Category: News

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.

The Horizons Project Director for Race & Democracy, Jarvis Williams, 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 more pro-democracy organizers and funders seek to engage more deeply with faith communities around the country, Shun shares her experience of fostering trusting relationships that are not transactional; being creative about building on the existing infrastructure and activities already happening within communities; not assuming that you need to go to the largest churches or directly to the pastors to have an impact; and, the importance of taking a long-term perspective to this work even in the face of urgent electoral cycles.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kT8crHo_WWg

Chief Network Weaver, Julia Roig and Jarvis Williams, Director for Race & Democracy reflect on some of the natural tensions facing the work of organizers at the national and state levels within a "block, bridge, build" framework - the importance of applied history, attention to what voices and partnerships are privileged, and how specific asks for policies and institutional reforms are raised and prioritized. All this while also bringing in our "intermestic" lens of shared struggles with colleagues in other countries.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RjKVFT6kvWI

During the month of June, we celebrated Pride and also observed Juneteenth. Hear directly about the history from the “Grandmother of Juneteenth” Opal Lee, one of the activists who advocated for this federal holiday. You can read about the need to not “water down” Juneteenth described as “less [of] a celebration and more a wake-up call for the necessity of organizing to prevent the erosion of rights, liberty, and fairness.” We would recommend Harvard’s Kennedy School new study on Normalizing Reparations: U.S. Precedent, Norms and Models for Compensating Harms and Implications for Reparations to Black Americans; and you can learn about the specific experiences of the New Jersey Reparations Council as they observed Juneteenth by reflecting on the past year. This month Ms. magazine extolled readers, “Let’s All See Ourselves in Black Women,” and affirms that “it is by centering Black women that we get to meet the needs of all.”

Horizons continues to prioritize making connections between academics and practitioners and would highlight two recent articles that identify important researchers and include summaries of their work: Political Scientists Want to Know Why We Hate One Another This Much; and, The Behavioral Scientists Working Toward a More Peaceful World. You also may be interested in recent insights on how AI could change democracy.

Please check out two recent articles from Chief Organizer, Maria Stephan on making political violence backfire and the important role of faith leaders in standing up to the authoritarian playbook. And finally, you don’t want to miss this recent episode of the Laura Flanders Show that features Maria together with our colleagues at 22^nd Century Initiative and Vision Change Win, discussing political violence and ways communities can come together to organize against it.

Happy summer to those in the northern hemisphere, and enjoy these additional resources we’ve been reading, watching, and listening to this past month:

READING

A System Within: Addressing the Inner Dimensions of Sustainability and Systems Transformation
The Club of Rome

“This deep-dive paper aims to complement Earth for All by highlighting the overlooked inner dimension of system change, and supplying systems thinkers with the language to advocate for psychological, social and spiritual factors crucial to sustainable solutions. It discusses worldviews, mindsets, values and identity as root drivers of cultural behaviour, their interaction with psychological and behavioural tendencies, and the transformative inner capacities that can be cultivated to intervene at deep leverage points; and introduces existing initiatives leading the way in integrating inner and outer dimensions of system change.”

Here’s Why the News Didn’t Tell You What Protesters Really Wanted
by Douglas M. McLeod, Scientific American

A “protest paradigm” identified by news researchers four decades ago helps explain why protest coverage often fails to inform the public and limits the impact of the protests…numerous studies examining coverage of social protests—including both left-wing and right-wing protests, as well as a wide range of issue protests—have isolated common characteristics of relevant news stories, [including] focusing on protest events rather than protest issues, positioning protests as contests between protesters and the police rather than their intended targets, and privileging officialdom’s views of the protests rather than a more diverse array of informed perspectives. The paradigm also disparages protests by highlighting any rudeness, noise or legal violations by some protesters; marginalizes protesters as being different from normal citizens; [and finally] minimizes the effectiveness of the protest.”

Understanding Youth Perceptions Towards Authoritarianism
by Meryl Miner and Scott Warren

“In this mega-election year, it's becoming increasingly evident that young people are frustrated with the form of democracy they're experiencing. This is an active conversation in polling in a US context- but it's a global phenomenon, and worth understanding whether this frustration turns into flirtation with authoritarianism itself. [This] report uses new polling and qualitative interviews with young people across the world, including members of Generation Democracy and Democracy Moves to explore whether youth are actually becoming more inclined to look toward autocratic leaders to provide results.”

On Relational Infrastructure
by Sam Rye, Network Weaver

“Relational infrastructure refers to the social connections, interactions, and collective intelligence that underpin a community, network or group’s ability to collaborate, solve problems, and drive change. It is an emergent framework of trust, shared values, and common goals that allows individuals, groups, and organizations to work together effectively, pool their resources, and amplify their impact. A strong relational infrastructure can enable organisations and communities to overcome challenges, build resilience, and create sustainable social, economic, and environmental value and outcomes.”

WATCHING

Rev. James Lawson: Gandhi & Nonviolence
International Center for Nonviolent Conflict

This month, we lost a giant in the field of nonviolence and one of the architects of the U.S. civil rights movement. To honor the Rev. James Lawson, we recommend watching these short remarks he delivered in 2009: "I've come to the conclusion... that life itself is powerful and that the gift of life is a gift of power. And the big issue is, do we help shape our children, our babies, to use that power destructively or to use that life power that they have from day one in ways that enlarges them, that gives them a sense of freedom, enables them to make good choices.... Philosophically, I like to say that nonviolence is the power of creation that is planted in us human beings uniquely."

Hospicing Modernity & Rehabilitating Humanity
The Great Simplification with Nate Hagens

“In this episode, Vanessa Andreotti discusses what she calls “hospicing modernity…” Whether you refer to it as the metacrisis or the polycrisis, Vanessa brings a unique framing rooted in indigenous knowledge and relationality to aid in understanding, grieving, and building emotional resilience. What does it mean to live and work within systems that are designed to fail? How do we as individuals steady ourselves and create inner strength before engaging with such harrowing work?” Vanessa is the author of Hospicing Modernity: Facing humanity’s wrongs and the implications for social activism and one of the founders of the Gesturing Towards Decolonial Futures Arts/Research Collective.

Does Deliberative Democracy Stand a Chance in Neoliberal Times?
University of Canberra, Centre for Deliberative Democracy and Global Governance

This recording is part 4 of a 10-part conversation series on 10 Big Questions on Deliberative Democracy. Professor John Dryzek, author of ‘Democracy in Capitalist Times: Ideals, Limits, and Struggles’ discusses whether deliberative democracy stands a chance in neoliberal times, and Professor Oliver Escobar argues that it does not stand a chance unless we think critically about the type of deliberative democracies we develop and how we approach current levers of power.

Cultivating Hope - Supporting Changemaker Wellbeing
The Wellbeing Project

This series of conversations is hosted by Rohini Nilekani with leading philanthropists, starting with this short teaser with Melinda French Gates. The series will be exploring the pressing funding gap for changemakers’ access to wellbeing resources and how it is holding back progress both now and for future generations. Check out the curated list of resources the Wellbeing Project has developed and what “you can do for you and for the people you care about.”

LISTENING TO

What it Takes to Heal
Becoming the People podcast

“In Becoming the People’s inaugural episode, Prentis Hemphill, co-founder of the Embodiment Institute is joined by their dear friend adrienne maree brown. adrienne interviews Prentis about their book, ‘What it Takes to Heal: How Transforming Ourselves Can Change the World.’ These two friends discuss Prentis’ journey of writing this book, the role that transformational characters play in change work, and why we should prioritize healing in this painful moment of history.”

Disruptive Movements with Frances Fox Pivens
Practical Radicals podcast

You can listen to all eleven episodes of this podcast series that accompanies the book, Practical Radicals: Seven Strategies to Change the World. Horizons would highlight this episode, that explores the strategy of disruption with one of its leading theorists and practitioners, the scholar and activist Frances Fox Piven. The conversation starts by distinguishing protest from disruption, two types of action that are often confused. They consider famous instances of disruption, like the mass actions on the Standing Rock Indian Reservation that blocked the Dakota Access Pipeline, and lesser-known ones, like the 1975 “Women’s Day Off” that helped win equal rights for women in Iceland. The conversation covers the potential for using disruptive power today, the ways that too much organization can stifle movements, and the essential role of exuberance in movement politics.

Building Solidarity in an Era of Silos
Solidarity Is This podcast

“Fractures are widening. In an age of increasing polarization and division, how can we build bridges across lines of difference and strengthen solidarity? What strategies do we need to sustain connections across the growing chasms of ideology, experience, power, and privilege?” This special episode is a lightly edited recording of the State of Solidarity in April 2024 featuring Adaku Utah in conversation with Darakshan Raja, Muslims for Just Futures; Woods Ervin, Critical Resistance; Xochitl Bervera, Near Futures Farms; Rachael Lorenzo, Indigenous Women Rising; and Yvonne Yen Liu, Solidarity Research Center.

FOR INSPIRATION

What Gives You Hope Right Now?
The State of Belief, Interfaith Alliance

Ever since the Interfaith Alliance President & CEO, Rev. Paul Brandeis Raushenbush, started hosting The State of Belief, he's made a point of asking virtually every one of his guests this one question: “What gives you hope right now?” Here's what gives Dr. Anthea Butler, Sharon Salzberg, Rep. Jamie Raskin, Race Forward's Eric Ward, Rev. Dr. Derrick Harkins, Rob Reiner, Sushma Dwivedi, Tim Alberta, Rabbi Sharon Brous, Rainn Wilson, and Dr. Eddie Glaude, Jr. hope.

*This article was written by Chief Organizer Maria J. Stephan and was first published on Sojourners, you can access the full article without a paywall here.

How Christians can defend and nurture democracy

IN 2012, I was a U.S. State Department officer deployed to Turkey to work with the Syrian opposition. It was an opportunity to support Syrian activists waging a remarkable popular struggle against an authoritarian government that had responded to peaceful protest with bullets and torture. For nearly a year, Syrian Sunnis, Christians, Kurds, Druze, Alawites, and others used demonstrations, sit-ins, resistance music, colorful graffiti, consumer boycotts, and dozens of other nonviolent tactics to challenge the Bashar al-Assad administration. But the nonviolent movement was unable to remain resilient in the face of brutality, external support for civil resistance was weak, and finally Syrians took up arms. This played into Assad’s hand. Death, displacement, and destruction skyrocketed. Extremists exploited the chaos. The Syrian nonviolent pro-democracy forces were inspired and courageous but lacked organization and adequate support to prepare them for the long haul. This haunts me to this day.

I’ve worked around the world with scholars, activists, policy makers, and faith communities to design effective support for nonviolent struggles to defend and advance freedom and dignity. I’ve been mentored by leaders of the U.S. civil rights movement, the greatest pro-democracy movement in our history, whose strategic campaigns to dismantle racial authoritarianism hold great relevance today.

As we head into the 2024 election, the risks to freedom and democracy are higher than they’ve been for decades. Religious communities who understand that democracy is the best modern governing system for protecting religious freedom and advancing shared values have a critical role to play as partisans for democracy.

A People’s Government

DEMOCRACY IS THE delicate balance of collective self-rule (majority rule) and civil liberties (minority rights). For a vibrant, multifaith democracy to thrive, we must reject attempts to concentrate government power in the hands of a few or with those who are not constitutionally accountable to the governed.

You can access the rest of the article without a paywall here.

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

The new dystopian Hollywood film, Civil War, has raised the specter of devastating violent conflict once again engulfing America. While the film has been criticized by some for normalizing political violence, others have embraced it as a learning opportunity, and a way to highlight the necessity of working together to prevent the terrible outcomes envisaged in the film. Although the film doesn’t really address how the United States devolves into civil war, in fact research has documented how that happens, and the United States is seeing the signs now – including the mainstreaming of dehumanizing rhetoric, and politically motivated threats, harassment, and acts of physical violence that are inspiring fear and undermining the practice of democracy. 

Fortunately, in communities across the United States, ordinary people are already organizing and mobilizing to nonviolently confront a broad spectrum of political violence that ranges from incidents of police brutality, to attacks on election officials and school board members, to attempts by white nationalist groups to disrupt events celebrating diversity and social inclusion. These communities are turning the tables on perpetrators of political violence while building more resilient communities. Confronting the normalization of political violence and stopping it from undermining the practice of inclusive democracy in the United States requires tapping into the power of communities, with their diverse membership, to resist violence and make it backfire.

The United States, of course, has a long history of political violence, almost always linked to efforts to expand political power for some while denying it to others, typically Black and Brown Americans. The post-Reconstruction “Jim Crow”-era system of racial apartheid in the South, upheld by local authoritarian rule anchored at that time in the Democratic Party, was a blatant example of political violence used to advance racial authoritarianism. Each major attempt to advance multi-racial democracy in the United States, whether through Reconstruction, the civil rights movement, or the election of Barack Obama and the modern-day Movement for Black Lives coalition, has been met with violent authoritarian backlash. Other movements for social progress such as equal rights for women or LGBTQ rights have also faced violent backlash.

Today, researchers have documented that the preponderance of political violence, including threats, intimidation, and acts of physical violence, “used with a political motivation to achieve a political goal or assert political power over another group,” is committed by far-right groups, with a much smaller number of attacks by leftist groups. Unlike violent leftists, the far-right groups receive implicit or explicit backing from a Republican Party controlled by a racist and anti-democratic MAGA faction, one that attempted to violently overturn the 2020 election.

Even without a civil war or a January 6th-scale event, political violence is having a chilling effect on U.S. democracy. Targeted threats have become the most common way to terrorize individuals and make communities fearful. The dramatic escalation of threats targeting election officials, judges, politicians, and other public servants is prompting good people from across the political and ideological spectrum to step away from public service – or to double down on security measures. It is encouraging politicians and elected officials to self-censor or change their votes out of fear of reprisal, including some members of Congress who refused to vote to impeach Donald Trump because of this fear. The violence and threats are punishing those who face police and non-State violence while exercising the fundamental right to protest human rights abuses – and they are disproportionately Black and Brown Americans.

Historically, organized collective action has been the strongest bulwark against authoritarianism and the political violence that greases its wheels, as my own research and at least a dozen independent studies have concluded. When large numbers of people from diverse sectors and segments of society stubbornly say no to authoritarianism, and stop cooperating with those responsible for it, they can fundamentally alter the balance of power. In some cases, as we have seen in dozens of examples from around the world, movements that rely on marches, strikes, boycotts, walk-outs, and other forms of organized noncooperation can remove violent regimes altogether.

Today, organized action in communities across the United States, including digital spaces, is needed to raise the costs of political violence for perpetrators and their enablers. Threats – whether made through doxxing, swatting, or other menacing actions — like militia members showing up in civic spaces with guns — are cheap, and perpetrators rarely face any kind of accountability. Unless the calculus of those responsible for political violence changes, and unless they are forced to pay a social, political, financial, and legal price for their violent, anti-democratic behaviors, the threats, intimidation, and violence will continue to escalate.

Generating Backfire

In other words, political violence must be made to backfire. Australian scholar-activist Brian Martin describes backfire as the process by which acts of repression, including political violence, end up strengthening those attacked and their cause, while weakening the perpetrators. Backfire, which other scholars refer to as the “paradox of repression” does not happen every time nor does it happen automatically. Rather, it requires planning, preparation, timely and effective communication, and communities going on offense against those responsible for the repression.

Martin, who has documented cases from around the world when repression backfired (and when it did not), has highlighted the “5 Rs” of backfire. To trigger backfire, people must reveal the nature of the injustice and counter attempts to cover it up. Second, they must redeem or validate the targets of repression, challenging efforts to devalue, discredit, or dehumanize those targeted. Third, they need to reframe the narrative, emphasizing why the repression or violence violates core norms and values, while countering attempts to reinterpret events in a favorable light. Fourth, they must harness and redirect anger, pain and outrage while avoiding overreliance on official channels. Finally, they must resist attempts to intimidate, threaten, or co-opt those targeted or potential supporters.

Illustrative examples from history and the recent past, both in the United States and around the world, highlight the role of preparation, effective communication, and creative nonviolent action in making political violence backfire. During the U.S. civil rights movement, police attacks on marchers in Selma backfired when the media revealed dogs and firehoses attacking demonstrably peaceful protestors, resulting in greater support for civil rights activists, who were already adept at framing their actions as part of a freedom struggle (as opposed to undermining law and order, as Alabama officials portrayed it).

The march from Selma to Montgomery, along with the earlier Montgomery bus boycott, the lunch-counter sit-ins, and the Freedom Rides, which were met with significant political violence from State and non-State actors, featured protagonists who were trained in strategic nonviolent action. The organizations providing that training included the Nashville student movement and the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, which were able to redirect pain and outrage towards organized action, which in turn was shepherded by the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and other key groups.

These highly organized and confrontational campaigns were able to raise the social, political, financial, and legal costs on Southern governments and businesses responsible for Jim Crow, which set the conditions for dismantling racial apartheid in the South. In some states of the South, including Mississippi, Alabama, and North Carolina, armed self-defense, provided by groups like Deacons for Defense and Justice, was part of the popular resistance (though the consequences of mixing armed and unarmed resistance tactics continues to be a subject of scholarly debate).

New Approaches for Modern Times

The fracturing of the media ecosystem and the rapid spread of mis- and disinformation pose challenges to this type of high-profile backfire today. So, too, does structural racism and ingrained patterns of prejudice, which, as scholars including political scientist Christian Davenport have found, affect how people perceive violent and nonviolent protest behavior. A study conducted by Davenport, Rose McDermott, and Dave Armstrong found that when police are White and protestors are Black, Whites are less likely to blame police for abuse. While these factors pose significant challenges to the ability of certain groups, notably Black Americans, to trigger backfire, the widespread protests following the murder of George Floyd in summer 2020, the most sustained in U.S. history, demonstrate the ability of the highly organized Movement for Black Lives to make police killings backfire.

Notwithstanding structural and informational challenges, communities have found creative work-arounds.

That includes efforts to challenge Moms for Liberty, an organization founded in 2021 in Florida, with chapters across the country, that advocates for book bans, opposes student inclusion activities, and supports rightwing school board candidates. The organization was identified in a 2023 report by the Southern Poverty Law Center as an anti-government extremist group for actions including spreading disinformation, threatening librarians and school board members, and associating with members of the Proud Boys, another far-right extremist group. This did not prevent Florida Governor Ron DeSantis from appointing a prominent member of Moms for Liberty to a state Commission on Ethics in 2023.

When Moms for Liberty has faced organized opposition, including from groups such as Grandparents for Truth, their activities have backfired. Grandparents for Truth, a group of grandparents and their allies formed by the left-leaning People for the American Way, whose stated goal is to fight for the next generation’s freedom to learn, formed in 2023 to fight censorship, book bans, and attacks on education. When Moms for Liberty convened in Philadelphia last year for their annual convention, Grandparents for Truth rallied hundreds of grandparents, local activists, and elected officials outside the convention hall, reframing the activities of Moms for Liberty as the antithesis of liberty. Moms for Liberty has continued to lose support and influence across the country, with most of the candidates for local races it backed in places like Iowa and Ohio losing, in no small part due to grassroots mobilization by parents, grandparents, and educators.

In Enid, Oklahoma, when town members learned that the city had elected a candidate to the city council who had marched alongside neo-Nazis in Charlottesville in 2017 and identified himself under a pseudonym as Oklahoma state coordinator for the white nationalist group Identity Evropa, they organized. They formed the Enid Social Justice Committee (ESJC) and engaged in months of activism, protest, and fierce advocacy at city council meetings that shone a spotlight on the council member’s views and past actions. When the council member, Judd Blevins, would not explain or apologize for these actions, the ESJC collected enough signatures for a recall petition. Cheryl Patterson, a longtime Republican and former teacher, stepped up to run against the incumbent, citing the need to restore the town’s reputation. On April 2, 2024, Patterson won the recall vote. After the victory, the chair of the ESJC offered this lesson to others: “You can do this because we did this. We didn’t even know what we were doing, and we did this. This is possible.”

In Whitefish, Montana, as white supremacist activities intensified, and an armed march was planned for Martin Luther King, Jr. day in 2017, a community group called “Love Lives Here” took a stand. As the date of the march approached, businesses that relied on tourism and had a strong interest in countering the perception of community intolerance, posted “Love Lives Here” stickers in their windows, along with images of menorahs. The campaign also had a digital strategy. When extremist online trolls attacked local restaurants and other businesses, the community responded by flooding the internet with positive reviews and patronizing the businesses – an example of what civil resistance scholars call a reverse boycott. A “Love Not Hate” rally one week before the planned neo-Nazi march brought out hundreds of people, including families and kids, and emphasized tolerance and a welcoming spirit. Tactics used during the “Love Not Hate” campaign included the formation of a “matzo ball soup brigade,” as well as people showing up in blue troll wigs to “troll the trolls” and a “queer insurrection unit.” The collective action, along with a denied march permit, helped ensure that the neo-Nazi marchers stayed away from the rally.

Humor and Creativity

Humor and creativity have been at the forefront of many backfire campaigns around the world.  In Wunsiedel, Germany, neo-Nazis annually marched to the grave of Rudolph Hess, a deputy of Adolph Hitler. In 2014, town organizers innovated with humor to outmaneuver the neo-Nazis. They launched a campaign called Rechts Gegen Rechts (“Rights against the Right”) and turned the annual march into a “walkathon,” so that for every meter neo-Nazis marched, local residents and businesses pledged to donate 10 euros to an organization that helps people exit far-right groups. Near the finish line, a sign thanked the marchers for their contribution to the anti-Nazi cause, and rainbow confetti was showered on marchers at the finish line.

The campaign has spun off other creative actions, including Omas Gegen Rechts (Grannies Against the Right) in Germany and similar activities in Sweden. In the United States, tactics involving humor and particularly clowns have been used to challenge white supremacists across the country. In Olympia, Washington, in 2005 in response to far-right marchers calling for a race war, clowns mimicked their salutes, mocked them with goose steps, and turned attention away from their cause. In 2007, in Nashville, Tennessee, the group Anti-Racist Action organized clowns at a neo-Nazi rally. As the neo-Nazis yelled “White power!”, the clowns answered them by calling “White flour!” and threw flour in the air. As the neo-Nazis continued, the clowns shifted and responded “White flowers!,” which they handed out to passersby. In response, the neo-Nazis called off their rally hours before it was supposed to finish.

In response to rising hate speech and growing attacks on the LGBTQ+ community, the Parasol Patrol was founded in Denver, Colorado, in 2019 to protect children and community members from harassment and threats from far-right protestors. Members of the Parasol Patrol, who are trained in de-escalation techniques, use pride umbrellas to peacefully walk in between protesters, hate groups, and children with their families. Its volunteers have sung Disney songs to drown out hate-filled protests. As Marine Corp veteran and Parasol Patrol co-founder Eli Barzan put it, “Instead of yelling or fighting, you’ll find the Parasol Patrol crew playing music, singing, and laughing.”

In a context of rising racial tensions and threats of election-related violence and intimidation, initiatives like the non-partisan Joy to the Polls have promoted safety and civic participation through music and the arts. Other election safety and security initiatives have responded to threats with collective action by trusted community members from across the political and ideological spectrum. Examples include the deployment of “poll chaplains” by groups like Faiths United to Save Democracy and the recruitment of veterans and military families as poll workers by campaigns like Vet the Vote, a project of We the Veterans and Military Families.

In some cases, legal and law enforcement strategies have accompanied community mobilization and media strategies, to great effect. After Donald Trump, Rudy Giuliani, and their team made false claims of voter fraud against Georgia election workers Ruby Freeman and Shay Moss, the women endured months of death threats and racist taunts. In 2021, with support from Protect Democracy’s Law for Truth project, Moss and Freeman filed suit against Giuliani for defamation, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and civil conspiracy. Legal proceedings were accompanied by a media campaign that successfully promoted the fact that Freeman and Moss were just doing their civic duty and reframed them as patriots, while redirecting blame at those who illegally attempted to overturn the 2020 election. In a sweeping ruling, the courts ruled in the women’s favor. Other legal groups, like the Movement Law Lab, have worked closely with activists and organizers to help them sustain their work in the face of rising criminalization and authoritarian behavior.

Similarly, law enforcement proved helpful in 2022, when 31 members of the white supremacist group Patriot Front were arrested for conspiracy to riot at a Pride event in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. Their plans were thwarted when a concerned community member called the police to report 20 men in a U-Haul truck with masks, shields, and weapons. The FBI worked alongside local authorities to make the arrests. Even after the arrests in Coeur d’Alene, the North Idaho Pride Alliance declared Pride in the Park, which featured fun family activities and the strong support of businesses, a success. “That was by far the biggest Pride event that has ever taken place here in Coeur d’Alene,” the alliance’s outreach director told NPR. “We stood up — in our way — to the bullies. But we did it by bringing people together in love and kindness.” The Pride in the Park event in June 2024 was its biggest yet.

The Need for Wider Community Action

Although institutional mechanisms such as courts and law enforcement can be helpful, they cannot be relied upon, particularly in instances when they are controlled by individuals who are hostile to multi-racial democracy. Wider community action is needed to raise the costs of political violence while strengthening pro-democracy community norms and behaviors. Given the ubiquity of online threats, intimidation, and disinformation, digital strategies that target businesses and other corporate actors that are promoting or enabling political violence, such as those advanced by Sleeping Giants and Check My Ads, are critically important.

These examples of backfire highlight the importance of confronting hate and political violence with preparation, diverse participation, creative collective action, and nonviolent discipline. Stopping political violence takes going on offense and, where necessary, raising the heat through collective action. That is what made civil resistance campaigns so effective during the civil rights movement, the greatest pro-democracy movement in U.S. history.

Local circumstances will determine which tactics and communication strategies are most effective, including which trusted messengers to engage. Maximizing backfire requires organization, preparation, and the involvement of diverse stakeholders. Fortunately, the history of movements that have advanced social progress in this country and around the world, often in the face of significant political violence, offer a powerful and hopeful way forward.