these accidents and made them deliberate, well-constructed strategies tailored for a specific context? It might help even more.
Activists who have implemented dilemma actions know that success requires paying attention to several critical elements. You have to know how the repressive power works, and you have to know what will win the public over. Public outcry supporting your movement is critical.
This is what makes a dilemma action different from your average nonviolent protestand generally more successful than other forms of nonviolent resistance. Not all types of nonviolent resistance force a response; if the authorities can ignore you, you havent created a dilemma action. So, depending on the level of restrictions in your country and the number of people you draw to your vigil, rally, or march, you might put a lot of effort into something that the authorities can just blow off. Other times the authorities will shut your protest down, but no one will care. That happens when you havent won over the public. Worst of all, a protest not crafted with public opinion in mind can backfire for the movementleaving the public angry and irritated at the protesters. So, if you block a road in the middle of rush hour and keep a lot of average folks from getting to work, and then you get removed by the police, the public may actually be on the polices side.
