Category: News

As the year comes to a close, we wish for all our partners deep rest and connection with family and friends. Enjoy this article by the National Civic League to inspire your community connections, A Simple Recipe for Complex Community Change: Make Stone Soup. While many of us feel we are heading into a period of unsettling uncertainty in 2025, the pro-democracy field has been preparing and is ready to face this uncertainty together, as described by these leaders in philanthropy. Many organizations are thoughtfully curating end-of-the-year reading lists, such as this one from Protect Democracy, What to Read Before the Storm; and this top ten list of books to celebrate Trans Joy.

We know that the work of protecting democracy is just as important in between elections, as described in this piece about the on-going work of the Southern Coalition for Social Justice. And many organizations continue to shine a light on the connection between attacks on gender rights and authoritarianism, and are providing both analysis and tools to understand and prevent gender and sexuality-based bigotry. There is increasing concern and attention on the role of the tech industry co-opting government, such as this review of the new book The Tech Coup. And many lessons to be learned from the positive role that pro-democracy business leaders have played in other countries, such as this new case study on how businesses helped end apartheid in South Africa.

Now is a time for resiliency in our sector, and you can re-watch Horizons most recent webinar on resilience and post-election management with lessons from Zimbabwe and US civic leaders. And you can watch Eric Ward and Deepa Iyer discuss ‘Cultivating Solidarity and Hope in a Fractured World’ in this recent webinar hosted by the Social Change Initiative.There are many guides on protecting yourself and your organization such as some of these on safer on-line communication, digital security practices and this excellent resource from Muslims for Justice on protection for grassroots organizations with advice on fiscal sponsorship, bail funds, and mutual aid basics. And you might want to sign up for this weekly digital rights newsletter. Thanks to the RadComms network for crowdsourcing some of these great resources! Finally, as a reminder, if you or your community are facing threats or acts of political violence, you can request training and ongoing support for how you can address it here.

Take a listen to Chief Organizer, Maria Stephan’s most recent podcast with our friends from 22^nd Century Initiative on Defending Democracy with Civil Resistance, and you can read about our team’s session at the recent Facing Race conference on Advancing Racial Justice With Futures Thinking and Approaches.

Enjoy the other resources we’ve been reading, watching, and listening to this month, and happy holidays from the entire Horizons’ team.

READING

Supporting Society’s Bridge Builders
by Don Gips, Tulaine Montgomery, Rohini Nilekani, & Cristiane Sultani, Stanford Social Innovation Review

The authors extol the role of “system orchestrators” to meet this moment, understanding that linear problem-solving is not enough. Horizons agrees! “System orchestrators play a critical role in bringing about transformational social change by knitting together actors and institutions, providing backbone infrastructure, and mobilizing collective change efforts across ecosystems, sectors, and geographies. Along the way, they shape new paradigms, leverage system-wide resources, and navigate complexity, all to create forward momentum and progress at societal scale. System orchestrators are often overlooked because of the complex, collaborative, and behind-the-scenes roles they play in long-term systems-change efforts…If you want to drive equitable systems change, investing in system orchestrators is among the highest-leverage investments that the philanthropic sector can make.”

Fear, Grievance, and the Other:How Authoritarian Populist Politics Thrive in Contemporary Democracies
by Miriam Juan-Torres Gonzalez, Othering & Belonging Institute

This paper offers key concepts to understand politics beyond the left-right paradigm. It “advances the framework of authoritarian populism as an analytical tool that better describes a form of politics (not an ideology or regime type) that draws from both the authoritarian and populist playbooks... Beyond just serving as a descriptive model, the framework [seeks] to offer insights not only into how we can understand a concerning and newly dominant force in politics today, but also how we can more effectively counter it without provoking further othering or division. It asks us to question whether we are reinforcing the authoritarian populist double lens of ‘elite versus the people’ and ‘us versus them,’ or if we are advancing a different lens to process reality that is predicated on belonging without othering.”

Stop and Think: An undervalued approach in a world that short-circuits thoughtful political judgment
by Robert B. Talisse, The Conversation

As author, Robert B. Talisse argues in his new book Civic Solitude: Why Democracy Needs Distance, “the trouble is that our social environments are primed to short-circuit our thinking. They engage our reflexes while suppressing our judgment. Here’s how. We humans are all subject to a cognitive dynamic known as belief polarization. This is the tendency for individuals to adopt more extreme perspectives as a result of their interactions with like-minded peers. When we shift toward more radical views, we become more inclined to dismiss anyone who does not agree with us as ignorant, irrational and devious… As belief polarization escalates, we feel more pressure to conform. Hesitation begins to look like disloyalty. Even a momentary reluctance to affirm the party line signals to allies that our commitment to the group is wavering. Accordingly, we become more inclined simply to adopt the opinions that are popular among our peers – we decide what to think by mimicking our allies.”

WATCHING

How to Survive the Next 4 Years as an Undocumented American
Define American with Jose Antonio Vargas

Like millions of other undocumented Americans, Jose Antonio is trying to figure out how he’s going to survive the next four years. In this series, he'll be seeking to answer a fundamental question: “How do you define American? When we start deporting people person by person, family by family, that’s the question we are going to be asking. In this first episode, he speaks with two exceptionally brave women who have devoted their careers to helping other undocumented immigrants: Patrice Lawrence, executive director of UndocuBlack and an advocate for undocumented and formerly undocumented Black immigrants; and Erika Andiola, a leading immigrants’ rights activist based in Phoenix, and currently serves as Communications Director at Young Center for Immigrant Children's Rights.”

Loss, Shame, and the Rise of the Right with Arlie Hochschild
Next Question with Katie Couric

“Arlie Hochschild, a sociologist from Berkely, has spent a chunk of the last decade in ruby red areas of the United States. During that time she’s written two books: Strangers In Their Own Land, and now, Stolen Pride. Arlie interviewed dozens of people from Pike County, Kentucky–the whitest and second poorest district in the country–to better understand what’s happening in the rust belt and why those voters are so drawn to Donald Trump. In her view, it’s not just about the economy, trans rights, or climate change, but about loss, shame, and ultimately pride. Arlie invites us to open our minds and ears so we can learn about one another and begin to come together.”

The Fall of Any Dictator Reflects Badly on All Autocracies
Sky News

“Journalist and author Anne Applebaum joins Trevor Phillips to discuss the network of authoritarian states and the issues they pose for the West. It comes after the Assad regime which ruled over Syria was toppled by rebel forces. Ms. Applebaum says, ‘the fall of Assad as a blow to the alliance [of Russia, China, Iran etc.] - it may mean Putin doubles down on his war in Ukraine.’”

LISTENING TO

Solidarity is Hard
Reimagining Democracy for a Good Life Podcast

“Democracy flourishes when communities inspire and learn from one another. In this special chapter, recorded live at the 2024 PolicyLink Equity Summit, Hillary Holley, Kent Wong, and Alberto Retana discuss the evolution and power of local action in the South and in Los Angeles, showing how each community’s unique path fuels a shared fight for justice, resilience, and real change.

The Future of our Former Democracy
More Equitable Democracy Podcast Series

This seven-part series describes how Northern Ireland’s history and politics offer a blueprint for how the US can implement a better electoral system, especially in the wake of rising polarization and political violence. Developed by More Equitable Democracy, a racial justice organization working to advance racial equity through electoral reform, the series offers historical context, personal stories, and expert interviews, “to inspire listeners to consider radical changes that can lead to a more equitable and representative democracy.”

Rest, Resilience, and Joy in Tough Times
More PlayFull Than Ever Podcast

“Kristine Michie and a group of changemakers discuss resilience and joy post-2024 election. They share anecdotes, reflections, and strategies on rest, ancestral wisdom, and community in advocacy. This episode inspires and offers practical ways to make an impact, blending play and purpose.” Some of the insights include: joyful communal experiences strengthen bonds and inspire hope; rest as resistance ensures sustainable advocacy; ancestral wisdom provides grounding and strategies for modern challenges; and, role modeling uplifts the next generation, fostering a legacy of advocacy.

FOR FUN

Parallels Between Wicked and Civic Engagement

Our friend Piper Hendricks from Stories Change Power put together this fun list of parallels between the movie musical Wicked and real-life civic engagement. If you’ve seen the movie or musical, you’ll enjoy this commentary. We especially appreciated her last three insights about Silence in the Face of Oppression, that Communities Thrive When People Stand Together, and that Change Requires Courage.

*This article was written by Director for Race and Democracy Jarvis Williams.

The future of racial justice work is fraught with challenges in this moment. Therefore, Horizons’ Chief Network Weaver, Julia Roig and I spent the entire year of 2024 thinking together and trying to identify ways to support racial justice practitioners and to break down siloes with pro-democracy organizers. Throughout the year, emerging conversations from rising authoritarianism to toxic polarization were all competing to both inform and inspire citizens to think and act differently. The logic of these helpful conversations is relatively simple, what we have been doing of late isn’t helping our political culture to thrive. Therefore, our political culture must change to protect and preserve a desirable political future. And the change we need requires us to become more politically engaged and relationally emphatic.

Admittedly, our political culture seems highly fragmented. There is no shortage of issues that require immediate attention. Some citizens are struggling with accessing clean water to drink, others are worried that surveillance technology is compromising too much of their freedoms, still others are concerned that our political institutions are incapable of delivering reliable services to citizens across the country. These issues, from concerns about the economy to the emerging regularity of climate disasters, all have grand implications for our future political aspirations. And these issues seem to require that we shed the skin of our perceptual differences and plunge into the work of rebuilding our political future. But we are still struggling to identify pathways to better align our future strivings.

In our current political moment, confronting our political culture without falling prey to the cultural appetite of forgetting about race is becoming much more challenging. The desire to advance the political culture by forgetting our racialized past is one of the key cultural practices that practitioners constantly address. Therefore, the leadership at Race Forward presciently entitled their conference series “Facing Race.” And the Horizons Project partnered with this sentiment and offered a few tools on ways to “face race” with futures thinking approaches.

While many conversations are properly concerned with where our political culture is headed in this moment, racial justice practitioners must constantly, yet cautiously, interrogate where our political culture has been. In fact, the diagnosis of our political past is fundamental for charting a pathway to where we are desirous to go. Simply put, we must look back to move forward. And when we conceal our racially significant past, the plausibility of a just future becomes more misleading.

The practice of appropriately recognizing the entanglement of race and democracy animates the agency of racial justice practitioners. The Sankofa bird, derived from the Akan people of Ghana, serves as a prominent symbol of this practice. Of course, every culture has a practice of looking back at their historical record to gain perspective and insight for their collective journey ahead. For example, legal practitioners look to the founding documents and founding citizens to craft their legal opinions. Thus, this practice isn’t novel to our political culture, but looking back at the practice of racial discrimination has never been an easy undertaking.

The main idea of our breakout session at Race Forward’s conference, held in early December in St. Louis, Missouri, was to advance the point that the racial justice future we seek is inexplicably entangled with the past of racial injustice we share. Therefore, racial justice practitioners are constantly interrogating the racial story being perpetuated in our political culture and questioning the reliability of that story to appropriately explain our past and equip our present to “face race” together. It is important to clarify that recognizing our entangled past does not necessarily condemn our present to unavoidably repeat the misdeeds of the past. In fact, it does just the opposite. It actually provides more reliable intelligence. This recognition allows us to readily identify historically significant patterns compromising our collective future much more clearly.

Recognizing this entanglement allows us the opportunity to avoid logical leaps hiding in our political conversations and organizing orientations when we think about race and its functionality within our political culture. Recognizing this entanglement allows us to reinterpret generations of misinformation and disinformation heralded as truth on racialized issues. Recognizing this entanglement allows us to accurately perceive the distance between good intentions and just outcomes. And recognizing this entanglement allows us the opportunity to reevaluate information and strategies that compel blind allegiance towards racially ambiguous notions of progress without demonstrations of integrous reconciliation and financial reparations.

The race and democracy work at Horizons anchors itself in this recognition and strives to demonstrate something different in our work. Therefore, we ask how organizations are specifically recognizing this entanglement in their work. In truth, how organizations apply history has proven to be a useful indication of their recognition. Similarly, we ask how their recognition guides their strategic partnerships. In effect, how organizations understand the past serves as a great indication of who they will strive to partner with in the future. Horizons is extremely clear that demonstrating healthy partnerships anchored in racial justice commitments and practices are essential. And we ultimately try and identify what actions are being advanced within organizations and throughout the ecosystem to concretely advance racial justice.

One useful tool to balance the competing demands of the past, the present, and the future is the futures triangle. During our workshop Julia Roig described how this triangle is a useful tool for exploring what’s possible from different angles. Several organizations and leaders found this framework extremely helpful as a tool to articulate the way their thinking accounts for these competing demands. During our session, we offered participants a chance to use this tool to think about the educational challenge confronting the nation at this moment. And the readouts and follow-up conversations were astounding. People found the tool illuminating, intellectually stimulating and clarifying, and emotionally regulating.

The Horizons team looks forward to continuing to share resources and approaches and to partner together to advance our shared goals in the months ahead.

Here we are at the end of November on the other side of the US elections, and if you haven’t read enough post-election analysis yet, check out this crowdsourced bibliography of articles organized by Eli Pariser of New_Public. We would especially recommend this piece by Rebecca Solnit about how to stay grounded in love in this moment and not give into fear. And also, this advice from Deepa Iyer, using the Social Change Map to highlight the need to Grieve, Connect, Act, Reflect, Correct. (Repeat). Our colleague Scot Nakagawa shared these Recommendations for Anti-Authoritarian Resistance saying that we must adapt, not assimilate. And Mark and Peter Engler write that “there is no better antidote to hopelessness than action in community” as we expect a new wave of movements to arise.

One theme that has been emerging after the election is what kind of deep listening practices and trusted information systems will be needed in the coming months and years. You can find Five Media-Related Actions We Can All Take Before Inauguration Day here; and some inspiration on why building a trusted information ecosystem requires building a community. The new SSIR series on social sector communications is excellent, especially this piece on moving Beyond the Broadcasting Model. “Today’s communications landscape demands that social sector organizations move away from a 20th-century broadcasting approach and toward dialogue, relationship-building, and fostering community.”You may also be interested in the launch of the new Civic Information Index, “a new data tool that brings often siloed players in our civic health and information ecosystems together around the same goal: building informed, engaged, healthy and equitable communities.”

Horizons will continue to prioritize our work with the various pillars of support for democracy, including the business pillar which has a unique responsibility to stand up for human rights as described here by Bennett Freeman. Our colleague Chloe Schwenke has written about the many ways you can support the transgender community right now. And as we continue to listen to and learn from our colleagues from other countries, you may want to check out the perspectives and disappointments voiced from this panel of African leaders on the recently concluded COP29 climate talks in Baku.

Check out the overview and watch the recording of the webinar Horizons and the Democracy Hub recently hosted on Defending Democracy with Humor and Dilemma Actions Tactics; and, don’t miss Chief Organizer Maria Stephan’s latest article, How we can meet the challenges of authoritarianism.

As we prepare to celebrate Thanksgiving, the Horizons team is grateful for all our partners and the inspiring work you continue to do. Here are some other resources we are reading, watching, and listening to this month:

READING

10 Ways to be Prepared and Grounded Now that Trump has Won
by Daniel Hunter, Waging Nonviolence

“The key to taking effective action in a Trump world is to avoid perpetuating...fear, isolation, exhaustion and disorientation.” Our colleague Daniel Hunter offers some helpful advice: to take care of yourself, find your people to process together, make space to grieve, and then find your path for action. He describes four concrete paths: (1) Protecting People; (2) Defending Civic Institutions; (3) Disrupt and Disobey; and (4) Building Alternatives. “We can’t just be stuck reacting and stopping the bad. We have to have a vision. This is the slow growth work of building alternative ways that are more democratic.” 

These Times Ask More of Us: Practices that will help social sector leaders prepare to usher in a new world
by Cassie Robinson & Sophia Parker, Stanford Social Innovation Review

Don’t miss this inspiring compilation of articles curated by the Joseph Rowntree team. “In every moment, glimmers of alternative futures appear. The present is made up not only of the knowable and measurable, but also of what is latent or hidden: the stuff of our hopes, imaginations, and spiritual existence…We focus much more on strategic intentions than strategic planning and ground ourselves in the philosophy so beautifully described in adrienne maree brown’s work: that ‘what we pay attention to, grows.’”
This issue is divided into four interlinked sections: exploring hospicing and stewarding loss; collective imagination; capacities and capabilities of ‘complexity consciousness;’ and finally, using different instruments and approaches to wealth flows.

Will Trump Teach Us to Care About Democracy Again?
by Marshall Gantz, The Walrus

“Millions of Americans could strengthen democracy by practicing it…yet, it is precisely Americans’ useful knowledge of the practices that enable purposeful collective action that we have allowed to atrophy. Many are out of practice at coming together, committing to one another in pursuit of a shared purpose, deliberating together, deciding together, and acting together—the essential practices of democracy in its most everyday form. The same goes for skills related to group decision making, managing internal conflict, or holding one another accountable—the most basic democratic practices. We see, hear, and read about the major threats to democracy every day, but a closer look reveals the depth of the challenges we face in our everyday lives.”

WATCHING

Panel discussion on generating the connective tissue of American civil society
Stanford Center on Philanthropy and Civil Society

If you are looking for positive stories and inspiration of where and how civic life is thriving in the US, you will enjoy watching this recorded discussion with Sam Pressler (author of the Connective Tissue policy framework), Pete Davis (co-director of Join or Die); Josh Fryday (California's Chief Service Officer, leader of CA Volunteers); and Hollie Russon Gilman (Senior Fellow at New America, affiliate at Harvard's Ash Center, & advisor to Trust for Civic Life).

A Democracy Post-Mortem: What Exit Poll Data Reveals About Race in America Today
Harvard Kennedy School Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation

Two days after the US election, Professors Khalil Gibran Muhammad and Leah Wright Rigueur hosted an online conversation addressing the current political moment. Examining exit poll data, the two historians worked together to make sense of the election’s outcome — and what it means for the future of American democracy. Some of the insights they reflected on included that this election ‘forces us to think differently’ and that movements win elections — not parties. You can also read a short summary of the webinar here.

A Call to Hearten: Let Tender Tenacity Walk with Fierce Patience
Upaya Zen Center

Enjoy this short meditation that John Paul Lederach offered just days after the election. With this poetic reflection on resilience and compassion, he asks, “‘How do we hold hardness, how do we hold our woundedness, while freeing our beauty?’ John Paul speaks to the challenges of facing uncertainty and the difficult emotions and experiences that often accompany it. He encourages us to find our courage, to engage with suffering, and to transform it through compassion and wise, patient practice.”

LISTENING TO

When No Things Work, With Norma Wong
How to Survive the End of the World Podcast

Cohosts, adrienne maree brown and Autumn Brown sit down with the “great teacher, Norma Wong, whose new book, When No Thing Works: A Zen and Indigenous Perspective on Resilience, Shared Purpose, and Leadership in the Timeplace of Collapse, was released the day after the election. Wong brings her years of organizing, electoral work, and spiritual practice to bear on this moment… with wisdom, wit, and deep care for all life.”

Spaces for Collective Imagining
Alive and Learning Podcast

In this episode, Cat Zuzarte Tully and Abi Nokes of the School of International Futures (SOIF) talk about the practice of foresight and what distinguishes SOIF’s approach from other futurists. “Cat and Abi share what it takes to host interactive foresight sessions that promote psychological safety conducive to collectively imagining futures. They talk about challenging dominant patterns of thinking and navigating power dynamics to envision alternative pathways that put intergenerational fairness at the forefront. They shine a light on how responsible leaders can democratize the ways in which we engage with signals of the future that are here with us now.”

Trump Kicks Down the Guardrails
Ezra Klein Podcast

“Anne Applebaum is a Pulitzer Prize-winning historian, a staff writer at The Atlantic, and the author of a new book, “Autocracy, Inc.: The Dictators Who Want to Run the World.” In this conversation, [Ezra and Anne] discuss how she’s been processing Trump’s cabinet picks, what to make of Elon Musk’s role in Trump’s inner circle, the indicators to look out for when governments slide in an autocratic direction, the appeal and excitement of autocratic regimes that often get missed in our history books, the relationship between autocracies and futurists, the politics of performance and more.”

FOR WELLBEING

Finding Steady Ground

To be in shape for the long haul, we have to get our minds and spirits ready, as well as jump into action. When we’re in bad shape, our power is diminished — we’re less creative, more reactive, and less able to plan strategically. If we intend to stay active and effective in the world, we have a responsibility to tend to our spirits. Check out this list of seven behaviors we can use right away to strengthen ourselves, so we can keep taking more and more powerful and strategic actions.For example: Daily, I will make human-to-human connection with another person and make sure we stay in motion. Once a week, I will pray, meditate, or reflect on those I know who are being impacted by oppressive policies, and extend that love to all who may be suffering.

As the month of October comes to an end, the US elections are finally upon us and there are many resources and insights to support all the diverse efforts underway. Andrea Hailey, the CEO at Vote.org reminds us that Your Vote Has a History: Here’s Why It’s Important. Anne Applebaum has offered A citizen’s guide to defending the 2024 election; you can listen to Stacey Abrams talk about voter suppression and what everyday citizens can do to protect democracy; and, Eric Ward speaks about joy, hope and how this moment is not to be feared.

Many organizations are sharing the results of recent scenario planning and preparations for the future. For example, based on scenarios run with over 300 grassroots power-building organizations, Future Currents prepared a report on the “preparation we need to get ready as well as strengthens and capacities to amplify to stay ready.” SOS Democracy has a 2024 Elections Scenario Planning Guide for newsroom leaders and journalists. Race Forward has prepared a toolkit to respond to the threat posed by Project 2025 to equitable, democratic, and accountable public institutions, as well as longer-term strategies for turning public administration into a force for equity and justice. The Birnbaum Women’s Leadership Center recently launched a report to help philanthropy leaders counter rising authoritarianism and address the intersection of gender and democracy. And, the Moral Courage Project has put together a free online mini-course, The Dilemma, with three short videos with concrete actions everyone can take to build trust amongst individuals that can lead to more effective collective action. Our friends at the Center for Applied Nonviolent Action and Strategies also released this guide on Protection and Resilience Strategies for nonviolent activists.

Post-election, it will be as important as ever to have a good grasp of the ecosystem of democracy activities and actors to identify and spur our collaborations. The National Civic League recently launched the Healthy Democracy Ecosystem Map. You can also consult the new U.S. Democracy Hub from Impala and the Democracy Funders Network designed to help users “navigate the complex democracy ecosystem, understand trends, and make informed decisions.”

ICYMI, check out Horizons’ Chief Organizer Maria Stephan’s recent article: Lessons from Around the World: Engaging ‘Pillars of Support’ to Uphold and Expand Democracy, and if you are interested in receiving information or training on Harnessing Our Power to End Political Violence (HOPE-PV) you can sign up here.

For any and all questions about where and how to vote in your state, you can call 866-OUR-VOTE (866-687-8683) to speak with a trained Election Protection volunteer. For Spanish/English: 888-VE-Y-VOTA (888-839-8682). You can also consult or forward this this nonpartisan website with information about voting to your networks.

Here are some of the other resources we’ve been reading, watching, and listening to this month:

READING

The Science of Violent vs. Non-Violent Resistance
by Peter Coleman

At a time when many are reflecting on the organizing strategies or tactics needed in the face of injustice, state repression and violence, we are happy to see the research of Chief Organizer Maria Stephan and Erica Chenoweth highlighted in this recent article. “Although violence often feels justified, necessary, and fitting with a sense of outrage against states that employ excessive violence to achieve their goals, does it work? Are violent forms of resistance by lower-power opponents actually effective in achieving their political objectives? Or might non-violent resistance prove a superior strategy? Overall…Chenoweth and Stephan’s research supports the conclusion that nonviolent resistance is more effective than violent approaches for achieving sustainable social and political change.” We would also highlight several articles on the history and current use of nonviolent resistance in Palestine:  Nonviolent Resistance in Palestine is More Dangerous than Ever – But it’s the Only Way Forward, by Sami Awad, Where is the Palestinian Gandhi? An Interview with Issa Amro, and Nonviolent Resistance in Palestine: An Interview with Julia Bacha.

Convenings, Cohorts + Communities: Notes on so-called "impact" gatherings
by Renee Lertzman

As the number of conferences, convenings, and gatherings picks up in 2025, let’s all commit to making them as productive and relationship-ful as possible! This article is chock full of wonderful insights and recommendations to help make our gatherings more impactful. “We are in a collective global moment of figuring out, testing and experimenting with ways of bringing people together for impact. How we do this in service of driving change in the world is a topic of much interest and considerable investment of resources. We are in-between paradigms, between older and more emergent, newer formats… This is thetime to creatively, thoughtfully and carefully consider how we design and foster our communities of impact. To be intentional about format, facilitation and how our gatherings can help grow each other, and inform our practices and business.”

What the landmark ‘1619 Project’ taught Nikole Hannah-Jones
by TyLisa Johnson, Poynter.

Check out this insightful interview with the founder of the 1619 Project, reflecting on the five years since it was launched. “what I learned…is that so many Americans actually want a better understanding of their country, and we’re all kind of struggling with trying to understand the country when we’ve been taught a history of a country that has never existed…what I’ve learned is you can actually create something that is challenging, that is difficult, that is discomfiting, and that there will be an appetite for that. That despite these book bans and these divisive concept laws and these efforts to say that we need to restrict access to this knowledge because it will teach people to hate their country, that actually, people who have a great love for their country want to learn this so that they can make their country better, and I wasn’t expecting that.”

WATCHING

America’s Moment of Truth (Again)
Athens Democracy Forum

During the annual Athens Democracy Forum hosted by the Democracy and Culture Foundation and the New York Times, this international panel of journalists, academics and activists reflected on a “deeply divided U.S. electorate [heading] to the polls for one of the most consequential elections in its history…this panel look[ed] beyond the election to the impact that a win for Kamala Harris or Donald Trump would have on crucial issues like immigration, women’s rights, diplomacy, electoral integrity, executive power… And yes, democracy itself.” You can watch all of the other panels held during the Forum here.

Adventures in Democracy with Baratunde Thurston and Elizabeth Stewart
The Conduit

“In much of the world, democracy is at a low ebb, with autocrats, authoritarians, and outright fascists on a seemingly inexorable rise, and few politicians seemingly capable of charting a credible way forward in the face of the challenges of our time. At such times, even election “victories” come to feel like little more than delays to the inevitable, cause more for relief than excitement. Yet just beneath the media radar, there are signs that another story is taking shape: a story of the renewal and reinvention of democracy, from the ground up and the outside in; of democracy as something we do, not something we have; and of the word citizen more as a verb than a noun. Nowhere is this new story more needed than in the US, and no one tells it better than the Emmy-nominated host, producer, writer and storyteller Baratunde Thurston – working in close partnership with Elizabeth Stewart, his partner in life and creativity. Their work weaves together threads of race, technology, democracy and climate, always coming back to the fundamental truth of our interdependence with one another and with nature.” 

Have We Missed the Message? with Ta-Nehisi Coates
What Now? with Trevor Noah

“Bestselling author Ta-Nehisi Coates joins Trevor… to discuss his new book The Message - about how the stories we tell, and the ones we don’t, shape our realities. They also unpack the ‘jaw-dropping’ CBS interview that followed the book’s release, and our elusive search as a people to see the humanity in others.”

LISTENING TO

Election Time with Brittney Cooper
How to Survive the End of the World

“In this conversation Professor, Writer, [F]eminist, Southerner, Brittney Cooper⁠ and adrienne maree brown discuss the election and how black women are participating in the voting process with a longer lens.”

Stress Testing Our Democracy
Making Sense with Sam Harris podcast

Sam Harris speaks with Barton Gellman about election integrity and the safeguarding of American democracy. They discuss the war games he's run to test our response to an authoritarian president, using federal troops against American citizens, the difference between laws and norms, state powers to resist the federal government, voter identification and election integrity, political control over election certifications, the Bush-Gore election, the Electoral Count Reform Act, the prospect of public unrest after the November election, January 6^th… Project 2025, and other topics.

Beautifully Flawed Becoming: Bayo Akomolafe on The Co-Creation of New Worlds, Investigating Our Lostness, The Driving Motivation of Wonder…
We are Untold Stories podcast

This “debut conversation explores Bayo's perspective on the vital role of our individual and collective untold stories, our current position at the end of the world as we know it, the emerging co-creation of new worlds, our exploration of lostness, and, in the spirit of a true poet, the profound role of wonder as a driving motivation. Bayo shares otherworldly examples illustrating our interconnectedness, the significance of queer spaces, the crucial necessity of navigating "cracks" within systems, the beauty of the unknowable, and the potential for co-creating life-affirming realities amidst chaos.”

GET INVOLVED!

Timeline to a Meltdown
Wednesday, October 30 from 7:30-9:30pm (EST) 

Worried about threats to democracy following the 2024 election? Join in for Timeline to a Meltdown, a role-playing simulation game exploring some of the real threats to democracy we may see in the coming weeks and months. They will be using brand new scenarios for this simulation so if you participated in the game earlier this year, this session will still be new for you! The simulation is online and open to anyone, but RSVP is required at: mip.la/SIMULATION2

*This article was written by Chief Organizer Maria J. Stephan and was first published on Just Security.

Efforts in the United States to build a broad, cross-partisan, and cross-ideological pro-democratic front in the lead-up to the November elections is reminiscent of the kind of pro-democracy, anti-authoritarian movements that recently defeated far-right autocrats in Brazil, Poland, and France. In each of these cases, politicians, business leaders, religious actors, trade unions, popular sports figures, and other core groups united to reject politicians who peddled fear and vowed to strip away core freedoms. These groups and individuals instead rallied around those who espoused a more hopeful, pluralistic vision for their country.

In each of these instances, “big tent” organizing, including the active participation of key institutional pillars in democracy movements, was key to their success.

Pillars of support are organizations and institutions that provide any social or political system – democratic or autocratic – with the legitimacy, knowledge, skills, financial resources, and coercive power they need to maintain control. One can think of pillars — political parties, businesses, religious organizations, unions, professional associations, bureaucracies, educational institutions, media outlets, cultural institutions, security forces and more — as columns holding up a Greek temple. When shifts occur within these pillars, and they start to crack, they can bring the entire edifice down. In the case of former President Donald Trump and the MAGA movement’s control of the GOP, the loss of key institutional support for that movement would significantly weaken it.

At the same time, pillars are not monolithic, and power within them is fluid. They are made up of individuals who have different identities, motivations, and interests: blue-collar workers, bureaucrats, journalists, teachers, financiers, pastors, soldiers, police officers, etc. They also have unique leverage. As the late sociologist Gene Sharp wrote in the book-length essay “From Dictatorship to Democracy”: “By themselves, rulers cannot collect taxes, enforce repressive laws and regulations, keep trains running on time, prepare national budgets, direct traffic, manage ports, print money, repair roads, train the police and army, issue postage stamps or even milk a cow.” In other words, without the skills, knowledge, and backing of individuals within key pillars, no autocratic leader, no matter how repressive or mendacious, can maintain power.

The notion that power is derived from the obedience and cooperation of the “ruled” highlights the strategic importance of pulling key elements of that population — “pillars” — away from an autocratic system and towards a democratic one.

When `Pillars’ Have Been Decisive

Historically, action by such pillars has proven decisive to the success of pro-democracy campaigns. Shipyard workers and trade unionists were the backbone of the Polish Solidarity movement in the 1980s, whose strikes, walkouts, and other forceful nonviolent tactics helped defeat a communist authoritarian regime. During the anti-apartheid struggle in South Africa, white-owned businesses who felt the economic pressure of local and international boycotts, divestment, and sanctions pressed the South African government to negotiate with Nelson Mandela’s African National Congress, ushering in that country’s democratic transition.

In Brazil, during the military dictatorship of the 1980s, doctors’ unions joined forces with workers across the country to organize protests, work slowdowns, and outright stoppages, paving the way to Brazil’s democratic transition. In the Philippines under Ferdinand Marcos in the 1980s Catholic Church leaders, from parish priests and nuns all the way up to Cardinal Jamie Sin, used Church infrastructure and communications channels to mobilize the population to reject Marcos’ rule and support the democratic opposition.

During the U.S. civil rights movement, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, and key unions including the Teamsters and the United Auto Workers organized sit-ins, walk-outs, and consumer boycotts under the banner of “jobs and freedom,” weakening key pillars of support for racial authoritarianism in the South.

While all of these were inspiring examples of mass movements challenging autocracy, the reality of later democratic setbacks in each of the countries highlights that vigilance, persistence, and sustained effort are necessary to defend and expand free and democratic societies. In the United States, where systemic racism continues to pose the most seminal challenge to achieving a democracy grounded in equal justice for all, efforts to promote racial equity are necessarily and fundamentally linked to achieving a truly multi-racial democracy.

More recently, in cases where democratically elected leaders have gone on to subvert the norms, freedoms, and institutions of democracy, pillars have played a key role in halting their progress.

Unions and Businesses

In South Korea, under the corrupt and scandal-prone rule of President Park Geun-hye, unions helped organize a coalition topping 1,500 organizations that led labor strikes and candlelight protests drawing millions of participants from across the country. The action prompted the Korean legislature to vote to impeach Park in 2016, removing her from office. In India, an umbrella organization of hundreds of farm unions coordinated mass actions across the country, including blockades and work stoppages, to successfully repeal farm bills that were un-democratically pushed through the Parliament by Modi’s BJP party in November 2021, a victory for Indian democracy.

During the Trump administration, federal workers and civil servants, a critical non-partisan pillar whose members take an oath to defend the Constitution, took a wide range of actions short of legally-prohibited labor strikes to challenge anti-democratic practices, including joining public statements, whistleblowing, deliberate inefficiency and “slow-balling” job functions, and ultimately, resigning in protest. Civil servants spoke out against attempts to cripple the Mueller investigation and politicize the Department of Justice, and delays in election certification.

In Brazil, where far-right ex-President Jair Bolsonaro relied heavily on the support of businesses and Christian leaders, these same forces contributed to his downfall. In August 2022, following Bolsonaro’s attacks on the judiciary and the electoral court, the Federation of Industries of the State of São Paulo — a business association representing more than 100,000 industries — authored a letter “In Defense of Democracy and Justice.” The letter garnered more than 100 signatories, including businesses, civic organizations, unions, and universities and was published in five national newspapers. It emphasized the relationship between strong democratic institutions and a strong economy. In August 2022, Instituto Ethos, a business-led civil society organization, published a piece denouncing businesses who expressed support for a coup if Bolsonaro wasn’t re-elected. Ethos stated clearly that the support of these businesses for violent rhetoric and anti-democratic behavior was actually against private-sector interests.

These Brazilian business actions resembled those undertaken by U.S. businesses during the 2020 election. On election day 2020, a diverse coalition consisting of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the AFL-CIO, the National Association of Evangelicals, and the National African American Clergy Network issued a joint statement calling for the respect of election results and the peaceful transfer of power. Major trade associations like the National Association of Manufacturers and the Business Roundtable issued statements congratulating Joe Biden and Kamala Harris on their election win, signaling to Donald Trump and his supporters that it was time to step aside. While their actions did not prevent Trump from attempting to overturn the election results, they did establish an important precedent for the business sector’s vigorous denunciation of January 6th, with some corporations suspending campaign contributions to politicians who undermined the electoral process. (That withholding of campaign contributions  unfortunately was not sustained).

In Germany, where the country’s history of Nazism has sensitized the private sector to the importance of confronting anti-democratic forces, businesses have played a key role in challenging the far-right Alternative for Deutschland (AfD) party. Business leaders have organized campaigns like Welcome Saxony to educate business leaders, employees and the general public about the important positive role of diversity and immigration in the German economy. They have spearheaded grassroots organizing to spread the importance of defending democracy and have publicly spoken out against the far right. Although the strong performance by the AfD in recent regional elections in Saxony and Thuringia is worrisome, it has galvanized more actors in Germany’s powerful business community to organize and publicly dissent. Experiences from Germany, Poland, Sweden, and the United States offer insights into obstacles and opportunities for business involvement in pro-democratic activities, as well as the role played by activist and civil society actions in bringing that about.

The Role of Faith Leaders

Faith leaders have wielded moral authority and the power of the pulpit to challenge autocracy. In July 2020, more than 150 Brazilian Catholic bishops signed a “Letter to the People of God,” which denounced the Bolsonaro administration’s non-transparent handling of COVID-19 and its actions “approaching totalitarianism…encouraging acts against democracy…[and its] repugnance for…freedom of thought and the press.” The letter provoked controversy and backlash, with some pro-regime Brazilian bishops as well as conspiracy theorists like Olavo de Carvalho denouncing the signees as “communists [and] satanists.” In January 2021, more than 375 Catholic and evangelical leaders signed a statement calling for Bolsonaro’s impeachment. And in October 2022, at least 15 religious groups signed a document criticizing Bolsonaro’s theocratic messaging as well as his demonization of women, Afro-Brazilians, LGBT+ people, and Indigenous communities. In Brazil’s 2022 presidential election, a sizeable number of religious voters who had previously supported Bolsonaro, notably evangelicals, shifted their support to his opponent, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who won the election, suggesting the influence of these public actions.

In Poland, where the far-right Law & Justice Party (PiS), which came to power in 2015, gutted institutional checks and balances and fueled anti-Muslim and anti-immigrant sentiment, lawyers and clerics played a critical role in removing key pillars of support from their increasingly autocratic rule. Influential Polish bishops, who saw how Catholic imagery and religious processions were being used to whip up ultra-nationalist sentiment, refused to celebrate mass during Poland’s Independence Day rallies and used religious rhetoric to mobilize support for the pro-democratic opposition.

Meanwhile, Polish judges resisted the politicization of the judiciary via the two major judges associations, Iustitia and Themis. These groups drafted legal opinions about the anti-democratic reforms and urged the European Union to stand firm towards the Polish government. They encouraged public mobilization by disseminating educational videos, calling for mass protests (including the “march of 1000 robes” in January 2020), and engaging in acts of civil disobedience, like continuing to show up for work after being forced into retirement by PiS legislation. Their activities were not unlike those undertaken by Pakistani lawyers, judges, and bar associations who formed the “Save the Judiciary” movement in 2007 and challenged then-President Pervez Musharraf’s attempts to undermine judicial independence, including by marching in the streets in their distinctive black robes.

In Hungary, where religious leaders, symbols, and slogans have been used to bolster Viktor Orbán’s brand of Christian nationalism, evangelical groups like the Hungarian Evangelical Fellowship (HEF) and its leader, Pastor Gábor Iványi, have engaged in public opposition and acts of defiance. That has included Iványi (who officiated Orban’s wedding and baptized his two eldest sons) refusing to attend Orban’s inauguration. Ivanyi and other religious leaders issued an “Advent Statement” challenging Orban’s claim that Hungary is being governed in accordance with “Christian Liberty,” and HEF set up soup kitchens to support immigrants and asylum seekers.

Meanwhile, at a time when Orbán’s Fidesz party has attempted to centralize control over the education system, accusing universities and teachers of indoctrinating students in leftist ideologies, a teachers’ movement has emerged to challenge autocracy. An organization of teachers called Tanítanék (meaning “I wish to teach” in Hungarian), which was founded in 2016 after one of its teacher founders was fired, has supported striking teachers and a range of protest activities that have involved tens of thousands of teachers, students, parents, and concerned citizens. Tanítanék boasts a mailing list of more than 90,000 people, making it one of the strongest civic groups in an increasingly repressive Hungary. While Fidesz’s intense grip on most institutions of power in Hungary poses an obstacle to pro-democratic organizing, growing challenges to Orban’s policies, including demonstrations last spring involving tens of thousands of people who rallied behind opposition figure Péter Magyar, a former government insider, are evidence of growing cracks in Fidesz’s edifice.

Security Forces and the Military

One of the most important pillars of support for any political system are security forces, which have both enabled and resisted authoritarian ambitions. In Chile, after General Augusto Pinochet was defeated in the 1988 plebiscite, Air Force General Fernando Matthei told reporters that Pinochet had lost, signaling to the dictator that he could no longer rely on the support of the armed forces. In the Philippines under Marcos, critical parts of the military refused to obey orders to shoot at peaceful protestors and broke away from the dictatorship, leading to the victory of the democratic opposition.

More recently in Ukraine, during the 2004-05 Orange Revolution, a network of retired military officers and veterans helped prepare active-duty soldiers to refuse illegal government orders to fire on unarmed protestors during mass demonstrations, paving the way to the restoration of constitutional democracy. In Venezuela, under the left-wing dictatorship of Hugo Chavez, some of his key military advisors deserted him during the 2020 presidential campaign, publicly refusing to attend a ceremony for retiring officers. While the small size of the boycott did not pose a threat to Chavez’s grip on power, it nevertheless sent a strong signal that his actions violated norms of democracy.

In the United States, after the January 6^th attack in 2021, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, a politically appointed body comprised of the top eight military officials in the country, published an unprecedented letter to the joint forces stating plainly that the events of January 6th were an assault on American democracy and against the rule of law. It also emphasized how the U.S. military will continue its 250-year legacy of defending the Constitution and reiterated that President-elect Joe Biden would be the next commander in chief, in line with the rule of law. This refusal to go along with attempts to politicize and weaponize the military to foment an autogolpe, or insider coup, was critical to the peaceful transfer of power.

In these cases, powerful institutional pillars used moral, social, political, economic, cultural, and financial levers of power to push back against democratic backsliding. (My organization, the Horizons Project, and the SNF Agora Institute at Johns Hopkins University have documented many such instances in this living Pillars of Support document.) Summarizing key insights from the cases, Adam Fefer describes how these pillars have used dialogue and institutional actions, as well as protests and acts of non-cooperation, and the provision of material support to sanction autocratic behaviors and support democratic actors and institutions. Often, their actions were accompanied and prompted by the presence of a popular movement pushing and pulling on those pillars to withdraw support from autocratic regimes. As a cross-partisan, cross-ideological movement to block electoral autocracy and to enable the difficult but necessary push to build a pluralistic, inclusive, multi-racial democracy in the United States continues to grow, pillar action will be key to its success.

At the UN General Assembly this month, the Pact for the Future was passed, including two annexes: the Global Digital Compact and the Declaration for Future Generations. The School of International Futures released an Implementation Handbook for the Pact - Working for the Wellbeing of Current and Future Generations; and you can read about how democracy fits into the Pact here. Also, you’ll want to take a look at this Keseb-sponsored essay series, 21st-Century Democracy: Building a Transnational Innovation Ecosystem, authored by leading democracy champions from Brazil, South Africa, and the United States.

While many are warning against the authoritarian threat in the US and giving advice about how to get past the “believability gap” that it can and is happening in the US, others are writing about the less dramatic ways that democratic institutions can be eroded, referred to in this article as “slow burn authoritarianism.” Tim Snyder writes that Freedom is Not What We Think it Is, “freedom is national work. It takes a cooperative nation to create free individuals. That cooperation is called government. And freedom is generational work…We have to always be looking ahead. It is this prospect, this sense of a better future enabled by present decisions, that makes a land of the free.”

Nicole Bibbins Sedaca from Freedom House calls for distinguishing between political disagreements and attacks on the system in the Bulwark: When Everything Is a Threat to Democracy, Nothing Is. At the same time there is a call for more attention by philanthropy to crackdowns on social movements. Check out this special series on Women & Democracy, especially this article on the need to invest in young women of color. With the alarming rise of attacks on women’s rights around the world, our friend Mónica Roa López recently described beautifully how the feminist movement is ‘hope in action’.

The hateful rhetoric and spread of misinformation about the Haitian community in Springfield, OH caused an avalanche of online memes and counter-memes this month, with some warning about the dangerous impact of helping to spread this kind of dangerous speech, even to make fun of it. Over Zero recently launched their Election Violence Prevention Resource Page; and the Polarization Research Lab has a released its dashboard with “resources and data to understand and halt the growth of partisan animosity,” including data on support for political violence, social norms violations and statistics on politicians who engage in personal attacks.

Finally, at Horizons we're thrilled to announce the launch of the Democracy Resource Hub, an effort we have been supporting with the 22nd Century Initiative, United Vision for Idaho, and the SHIFT Action Lab. The Hub is a collection of tools, strategies, and insights spanning five key areas: Democracy Strengthening, Power-Building & Nonviolent Action, Peacebuilding, Strategic Planning, and Narrative & Storytelling. Recommendations for other organizations and resources to include in the Hub are welcome. If you missed our most recent video with Chief Organizer, Maria Stephan, explaining how to access the Pillars of Support case studies, you can find it here. And check out Chief Network Weaver, Julia Roig’s most recent blog summarizing our insights from Horizons’ Business for Democracy gatherings in September.

Here are other resources we are reading, watching, and listening to this month:

READING

American Democracy is in Peril. And Racism will be the Sledgehammer that Destroys it.
by Katie Crenshaw, The Guardian

“The backlash against the demands for racial justice that erupted in all 50 states has metastasized into the anti-woke juggernaut against anti-racism, critical race theory, 1619 and now DEI. For too long, too many of our allies and stakeholders sat it out, thinking that the stakes were not that high, that we could simply pivot and not use certain words, effectively dodging the backlash by saying “we don’t do that here.”

Now that this assault has come for something that most Americans really do care about – their country – the potential for interest convergence is ripe. Our country cannot be saved without the input of “the other,” without our history, and without the knowledge about this country that we have long brought to the table. We cannot pivot our way out of this crisis. Our only choice is to fight – to fight for our freedom to speak our history, to name our reality, to learn our condition and to vote to change it.”

Choose Your Ministry
by Maurice Mitchell, Best- Case Scenario

Don’t miss these very practical insights and recommendations from seasoned organizer and coalition-builder, Maurice Mitchell: “Many of my friends and colleagues are rightfully worried about conflict as we head into a contentious election season. Conflict between organizers and voters, between residents deciding on which candidate to choose. Even between organizers about the right way to create change…Conflict is a part of life. It happens with friends, family members, coworkers and coalitions. It pushes us to justify our beliefs and question our underlying assumptions about others. Conflict can be generative — as long as it doesn’t lead to the fragmentation of relationships or, as I call it, “rupture.” If a conflict is causing pre-existing relationships to crumble, it’s time to step back and consider what caused the rupture in the first place.”

We Have Decades of Research Telling Us How Change Works. We Need To Start Following the Evidence
by Greg Satell, DigitalTonto

This article is chock full of helpful links and resources with four main points about how change works: (1)Transformational ideas come from outside the community and incur resistance; (2) Transformations follow an “S curve” pattern... meaning that innovations take hold slowly amongst a group of enthusiasts, then hit an inflection point at 10%-20% participation, start accelerating exponentially before reaching a saturation point and begins to level off. (3) There is a common and persistent “KAP-gap,” meaning that shifts in knowledge and attitudes do not correlate highly with changes in practice. So, relying on communication campaigns to drive change is not a dependable strategy. (4) Transformational ideas are propagated socially… we know how ideas spread, it is not the mode of communication of even the individual influence of early adopters but the structure of the network that determines how fast and far an idea travels…”We need to think about change as a strategic conflict between the present state and an alternative vision. The truth is that change isn’t about persuasion, but power. To bring about transformation we need to undermine the sources of power that underlie the present state while strengthening the forces that favor a different future.”

Collaboratively imagining the future can bring people closer together in the present
The Conversation

This article gives an overview of the research conducted by Zoe Fowler Brendan and Bo O'Connor from the Imagination and Cognition Lab at the University at Albany, SUNY.

“People who collaboratively imagined a shared future together felt closer and more connected to their partner than those who independently imagined a shared future and those who collaborated on an unrelated task. This finding begins to illustrate how collaborative imagination may support new social relationships, allowing people to forge deeper connections by co-authoring imagined experiences in possible shared futures.”

WATCHING

Counting the Vote
A Firing Line Special with Margaret Hoover, PBS

“In this one-hour documentary, Margaret Hoover embarks on a journey to explore voting systems across the United States. She examines methods to increase voter confidence and sheds light on states that face challenges in their vote count processes as the 2024 election approaches. “Counting the Vote” looks back at two of the most bitterly contested elections in American history—2000 and 2020—and examines subsequent efforts to make the casting and counting of ballots more efficient and inclusive. In “Counting the Vote,” personal stories and expert voices from across the country–including interviews with those currently overseeing elections like Republican Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger and Democratic Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson–provide a comprehensive understanding of the most powerful tool in American democracy, the threats that could undermine the will of the people, and what it takes to protect the vote count.”

One-on-one with Heather Cox Richardson
Cap Times Idea Fest 2024

Heather Cox Richardson is a Boston College history professor whose daily digital essays (“Letters from an American”) that place current political events into historical context have gained a massive national following. In this keynote Idea Fest session, she talks with fellow historian David Maraniss about the precedents for what we are seeing now in America’s political landscape and where we might be headed.

Ira Chaleff and Max Klau: To Stop a Tyrant
92NY

“Join Ira Chaleff, author of the new To Stop a Tyrant: The Power of Political Followers to Make or Break a Toxic Leader, in conversation with Dr. Max Klau. While the world focuses on leadership, Chaleff knows there are no leaders without followers. His pioneering work on courageous followership is used in hundreds of leadership programs across the world and includes the practice of intelligent disobedience. While the body politic has polarized into antagonistic camps, Chaleff is Chair Emeritus of the non-partisan Congressional Management Foundation. This program is part of the Newmark Civic Life Series - conversations with leading experts exploring pro-democracy efforts at this critical moment in the US and around the world.”

Bridging the Gap: Where Policy Meets Possibility with PolicyLink
The Ask Video Podcast

In this episode, Jasmine Burton sits down with the senior leadership of PolicyLink, CEO Michael McAfee and newly appointed President Ashleigh Gardere, to “talk about policy change: the fine art of convincing the world to stop doing things the hard way.” You don’t want to miss this month’s Stanford Social Innovation Review special series curated by PolicyLink – A Revolution of the Soul, especially Michael and Ashleigh’s description of their Journey to a Consciousness of All, “to renew ourselves and the nation, we must envision and build a shared future so expansive and uncompromising that it becomes irresistible.”

LISTENING TO

Autocracy in America Podcast Series
The Atlantic

“There are authoritarian tactics already at work in the United States. To root them out, you have to know where to look.” This informative podcast series hosted by Anne Applebaum and Peter Pomerantsev, with support by the SNF Agora Institute at Johns Hopkins University has four episodes already released: (1) Start With a Lie: Undermine truth, spread falsehoods, and prepare the ground for worse; (2) Capture the Courts; (3) Consolidate Power; (4) Join the Kleptocracy.

Can the Local Church Heal Political Division? With Hahrie Han
Good Faith Podcast

“Host Curtis Chang is joined by Dr. Hahrie Han, a political scientist at Johns Hopkins University and the Director of the SNF Agora Institute, to explore how evangelical churches relate to racial and political issues. Drawing from her research on a multi-ethnic evangelical church in Cincinnati and insights from Redeeming Babel’s “The After Party” project, Dr. Han reveals how cross-racial relationships within faith communities can help heal racial division and foster deeper belonging. Listeners will discover why facing questions of race and politics head-on, rather than reducing them to political buzzwords, can transform divisive issues into shared experiences that unite communities.” You can also read more about Dr. Han’s new book Undivided: The Quest for Racial Solidarity in an American Church in this New York Times article.

Bridging The Divide w/ Issie Lapowsky
Says Maybe Podcast, hosted by Alix Dunn

“There are oceans of research papers digging into the various harms of online platforms. Researchers are asking urgent questions such as how hate speech and misinformation has an effect on our information environment, and our democracy. But how does this research find its way to the media, policymakers, advocacy groups, or even tech companies themselves? To help us answer this, Alix is joined this week by Issie Lapowsky, who recently authored Bridging The Divide: Translating Research on Digital Media into Policy and Practice — a report about how research reaches these four groups, and what they do with it. This episode also features John Sands from Knight Foundation, who commissioned this report.”

FOR FUN

In Conversation with John Paul Lederach

Check out this blog article from Humanity United with John Paul Lederach, “internationally recognized for his groundbreaking work in the fields of peace studies and conflict transformation, [who] has launched an online archive of his work across nearly four decades of engagement in peacebuilding throughout the world. This living site features content in multiple languages, with options to read, watch and listen to the extensive archive of content. This living site will continue to grow with new material from the past, present, and into the future, where you can: wander through the archives; search to navigate to a particular piece of work; and, discover the field of peacebuilding and conflict transformation.” For those of you who prefer podcasts, you can find a treasure trove of audio interviews with John Paul on his site here.

*This article was written by Chief Network Weaver Julia Roig.

There is ample evidence that democracies around the world are being threatened by authoritarian populist forces, and that the best antidote to stemming this tide is broad-based, “big tent” organizing to stand up for democratic norms and freedoms. This multi-sectoral, cross-ideological approach is the basis for the Horizons Project Pillars of Support initiative; a framework to analyze and engage key institutions that uphold democracy, including businesses, faith organizations, professional associations, unions, and veterans’ groups.

In partnership with the SNF Agora Institute at Johns Hopkins University, Horizons has been focusing on the business pillar, amongst others, to highlight the incentives, strategies, and tactics that businesses have used around the world and in the US to join the fight for democracy. Creating opportunities to build relationships and collective action between different pillars is also an important component of pro-democracy organizing. In September, Horizons convened two business for democracy events: (1) in collaboration with Professor Daniel Kinderman, we held an international exchange over Zoom with pro-democracy business leaders from Europe; and (2) with support from many partners, we brought together a virtual salon with business leaders and democracy activists. The following is a summary of the insights and learnings from those two events.

Call for Courage. There are many organizations in the US making the case for why democracy is good for business and offering different frameworks and advice on the role that businesses can play to support democracy. And yet, many business leaders remain risk-averse in the US, not wanting to wade into what is seen as polarizing partisan politics. Colleagues from Europe clearly noted the importance of understanding the stakes, and the need for courageous leadership amongst the business community at this moment. The brave role for business is both to take public stands, but can also be quiet work behind the scenes, such as conversations with influential stakeholders and direct funding for pro-democracy efforts.

Collective Action Helps to Mitigate Risk. Many noted the opportunity to mitigate risks to any one company through participation in geographically based or industry-focused associations (such as Welcome Saxony in Germany, or the US National Association of Manufacturers). Although sometimes trade associations are hard to move, if one company takes a courageous stand it can influence their peers to also move. But it was noted that committed leaders within business associations should share their experiences widely, including the arguments they use for inviting business participation and the strategic actions and pro-democracy programming they prioritize. There is often more energy for these coalitional efforts at the sub-national level such as Wisconsin Business Leaders for Democracy, but connecting those state or region-level associations together for national-level action is also important.

Protecting Democracy Beyond Elections. Standing up to autocratic, extremist political parties and candidates during elections is very important, as business leaders clearly have done recently in countries like Poland, Brazil, and Germany, and continue to do throughout the US. It was noted that autocrats are often democratically elected, making common cause with centrist groups and then degrading democratic institutions and norms once in office, such as the case in Hungary. At the same time, focusing only on supporting get out the vote (GOTV) programs and giving employees time off to vote is insufficient to combat the nature of the populist, authoritarian threat. Even with close electoral pro-democracy wins, extremist factions remain a powerful force to contend with in each of these countries which requires sustained interventions and a long-term perspective to pro-democracy organizing.

Role of Employees. In some European cases, business leaders reported an overwhelmingly positive response from their employees when they took a firm stand for democracy and began participating actively in pro-democracy business coalitions. It was also noted the leverage that employees have to pressure companies to either stop providing financial support to undemocratic candidates/parties, or to get off the sidelines and participate more actively in upholding democratic norms, policies and institutions. Identifying employees in key businesses or industries who may come from civil society backgrounds can serve as potential allies for pro-democracy organizers and help with internal pressure to incentivize private sector action.

Importance of Supporting Institutions and Investment in Political Leadership. Panelists extolled the need to help re-establish trust in institutions and to speak with respect about and to public officials and civil servants. It was noted that businesses should be engaged with building nonpartisan democratic infrastructure and democratic innovations, such as alternative forms of voting and civic participation like citizen assemblies. Some private sector leaders in Europe are also mobilizing the sector to invest resources to establish a pipeline of new political leaders, such as the Multitudes Foundation and the Apolitical Foundation, working to train young people in civil society to run for office - currently operating in 50 countries, but not yet in the US.

Critical Need for Citizen Education and Resources for Pro-Democracy Organizing. Some of the business associations in Europe are involved with non-partisan civic education programs to ensure an educated citizenry. They also run trainings for their members on topics of combating hate and racism, engaging with stakeholders, and how businesses and employees can get more involved in civic initiatives in their communities. Additionally, some business leaders in Europe understand the need for a strong pro-democracy civil society and have created foundations specifically to provide resources to nonprofits to organize and mobilize, as well as to conduct other citizen engagement programs and media campaigns.

Making the Business and the Economic Case Against Autocracy. Some noted that autocratic regimes are often good for certain industries or crony-insiders, and in the short-term promises of less taxes and less regulation can sound very good for businesses’ bottom line. In the long-term, however, the overall business operating environment suffers in a country with the presence of anti-democratic, extremist populism exactly because of the crony capitalism and diminished rule of law. Our colleagues in Europe made a strong case for connecting the different fields of economics, democracy, and politics, and to help make a clear economic case for why support for autocracy is not in the interest of the private sector. This may require businesses to get more involved in coalitions targeting direct advocacy efforts, for example on immigration policies, or stand together with other sectors to take a firm public stand against political actors that espouse hate or political violence, or who actively use executive power to punish political opponents. It will also take activists allowing for business to rely on arguments of economic self-interest as a way to engage them meaningfully in the pro-democracy agenda.

Understanding and Applying History. While historic contexts are different across regions, speakers reflected on the importance of situating the current rise of authoritarianism, and actions needed, within a country’s specific history. For one thing, populism is not a new thing; and autocratic or fascist leaders have come into power through valid elections over the last century with the support of private sector actors. A country like Germany has a special responsibility and commitment to fight against far-right fascists and extremism; and throughout Eastern Europe there remains a strong connection to the bravery of citizens who toppled communist dictatorship and fought for their democratic freedoms. In the US context, understanding that we only achieved true democracy with the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965, putting an end to Jim Crow, helps to connect the resurgence of white nationalist movements and racist, xenophobic political rhetoric with the current threats to democracy.

Veneer of Business as Usual. During the Q&A with our international guests, many asked about how to incentivize more courage amongst US business leaders, and one compelling response was to make the case that extremist populism and autocracy is chaotic and unstable. From the European experience, many business leaders may have felt confident that they will be able to continue to operate normally and “do business” with an autocratic regime based on their negotiating prowess and relying on rational policy arguments; but dealing with autocrats is not the same as negotiating with business partners. In Hungary under Orban, the first years were good for business and the tax rate for business remains low. But more recently, he has been nationalizing industries, giving preferential business opportunities to friends and punishing enemies in the private sector who have no legal recourse with a captured judiciary. Even if autocrats can be good for some entrepreneurs, especially those closest to the autocrat, they are never good for business as a whole or capable of providing a path for long-term prosperity.

It will Take an Array of Approaches to Influence the Business Community. During the business-activist salon, participants highlighted that the climate movement leveraged both the activism, boycotts, and pressure campaigns organized by Greenpeace and boardroom conversations with senior executives to move the business community in a more pro-climate direction. A spectrum of approaches is needed to do the same for democracy. In 2020, there was a sense of inherent risk in not speaking out for democracy in the US. That has changed dramatically in the last four years, in large part because businesses that are taking public stands like Disney, Target, and Budweiser have been targeted. Businesses see staying silent as the less risky option. Because the boardroom risk analysis in 2024 is not in favor of speaking out for democracy, it will take activism to shift that risk calculus. Activists also need to build relationships with moderate conservatives and small business owners. Because business is not a monolith and each sector—and each corporation—is different, it is worth acknowledging the businesses that take positive steps related to democracy, adding a carrot to the activist toolkit, alongside the stick.

Additional Resources

For more on Pillars of Support:
- Overview of the concept
- Business-specific page
- Business-specific case studies
- All case studies of pillars of society standing up for democracy

Recognizing and Countering Authoritarian Threats to Democracy: The Role for Business by Elizabeth Doty and Daniel Kinderman
How does Business Fare Under Populism by Rachel Kleinfeld
Corporate Civic Playbook, Civic Alliance
Corporate Civic Action Plan, Leadership Now Project

On the Impact of Autocracy on Business Performance:
- Democratic erosion causes economic decline. Here are the 7 kinds of business at highest risk. The Brookings Institution
- 10 Reasons Why Trump is Bad for Business. (Slide deck) Third Way
- Goldman Sachs analysis on Harris vs. Trump victory
- The Employees Who Gave the Most to Trump and Biden (employee giving) in the 2020 election.
- As CEOs, we will not tolerate threats against Arizona election workers. Op-ed from Arizona CEOs launching Leadership Now Arizona.
- Live database from CREW tracking corporate giving to election deniers.
- Accountable.us tracker.
- The book “The Order of the Day” describes the relationship between business leaders and politics in Germany in the 1930s.

August has featured renewed energy about the upcoming elections, and we continue to focus on how to prevent election subversion in the US while taking stock of the ways states are strengthening their democratic institutions for the long term. Project 2025 continues to receive needed attention, such as this overview by the Kettering Foundation analyzing it as a Blueprint for Christian Nationalist Regime Change. New studies are helping make sense of Americans’ attitudes during this election year, such as Democracy Fund’s look at How Attitudes about Race and Immigration are Settling and Shifting, and Frameworks’ updated report on how Americans are Thinking about Gender, notably how the use of transphobic language is becoming alarmingly commonplace across party lines as a shorthand to refer to what is wrong with the world today. We appreciated this celebration of the political rise of Indian Americans in the US, and the recognition of the importance of the civil rights movement in realizing those gains.

While many of us are focusing on the elections in the US, we know our pro-democracy organizing will continue long past November. Take a look at this toolkit from the Building Movement Project on The 2024 Elections and Beyond: Fortifying Ourselves, Our Organizations, and Our Ecosystems; and important lessons for funders from Alan Hudson on Ecosystems, Emergence and Social Change. At Horizons, we will continue to engage with the Pillars of Support for Democracy, including case studies of how businesses, faith organizations, unions, professional associations, and veterans/military families are confronting authoritarianism in the US and globally, and recommend this new video from the Leadership Now Project on the business case against authoritarianism.

Looking abroad for inspiration on how citizen participation can help us fight against authoritarianism and political violence, we are also inspired by the acts of community courage in the UK in the face of the recent far right riots. Check out this article in Foreign Affairs about how to prevent the “Spiral of Political Violence in America.” In last month’s newsletter, we announced our new Harnessing Our Power To End Political Violence (HOPE) Guide, and would like to invite those interested to please contact the HOPE PV team about our free training offerings to learn more about how to come together to make political violence backfire.

As summer comes to an end in the US, enjoy these additional resources that Horizons has been reading, watching, and listening to:

READING

Misunderstanding Democratic Backsliding
by Thomas Carothers and Brendan Hartnett, Journal of Democracy

“One of the most common explanations of the ongoing wave of global democratic backsliding is that democracies are failing to deliver adequate socioeconomic goods to their citizens, leading voters to forsake democracy and embrace antidemocratic politicians who undermine democracy once elected.” This paper takes a closer look at twelve cases of recent backsliding and finds that backsliding is less a result of democracies failing to deliver than of democracies failing to constrain the predatory political ambitions and methods of certain elected leaders.”

Creating a Pro-Democracy Conservative Agenda
Philanthropy for Active Civic Engagement (PACE)

Kristen Cambell from PACE recently interviewed Scott Warren from the SNF Agora Institute at Johns Hopkins University and Matthew Germer from the R Street Institute about their project to build a pro-democracy agenda among conservatives. They are bringing together diverse conservative voices, including Trump supporters and critics, to find common ground on democratic principles, also highlighting the critical need for authentic, bold conservative leadership to address current challenges in American democracy.

The Pocket Guide for Facing Down a Civil War: Surprising ideas from everyday people who shifted the cycles of violence
by John Paul Lederach

Don’t miss esteemed peacebuilder, academic, and author, John Paul Lederach’s recent Washington Post Op Ed where he shares ideas from his newly released (and free!) Pocket Guide. The Guide addresses the extreme danger of hyper-polarization, how that has led to civil war in many of the places he has worked, and what he has learned from decades in peacebuilding about what can be done now in the US.

We are future ancestors: on authoritarian politics and the deepening of our radical roots
by E Cram, Natalie Fixmer-Oraiz and V Fixmer-Oraiz

“…this essay charts urgent connections among queer/trans/disability frameworks of environmental, climate, and reproductive justice centered around community planning and county level democratic politics. [The authors] reflect on the lessons learned in their local context of Iowa between 2023–2024, during unprecedented legislative control of queer and trans lives and reproductive politics. They argue anti-trans legislation is a form of authoritarianism and political violence, a frame which shifts how organizers might draw connections among issues and energize future struggles.”

WATCHING

Author Discussion on Resistance Movements
National Book Festival, C-SPAN

During August’s National Book Festival in Washington DC, Alexis Pauline Gumbs, author of the new book "Survival Is a Promise" and Tiya Miles, author of "Night Flyer" discussed the lives of abolitionist Harriet Tubman and civil rights icon and poet Audre Lorde. Don’t miss their inspiring conversation and check out these important books.

The Importance of Cultural Values for Meaningful Change
The Common Cause Foundation

The Common Cause Foundation in the UK has recently released this three-minute video “…that demonstrates the need to shift our mainstream cultural values to intrinsic values such as care, equality, creativity and togetherness in order to step up to meet the multiple social and environmental crises we are navigating.” You can also check out their other resources, including a helpful values map and a toolkit full of practical tips on incorporating values into our communications, facilitation, and trainings.

Cultures in the Crossfade
The Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism, USC

This series explores the concept of the crossfader in DJ mixing as a metaphor for blending differences without erasing them. “By toggling between two music input channels without fully fading out either, the crossfader exemplifies how we can combine and sustain diverse perspectives, fostering connection without diminishing individuality. In this pilot episode, they visit New Orleans, a city deeply rooted in Black culture and the legacies of enslavement, now witnessing the growth of Honduran, Mexican, Palestinian, and Vietnamese communities. This cultural shift prompts new reflections on what it means to be a Southern Black city in an increasingly multicultural and global context.” You can also watch other episodes featuring Lincoln, Nebraska, and Houston, Texas.

Practitioner Mobilization for Democracy Launch
National Coalition for Dialogue and Deliberation (NCDD)

ICYMI, you can re-watch the inaugural Practitioner Mobilization for Democracy kick-off event, “marking the beginning of a significant movement aimed at harnessing the unique skills of mediation and facilitation practitioners to foster dialogue, resolve conflicts, and build stronger communities through democratic engagement. As the country navigates significant tensions and societal divisions, this project affirms that the necessary resources are already present... The objective is to mobilize practitioners in dialogue facilitation, community mediation, collaborative communication, and conflict transformation to support the future of democracy.” You can sign up here to find out more and get involved.

LISTENING TO

We The Founders: Building a Shared Democracy
I am Interchange Podcast with Tate Chamberlin

“As we approach 2026, marking the 250^th anniversary of the founding of the United States, we find ourselves at a critical inflection point for democracy. The promise of equity demands that every policy and investment provide a significant, sustained support to those most in need. This support must act as a bridge in creating an equitable economy, fostering an inclusive and compassionate society, and strengthening an accountable democracy…To that end we need a revolution of the soul. In this podcast, Tate hosts Duke University public policy professor Nancy MacLean, PolicyLink CEO Michael McAfee, and RepresentUS CEO Josh Lynn in a discussion of the messy truths about democracy and getting things done.”

Let’s Say a Little Bit More About: Joy in Change Making
Say More with Tulaine Montgomery Podcast

Let’s Say a Little Bit More is a three-part mini-series where Tulaine dives deeper into recurring themes discussed with previous Say More guests. In this first episode, she explores how we can undertake the challenging work as changemakers while also savoring the beauty of relationships, laughter, and joy. Previous podcasts mentioned in this episode include: The Art of Organizing with Marshal Ganz; Nurturing Our Minds, Shaping Our Reality with Krista Tippet; What it Takes to Keep a Democracy Going with Debra Cleaver; Embracing our Multitudes with Jimmie Briggs; and What’s Up With Higher Education in America with Steven Colón.

Stacey Abrams: DEI is in America’s DNA
The Context Podcast

“American history is a story about diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). Stacey Abrams discusses why Americans should embrace and defend DEI as democratic values. She explains how DEI benefits all Americans, expanding participation in our democracy and access to the American dream.”

FOR FUN

100 days of 100 Actions

Depending on when you’re reading this, there will be a limited number of days left in the countdown to the elections in the US. When many people might be asking “what can I do?” - check out this list of resources that gives everyone an action a day. It’s a fun - and evolving - project to break down the steps to work for democracy and increase civic engagement in 100 easy and scalable actions.

A groundbreaking initiative to address the growing threat of political violence in US communities is making its national launch. Because political violence poses a significant threat to democracy, security, and the values of our country, the 22nd Century Initiative (22CI) and the Horizons Project launch their new initiative: Harnessing Our Power to End Political Violence (HOPE-PV).

“The HOPE-PV initiative will stop the normalization of political violence in our country, shining a light on the anti-democratic aims of those who use threats and violence to achieve political ends, and on the courageous efforts of community members who are taking collective action against violence and threats,” said Scot Nakagawa, Executive Director of the 22nd Century Initiative.

Political violence is a direct assault on the US Constitution, democracy, and the rights and freedoms of people across the nation. It’s not a new concern for racial, ethnic, and religious minority groups, as well as immigrants and LGBTQ people, especially those who live in rural communities, but these acts have grown more visible and frequent in recent years - government leaders from both parties have been targeted with a former president being one of the most recent victims.

Despite this growing threat, research has shown that the vast majority of the public opposes violence to settle political disputes. “The very small minority in the US who incite, threaten, and enact political violence won’t stop on their own. We, the vast majority, must take action to stop them by imposing costs on their actions,” said Hardy Merriman, author of the HOPE-PV guide.

Over the next 12 months, 22CI, Horizons, and their core team of grassroots organizations and researchers will educate and train 50,000 community leaders to help move at least 500,000 people to take courageous actions to make political violence backfire in their local communities. Through organizing, unity, and nonviolent mobilization, we can end the culture of violence in this country and build a backfire wall against future threats.

“We know that political violence is not a new issue, especially for Black and Brown communities and in the South, but our training and framing can bring new people into the work to end this violence. It’s time we all step up—we keep us safe,” said Naomi Washington-Leapheart, Strategic Partnerships Director at Political Research Associates and HOPE-PV training leader.

On the new HOPE-PV website, endpoliticalviolence.org, download the guide that lays out the threat of political violence and how individual and collective action can counter it. Request a training session for your group or organization to learn the strategy and tactics to organize your community to make political violence backfire.

“Just as there is a long history of political violence and authoritarianism in this country, there is an even longer history of communities using the skills and strategies of nonviolent organizing and resistance to make violence and injustice backfire,” said Maria J. Stephan of the Horizons Project.  “Our movements - from abolition to suffrage to civil rights to labor rights and environmental protection - have confronted political violence with organization, discipline, joy, humor, and resilience. HOPE-PV draws on this legacy and taps into its practical wisdom.”

About 22CI and Horizons:

22CI’s mission is to create an effective, culturally diverse mass mobilization against authoritarianism and for democratic inclusion. 22CI does this by investing in the capacities and infrastructure necessary to win an inclusive and people-centered democracy in this century and the next.

The Horizons Project is dedicated to building a broad and powerful movement to challenge rising authoritarianism and advance an inclusive, pluralistic, multi-racial democracy in the US, while strengthening global democratic solidarity. We are committed to organizing across lines of difference while supporting research and training that strengthens our collective work to build a just, equitable, and peaceful society

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Contact: Tony Eskridge, Communications Manager, [email protected]

What a month! July started off with our Independence Day in the US, including many civic season celebrations around the country. While we are reeling from the murder of Sonya Massey in Illinois who was fatally shot by a deputy while responding to her 911 call, the shooting of former President Trump brought this long-standing issue of political violence to the forefront of public discourse. We are pleased to be able to release a new Guide on Making Political Violence Backfire this month, together with several partners, described more in the READING section below, and appreciate the ongoing work of partners like Urban Rural Action to help address political violence in communities.

As the year of mega elections continues around the world, we are seeing surprises in France; contested results in Venezuela, and lessons to be learned from citizen movements in Africa. The fast-changing political dynamics in the US picked up speed this month when President Biden stepped down and Vice President Kamala Harris became the presumptive nominee of the Democratic Party. The abrupt change has spurred questions about the process of choosing a new nominee, as well as reflections on the important role played by political parties during moments of heightened uncertainty.

Horizons continues to be animated by the on-going authoritarian threats to democracy in the US and globally. Don’t miss Ruth Ben-Ghiat’s recent interview with The Guardian on What the Authoritarian Playbook Looks Like; and, congratulations to our partners at the 22^nd Century Initiative on their launch of the Anti-Authoritarianism podcast, with a wonderful first conversation on How We Got Here with Suzanne Pharr. As a part of Horizons’ Pillars of Support project, we recently released 30 "caselets" that you can find here, together with the SNF Agora Institute at Johns Hopkins University exploring the specific tactics and strategies employed by key pillars throughout history and around the world in support of a pro-democracy agenda; notably faith-based organizations, businesses, unions & professional associations, and veterans groups.

Take a listen to the audio recording of Horizons’ Julia Roig and Jarvis Williams’ session at the recent Othering & Belonging Institute conference on "Leaning into Paradox: How We Can Block, Bridge & Build Our Democratic Future Together." And, enjoy the latest in our Sensemaking with Horizons Series, as Jarvis has a conversation with Shun Tucker-Allen, Senior Faith Partnerships Coordinator at Fair Count about her work organizing with faith communities in the South.

As this whirlwind month comes to a close, we invite you to check out some additional resources we’ve been reading, watching, and listening to:

READING

Harnessing Our Power to End Political Violence (HOPE) Guide
by Hardy Merriman

The HOPE guide was written for the 22^nd Century Initiative and the Horizons Project along with allies working to end political violence. “[The guide] is designed to help people across the United States counter political violence. It aims to empower individuals and strengthen communities to make political violence backfire against those who incite, threaten, and enact it. Community response to political violence can both support victims and impose costs on those who incite and engage in abuse. We need to stand up to those who want to silence our voices, who try to deny us our rights, and who aim to bully their way into political influence through intimidation and violence.”

From Waves to Ecosystems: The Next Stage of Democratic Innovation
by Josh Lerner, SNF Ithaca Initiative

“Anti-democratic movements are surging around the world, threatening to undermine elections and replace them with oligarchy…While elections dominate current thinking about democracy, the history and future of democracy is much broader. For over 5,000 years, people have built up competing waves of electoral, direct, deliberative, and participatory democracy. We are now seeing a transition, however, from waves to ecosystems. Rather than seeking one single solution to our ailing democracy, a new generation of democracy reformers is weaving together different democratic practices into balanced democratic ecosystems. This white paper provides a roadmap for this emerging next stage of democratic innovation. It reviews the limitations of elections, the different waves of democratic innovation and efforts to connect them, and key challenges and strategies for building healthy ecosystems of democracy.” You can also watch the launch event of the paper.

Towards a Polycrisis Consciousness
by Mark Gerzon and Mesa Sebree, Mediators Foundation

“This essay explores the nature of the polycrisis and why it requires a different approach for dealing with change…From politicians and philanthropists to activists and ordinary civilians, our way of conceptualizing our struggles must shift to coincide with the unignorable new reality. But what kind of mindset is required? In order to make real steps towards change, [the authors argue] it is critical to first develop holistic ways of thinking:” Think like a mountain range; Retire optimism and pessimism and focus on possibility; Avoid anachronistic – isms altogether; Inner work is not optional but indispensable.

WATCHING

The Brain on Authoritarianism
The Horizons Project & Beyond Conflict

The Horizons Project and Beyond Conflict partnered to create this short video to support broad-based "united front" organizing in response to the rising authoritarian threat in the US and globally. Better understanding the brain's response to fear, toxic othering, and threats to social identity will help pro-democracy organizers to confront the authoritarian playbook and come together across difference to work more effectively towards a multi-racial, pluralistic, inclusive democracy.

A Greater Story of We with Maurice Mitchell
The Othering & Belonging Conference

“Renowned social movement strategist Maurice Mitchell, a visionary leader in the Movement for Black Lives, and now National Director of the Working Families Party, [gave] the closing keynote on new formations and ways of being and working with each other that are needed to confront the current era of rising authoritarianism, climate emergency, toxic inequality, and widespread precarity and fragmentation.” You can watch all the 2024 OBI conference sessions online.

Addressing Questions from Skeptics of Political Depolarization and Bridge-building Work
by Zachary Elwood

Zachary summarizes a talk between Liz Joyner of The Village Square and Melissa Weintraub, the Executive Director of Resetting The Table. “In this talk, Melissa spent some time addressing some common objections…Why bother engaging with people with whom I disagree? Can’t polarization be a good thing? Isn’t polarization necessary for social progress? Are there “red lines” for people we shouldn’t engage with? How do you draw that line? Is what you do “both sides”-ism? Is it promoting a mushy centrism? What’s a concrete example where you’ve seen this kind of bridge-building effort pay off? What did that look like?” You can re-watch the discussion from Facebook Live.

LISTENING TO

adrienne maree brown on Radical Imagination and Moving Towards Life
On Being Podcast

“We’re listening with new ears as [adrienne maree brown] brings together so many of the threads that have recurred in this season of On Being: on looking the harsh complexity of this world full in the face while dancing with joy as life force and fuel and on keeping clear eyes on the reasons for ecological despair while giving oneself over to a loving apprenticeship with the natural world as teacher and guide. A love of visionary science fiction also finds a robust place in her work and this conversation. She altogether shines a light on an emerging ecosystem in our world over and against the drumbeat of what is fractured and breaking — the cultivation of old and new ways of seeing, towards a transformative wholeness of living.”

Grief Is the Medicine with Malkia Devich Cyril
Becoming the People Podcast with Prentis Hemphill

“In this powerful episode, Prentis is joined by transformative grief activist, movement strategist, writer Malkia Devich Cyril. Malkia shares stories and wisdom from their personal experience of loss, the possibility that emerges when we attend to our grief, their insight about how we choose to grieve can determine how we can change the world.”

Leveraging Networks for Democracy with the Leadership Now Project
Systems Catalysts Podcast

“Systems change can happen through networks, but it isn’t as straightforward as organizing a group of people with shared values. When Daniella Ballou-Aares witnessed American democratic values deteriorating, she gathered a group of concerned business and thought leaders to launch the Leadership Now Project.” In this episode Daniella and Anoop Prakash, the Wisconsin Chapter Lead, talk about the power of leveraging networks to protect and renew American democracy.

Otto Scharmer: What Future is Wanting to Emerge Through You?
Sounds True Podcast

“In a bold conversation that speaks directly to both our individual empowerment and the larger societal changes that are becoming increasingly urgent, Tami Simon and Otto Scharmer discuss: the collective sense of depression and disillusion at this time; reframing a fearful cultural narrative to one of hope and possibility; bridging today’s ecological, social, and spiritual divides; ego-system awareness vs. ecosystem awareness; big changes through small steps; the subtle shift of “opening the will”; letting go of what’s not essential; moving from certainties to not knowing…and much more.”

FOR FUN & ANNOUNCEMENTS

Project Tipping Point: A Glossary for the Appreciation of Life
“Within this document are more than 70 words and their meanings from a breadth of languages and cultures, with the common thread being that these words (re)connect us with nature, ourselves, others, and life in general. We hope it brings some joy to your day.”

War Prevention Initiative’s Essay ‘Un-Contest’ on Peaceful Elections
With half of the global population living in countries with national elections this year, we are concerned about the potential for violence before, during, and after these elections. We want to challenge ourselves and potential contributors to ask: How can we ensure that elections are peaceful—that individuals feel safe expressing themselves politically, free from violence and threats of violence? Selected essays (including written, photo, or audio essays, as well as other forms of creative expression addressing this topic that can be published on a website) will be published in the Peace Science Digest. Author(s) will be compensated $300 for their submission. The due date for submissions is August 28, 2024.