Horizons

Facilitating and Training in Cross-Sector Movements: Turbo-Charging Efforts for Coordination and Collaboration
2022-09-14 14:00 - 15:30 (America/New_York)
Public Webinar on Wednesday, September 14 from 2pm-3:30pm ET to discuss Facilitating and Training in Cross-Sector Movements: Turbo-Charging Efforts for Coordination and Collaboration.
Watch the recording for this event.

This event brought together movement trainers, facilitators, and organizers to discuss the current state of movement-building support in the US and how training and convening spaces could be better coordinated and envisioned more creatively to build a broad-based pro-democracy movement to counter the rising authoritarian threat.
Panel:

Maria J. Stephan, The Horizons Project (moderator)
Carlos Saavedra, Ayni Institute
Jake Waxman, Leading Change Network
Nadine Bloch, Beautiful Trouble
Ivan Marovic, International Center on Nonviolent Conflict

Respondent:

Reverend Stephen A. Green, Faith for Black Lives

Background:
Historic organizing wins in the US, including abolition, the 19th amendment, the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Voting Rights Act of 1965, marriage equality, and environmental protection, including at Standing Rock, took skill and strategy. Success was made possible through decades-long, behind-the-scenes, hard work to cultivate strong relationships and understanding, develop movement infrastructure, and build out mobilization and resistance know-how and muscle—all so that at the right moments, movements would be ready to harness their people power to drive change.

The efficacy of nonviolent movements has been falling for the past decade. While increasing and smarter state repression can account for some of this decline, civil resistance scholars also assert that the change in organizing capacity and structure of current movements may be responsible as well.

For example, an over-reliance on mass protest versus the strategic sequencing of a range of nonviolent tactics, including more dispersed actions like stay-aways, walk-outs, and boycotts, can become overly predictable without shifting power. Certain confrontational tactics may escalate an issue too quickly, hardening not only opponents but also more moveable “middles” who could be persuaded to support the cause if approached through different types of engagement. A decrease in nonviolent discipline may also harm the cause of a largely nonviolent movement, playing into the narratives of the opponent, causing fissures in the movement, and diminishing the “backfire” effects of the opponent’s use of violence.

With authoritarianism on the rise in the United States (and globally), the stakes for movement-builders to achieve their goals have never been higher. So how can movement-builders make the most of their organizing muscle to push back against the authoritarian threat while communicating a clear, inclusive vision of the society we seek to build.

Research shows that one of the most effective ways donors can support nonviolent movements is through supporting the training and convening spaces in which they learn and organize. Nonviolent movements have used training in civil resistance and Kingian nonviolence, which incorporates a strategic sequence of nonviolent action tactics (e.g., protests, boycotts, strikes, teach-ins, community aid, etc.) and peacebuilding approaches (e.g., dialogue, negotiation, mediation, reconciliation, etc.) to help build their base and become more effective at reaching their cause for decades. Convening spaces that include training, strategic and action planning, and relationship building are important, and must focus on different competencies for different levels within the movement (i.e., organizers vs. people they are organizing). At the same time, a foundational knowledge and understanding of all the steps needed to realize change AND make it sustainable is useful at all levels, as are ongoing touchpoints that keep people engaged beyond one-off activities like sit-ins and protests.

There are a number of diverse curricula and training and facilitation networks that support movement-building in the US, and some of these networks have already done substantial work to think about what cross-movement organizing looks like to counter the authoritarian threat. However, given the deluge of multiple urgent, competing, and ongoing crises facing movements today, organizers do not always have the time, resources, and/or energy to take advantage of these opportunities, let alone make sense of how different curricula, frameworks, approaches, and tactics fit together and reinforce each other. So how might people who fill “cross-network roles” like movement trainers, facilitators, and coaches help organizers makes sense, prioritize, and create space for this critical work?

A Citizen-Led Approach to Revitalizing Democracy
2022-06-21 14:10 - 15:10 (America/New_York) | Virtual
This was part of Upswell’s Bridging Toward Belonging pop-up summit on June 21 from 2:10-3:10 pm ET!
Watch the recording for this event and access the slide deck and resources here.

At a time when authoritarianism is on the rise globally, democracy experts have been sounding the alarm bells for the global community to act and prevent further democratic decline. Renewed efforts to ensure free and fair elections, invest in civic education, and address issues of inequality and justice are underway in the U.S. and around the world. Yet, many recommendations target governments and political party infrastructure and offer less detail for how civil society can organize for democracy here at home in the United States. With so much at stake, we need an all-hands-on-deck approach.
To think about what this approach can look like, we must first understand the factors that are contributing to a degradation in democracy and adherence to democratic norms. Much emphasis is placed on addressing increasingly toxic levels of political polarization in the U.S. and around the world. However, more needs to be done to understand what is driving this polarization, including social identity threat and how perceived threats to one’s “in-group” can lead to decreased tolerance and willingness to support diverse viewpoints, not only of another group, but also within one’s own community.
This panel will explore two themes. The first theme will focus on the latest research to understand the psycho-social underpinnings of democracy and what makes individuals more likely to engage in undemocratic practice. Panelists will explore how authoritarianism is a system made up of different pillars of support (including government institutions, political parties, media outlets, and business groups, among others) and how broad-based movements have combatted authoritarianism in the past in the U.S. and abroad. Panelists will also discuss what these findings mean for how social justice activists, bridge- and peace builders, and democracy practitioners can better organize and orient themselves to do their work in a way that increases opportunities to build relationships with diverse stakeholders and foster social cohesion. The panel will then pivot to hear from U.S. social justice, bridgebuilding, peacebuilding and democracy practitioners as they share the trends they are seeing in their respective communities and reflect upon how this research can inform their work to build a more just, inclusive, and multi-plural democracy.
Panelists:

Maria J. Stephan, Horizons Project (moderator)
Michelle Barsa, Beyond Conflict (panelist)
Reverend Stephen Green, Faith for Black Lives (panelist)
Kabrina Bass, Midlands Mediation Center (panelist)

Session Takeaways:
Participants will leave this session with a better understanding and appreciation for how social justice, democracy, bridge, and peacebuilding practitioners can work together to address injustice and inequity while ensuring they are creating a community and democracy in which everyone can feel they belong. They will also hear practical examples of how activists, organizers, and bridgebuilders are strategically using power-shifting and relationship-building approaches together to achieve their short- and long-term goals, and discuss what this means for their own work in their respective sectors (including nonprofit, private, and government) and communities.

12th Annual Peacemaker Awards Celebration
2022-06-10 12:00 - 13:30 (Europe/Moscow)
Julia is the featured workshop leader at Community Boards’ 12th Annual Peacemaker Awards Celebration. Her workshop is entitled New Narratives for Peace.
THE WORKSHOP: NEW NARRATIVES FOR PEACE
As mediators and people working to create more opportunities for dialogue and understanding, we can’t help but be very concerned about the extreme polarization here in the United States.
In her workshop, Julia will lead us through an evidence-based strategy for communicating more effectively about the importance and relevance of peace-building in the United States. She will begin by sharing her approach to Narrative Engagement and the results of new research in the field, and will reflect on the main lessons from her decades of international experience. Julia will engage us in a reflection on the natural tensions between peace-building and social justice during times of extreme polarization. She will share ideas on how we might better create space for collective action, even amongst “unlikely bedfellows.” Throughout the workshop, Julia will focus on how narrative engagement can be a tool to build support for peacebuilding and can address the democratic decline in the United States.
To Purchase a ticket that supports Community Boards please visit this site.

A Community-Led Approach to Revitalizing American Democracy
2022-04-26 14:00 - 15:30 (America/Halifax)
Tuesday, April 26, 2022, 2:00-3:30pm ET
The Horizons Project is excited to be a part of the #ListenFirst coalition and co-host this event with Beyond Conflict and Urban Rural Action for the National Week of Conversation.
Watch the recording for this event.

The call from all sides of the American divide is to protect and restore American democracy — but that’s where the agreement seems to end. The questions of what most threatens our democracy, which remedies for repair to deploy, and how we envision a better future continue to be politicized and divisive.
Renewed efforts to ensure free and fair elections, invest in civic education, and address issues of inequality and justice are underway in the U.S. These recommendations often target government institutions and political parties, but institutions are made up of people who are influenced and held accountable by citizens and peers. Current solutions offer little detail on how communities can organize to protect democracy and our republic here at home. With so much at stake, we need an all-hands-on-deck approach.
To think about what this approach can look like, we must first understand the factors that are contributing to the deterioration of our republic and adherence to democratic norms. Much emphasis is placed on addressing increasingly toxic levels of political polarization in the U.S. and around the world. However, more needs to be done to understand what is driving this polarization, including social identity threat and how perceived threats to one’s own group can lead to decreased tolerance and willingness to support diverse viewpoints, not only of another group, but also within one’s own community.
This event includes a listening and an interactive component. The first part will focus on a conversation between a social scientist and a social movements and peacebuilding expert. They will discuss the latest research to understand the psycho-social underpinnings of democracy and what makes individuals more likely to engage in undemocratic practice. They will also explore the pillars of support that make up authoritarian systems and how broad-based movements have combatted authoritarianism in the past in the U.S. and abroad.
After the conversational component, organizers will share Urban Rural Action’s constructive dialogue and problem tree analysis framework before breaking participants up into small groups to talk through how they are seeing authoritarianism show up in their own communities (causes and effects), as well as ways they might work with community members to push back against autocratic tendencies (solutions).
Session speakers will include:

Michelle Barsa, Director, Democracy & Social Identity Program, Beyond Conflict
Maria J. Stephan, Co-Lead and Chief Organizer, The Horizons Project

Do This in Memory of Me
2022-04-08 16:00 - 17:00 UTC
Maria presented on the power of nonviolent, nonmilitary actions in Ukraine to Pax Christi, you can watch the video.

During her discussion she referenced the following resources:

University of Notre Dame/Kroc Institute Webinar, Civil Resistance in Ukraine and the Region
Eli McCarthy, 5 Ways to Support Courageous Nonviolent Resistance (Waging Nonviolence)
Maria J. Stephan, It’s Time to Take Inspiration from Ukraine and Double Down on Global Democratic Solidarity (Waging Nonviolence)
Daniel Hunter, Ukraine’s Secret Weapon May Prove to Be Civilian Resistance (Waging Nonviolence)
George Lakey, Ukraine Doesn’t Need to Match Russia’s Military Might to Defend Against Invasion (Waging Nonviolence)
Erica Chenoweth, People Around the World Are Protesting the Russian Invasion. Will Their Protests Work? (Washington Post)
Hardy Merriman, How The Russian People Can End Putin’s War (The Hill)

Other useful links shared via chat:

Praying to Hear the Ukrainian Nightingale Sing Again
FACT SHEET – The Biden Administration Announces New Humanitarian, Development, and Democracy Assistance to Ukraine and the Surrounding Region

Is Nonviolence Always the Best Option?
2022-04-05 12:00 - 13:30 (America/New_York)
Maria was a Discussant in a recent conversation on the limits of non-violent resistance in the context of escalating repression sponsored by The Resistance Bureau.

Civil Resistance in Ukraine and the Region
2022-03-22 12:00 - 13:30 (America/Halifax)
Tuesday, March 22, 2022 12-1:30pm EDT
How does civil resistance work and what can it achieve? Hosted by Notre Dame’s Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies, this panel shared how civilians are using strategic civil resistance to diminish the power and impact of the Russian military.

In Ukraine, civilians replace road signs to confuse Russian military vehicles, they block roads with cement blocks and iron pins, and they have set up a complex humanitarian aid system with neighboring countries. Within Russia, protests and resignations by universities, media outlets, and professionals denounce the military invasion.
Panelists included leading experts in civil resistance, some joining us from the frontlines in Kyiv.
Panelists (listed in the order in which they spoke):

Maria Stephan is Chief Organizer of the Horizons Project where she convenes strategic partnerships for collective action to build a just, inclusive, and peaceful democracy in the US. Before joining the Horizons team, Stephan founded and directed the Program on Nonviolent Action at the U.S. Institute of Peace. She is the co-author of Why Civil Resistance Works: The Strategic Logic of Nonviolent Conflict, which was awarded the 2012 Woodrow Wilson Foundation Prize by the American Political Science Association.

Andre Kamenshikov is the regional representative of Nonviolence International (USA) and the Global Partnership for the Prevention of Armed Conflict (GPPAC) in the post-Soviet states. He has been an activist developing local capacities for peace in conflict areas of the ex-USSR since 1992 in areas of potential and acute violent conflict, primarily in the North Caucasus region of the Russian Federation, where he works closely with a group of local NGOs and civil activists as well as representatives of different key professional groups such as educators, journalists, police, official authorities from different levels of government, and international organizations including UN agencies.

Kai Brand Jacobsen is the President of the Romanian Peace Institute (PATRIR) which supports global peace support operations, professional development, and pioneering research to improve the evidence-base to inform policy and practice. PATRIR is leading an effort to help coordinate an international peace response with its partners across Romania and internationally to offer efficient support for Ukrainians in humanitarian aid, civil resistance, and peace efforts.

Felip Daza is Research coordinator at Observatory on Human Rights and Business in Barcelona, Spain, professor at Sciences Po University and National University of “Kyiv-Mohyla Academy” and member of International Institute for Nonviolent Action which is supporting local civil resistance in Ukraine and Belarus to confront the Putin government’s brutal military aggression with organized mass noncooperation to deny Russia local consent and material resources.

Rev. Karen Dickman is the Executive Director of the Institute for Multi-Track Diplomacy (IMTD). The Institute for Multi-Track Diplomacy has been building cooperative trade associations for economic development in Ukraine based on transparency and accountability. When the war started this month, IMTD shifted to running humanitarian aid for the Ukrainian government. IMTD is now in conversation with the government of Ukraine to facilitate services to their refugees and IDPs, and to rebuild the country’s economy after the war.

David Cortright is professor emeritus of the practice at the Kroc Institute, part of the Keough School of Global Affairs at the University of Notre Dame. Cortright is the author or co-editor of 19 books, including Civil Society, Peace and Power and Uniting Against Terror: Cooperative Nonmilitary Responses to the Global Terrorist Threat (MIT, 2007). Cortright has a long history of public advocacy for disarmament and the prevention of war. As an active-duty soldier during the Vietnam War, he spoke against that conflict. Now, he is coordinating a group of U.S. veterans to urge defections within the Russian military.

Moderator: Lisa Schirch, Richard G. Starmann, Sr. Professorship Chair in Peace Studies, Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies

SXSW: A Culture of Peace: Narrative & Cultural Strategies
2022-03-17 16:00 - 17:00 (America/New_York) | SXSW @ Austin, TX, Austin Marriott Downtown, Austin, TX
You can watch Julia’s SXSW 2022 presentation as she discussed how everyday citizens can help create a culture of peace by incorporating social science research on impactful framing strategies that resonate with the US public. Making peace more actionable and not passive; incorporating bridge-building metaphors into our communications and relying heavily on the value of interdependence have all been proven to increase the salience of Peacebuilding for our audiences.

E-Book Launch: 21st Century Mediation
2022-02-17 07:00 - 09:00 (America/New_York)
The Center for Peace and Conflict Studies convened this event to launch a new e-book, featuring a chapter on Adaptive Leadership for Peacebuilders written by Horizons’ Chief Network Weaver, Julia Roig!

“What does it mean to be a peace leader in this time? What kind of leadership is needed in a polarized world? How could organizations adapt to shocks like pandemics and ever-shifting dynamics? How do we reimagine peace tables in the path towards inclusion? How can civil society movements affect real political change? What does behind-the-scenes mediation look like, and why should we let go of the “big man” approach to solving conflicts?
We’ve asked seven world-renowned peace leaders in the forefront of 21st-century mediation and peacebuilding to share their experiences and lessons learned to help answer these questions. Their reflections are intended to challenge what we think we know, to move beyond traditional approaches, and to inspire those who read it and work for peace everywhere.”

You can download the e-book here.

Moving Beyond Multi-track Diplomacy and Big Man Mediation eBook launch from CPCS (Emma Leslie) on Vimeo.

Book Launch: The Checklist to End Tyranny
2022-02-10 11:00 - 12:30 (America/New_York) | Virtual
Nonviolence International hosted another installment of its webinar series: “We Are All Part of One Another,” featuring Horizons Project Co-Lead and Chief Organizer, Maria J. Stephan.
Maria joined Peter Ackerman and other civil resistance experts from around the world for the launch of Ackerman’s new book, The Checklist to End Tyranny.
In this book, Ackerman gathers and arranges the best and most cutting-edge research on civil resistance and combines it with a checklist procedure which draws on his experience on Wall Street. This book is the culmination of 20 years of experience and research generated by the International Center on Nonviolent Conflict and provides a guides for activists facing severe repression, tyrants, and occupation. Speakers will include Peter Ackerman, Maria Stephan, Bayingana Simon Peter, and Mubarak Awad. Hosted by Rafif Jouejati.
If you missed the event, watch the recording. You can download the book or request paper copies to be mailed for free here.

Democracy Narratives and Sacred Values
2021-05-05 14:00 - 15:00 (America/Los_Angeles)
Narrative engagement has become an essential competency for all social change leaders. What is the essence of the stories that underpin how we and others are making sense of the issues we care about? And how can we communicate more effectively about our values, and incorporate others’ values to galvanize collective action for change? While democracy is alarmingly under threat around the world and in the US, many activists are urgently re-thinking the narrative strategies we should be deploying to build broader constituencies and powerful, winning movements for inclusive and pluralistic democratic societies. Join us for a discussion of both the theory and practice that can help us re-think these democracy narratives, and how we might draw upon sacred values (our own and others) to identify and align around effective democracy narratives.
The Horizons Project, together with Over Zero, Beyond Conflict, and the Hudson Institute discussed recent research, practice and insights to help lead this discussion. This event was part of the the Alliance for Peacebuilding and the U.S. Peace, Justice, and Democracy Working Group weekly webinar series called Preventing and Reducing Conflict and Instability in the United States: Shaping What Comes Next.
Moderator: Julia Roig, from the Horizons Project is the President of PartnersGlobal, Chair of the Board of AfP and author of Engaging Narratives for Peace.
Discussants:
Michelle Barsa is Program Director at Beyond Conflict and manages a growing portfolio of initiatives on social inclusion and behavior change communications
Nichole Argo, PhD, is the Director of Research and Field Advancement at Over Zero. Her research centers on sacred values and intergroup conflict and she recently co-authored “What Immigration Issues do Americans Hold Sacred?”
Tod Lindberg is a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute specializing in national security issues and the role of U.S. leadership.
If you missed the event, go here for a summary and/or a recording of the event.

Good vs. Toxic Polarization
2021-04-04 14:00 - 15:30 (America/Los_Angeles)
As part of the Horizons Project, an initiative of PartnersGlobal Institute and Humanity United committed to strengthening practical dialogue between the social justice, peacebuilding, and democracy communities in the US, we are examining ways to address the deep polarization that threatens the foundations of our democracy. On the one hand, polarizing narratives are a key tool of nonviolent mobilization and social justice activism; on the other hand, toxic polarization, where the other side is seen as an irreconcilable enemy, can undermine the legitimacy of democratic norms and institutions and increase the likelihood of political violence. Which aspects of polarization are good and normal, and when does polarization tip over into dangerous toxicity? In this TRUST Network event, supported by The PartnersGlobal Institute, Alliance for Peacebuilding and Humanity United, we discussed this important topic with scholars, activists and peacebuilders.
With:
Dr. Peter Coleman, Professor of psychology and education at Columbia University, Executive Director of Advanced Consortium on Cooperation, Conflict and Complexity, and renowned expert on conflict resolution.
Tabitha Moore, Vermont racial justice advocate, licensed therapist, former law enforcement officer and juvenile justice administrator, works at the intersection of individual and community identity development and systemic oppression.
Dr. Maria J. Stephan, Senior Advisor, Horizons Project, and TRUST Network thought partner

If you missed the event, go here for a summary and/or a recording of the event.

A Book Talk with Kazu Haga on Healing Resistance
2021-03-31 16:00 - 19:00 (America/Los_Angeles)
This event was cohosted by PartnersGlobal Institute, Humanity United, East Point Peace Academy, On Earth Peace, and the Kingian Nonviolence Network.
This discussion was part of a series of practical dialogues on the intersections of peacebuilding, social justice, and democracy through the Horizons Project, an initiative of the PartnersGlobal Institute and Humanity United. Horizons Project Senior Advisor Maria J. Stephan interviewed author and Kingian nonviolence practitioner Kazu Haga on his new book.
Healing Resistance -Illustrated
Get a quick glimpse of the topics and sentiments discussed by Kazu in this graphic illustration from artist Adriana Fainstein! You can find more of Adriana’s work here.

Event Description
Activists and social change agents, restorative justice practitioners, faith leaders, and anybody engaged in social progress and shifting society will find this mindful approach to nonviolent action indispensable.
Nonviolence was once considered the highest form of activism and radical change. And yet its basic truth, its restorative power, has been forgotten. In Healing Resistance, leading Kingian Nonviolence trainer Kazu Haga blazingly reclaims the energy and assertiveness of nonviolent practice (utilized by the Women’s March and Black Lives Matter), and proves that nonviolent civil resistance remains the most effective strategy for social change in hostile times.
With over 20 years of experience practicing and teaching Kingian Nonviolence, Haga offers us the practical approach to societal conflict first begun by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. during the Civil Rights Movement, which has been developed into a fully workable, step-by-step training and deeply transformative philosophy. Kingian Nonviolence takes on the timely issues of endless protest and activist burnout, and presents tried-and-tested strategies for staying resilient, creating equity, and restoring peace.
If you missed the event, go here for a summary and/or a recording of the event.
