As the year comes to a close, we wish for all our partners deep rest and connection with family and friends. Enjoy this article by the National Civic League to inspire your community connections, A Simple Recipe for Complex Community Change: Make Stone Soup. While many of us feel we are heading into a period of unsettling uncertainty in 2025, the pro-democracy field has been preparing and is ready to face this uncertainty together, as described by these leaders in philanthropy. Many organizations are thoughtfully curating end-of-the-year reading lists, such as this one from Protect Democracy, What to Read Before the Storm; and this top ten list of books to celebrate Trans Joy.
We know that the work of protecting democracy is just as important in between elections, as described in this piece about the on-going work of the Southern Coalition for Social Justice. And many organizations continue to shine a light on the connection between attacks on gender rights and authoritarianism, and are providing both analysis and tools to understand and prevent gender and sexuality-based bigotry. There is increasing concern and attention on the role of the tech industry co-opting government, such as this review of the new book The Tech Coup. And many lessons to be learned from the positive role that pro-democracy business leaders have played in other countries, such as this new case study on how businesses helped end apartheid in South Africa.
Now is a time for resiliency in our sector, and you can re-watch Horizons most recent webinar on resilience and post-election management with lessons from Zimbabwe and US civic leaders. And you can watch Eric Ward and Deepa Iyer discuss ‘Cultivating Solidarity and Hope in a Fractured World’ in this recent webinar hosted by the Social Change Initiative.There are many guides on protecting yourself and your organization such as some of these on safer on-line communication, digital security practices and this excellent resource from Muslims for Justice on protection for grassroots organizations with advice on fiscal sponsorship, bail funds, and mutual aid basics. And you might want to sign up for this weekly digital rights newsletter. Thanks to the RadComms network for crowdsourcing some of these great resources! Finally, as a reminder, if you or your community are facing threats or acts of political violence, you can request training and ongoing support for how you can address it here.
Take a listen to Chief Organizer, Maria Stephan’s most recent podcast with our friends from 22nd Century Initiative on Defending Democracy with Civil Resistance, and you can read about our team’s session at the recent Facing Race conference on Advancing Racial Justice With Futures Thinking and Approaches.
Enjoy the other resources we’ve been reading, watching, and listening to this month, and happy holidays from the entire Horizons’ team.
READING
Supporting Society’s Bridge Builders
by Don Gips, Tulaine Montgomery, Rohini Nilekani, & Cristiane Sultani, Stanford Social Innovation Review
The authors extol the role of “system orchestrators” to meet this moment, understanding that linear problem-solving is not enough. Horizons agrees! “System orchestrators play a critical role in bringing about transformational social change by knitting together actors and institutions, providing backbone infrastructure, and mobilizing collective change efforts across ecosystems, sectors, and geographies. Along the way, they shape new paradigms, leverage system-wide resources, and navigate complexity, all to create forward momentum and progress at societal scale. System orchestrators are often overlooked because of the complex, collaborative, and behind-the-scenes roles they play in long-term systems-change efforts…If you want to drive equitable systems change, investing in system orchestrators is among the highest-leverage investments that the philanthropic sector can make.”
Fear, Grievance, and the Other:How Authoritarian Populist Politics Thrive in Contemporary Democracies
by Miriam Juan-Torres Gonzalez, Othering & Belonging Institute
This paper offers key concepts to understand politics beyond the left-right paradigm. It “advances the framework of authoritarian populism as an analytical tool that better describes a form of politics (not an ideology or regime type) that draws from both the authoritarian and populist playbooks… Beyond just serving as a descriptive model, the framework [seeks] to offer insights not only into how we can understand a concerning and newly dominant force in politics today, but also how we can more effectively counter it without provoking further othering or division. It asks us to question whether we are reinforcing the authoritarian populist double lens of ‘elite versus the people’ and ‘us versus them,’ or if we are advancing a different lens to process reality that is predicated on belonging without othering.”
Stop and Think: An undervalued approach in a world that short-circuits thoughtful political judgment
by Robert B. Talisse, The Conversation
As author, Robert B. Talisse argues in his new book Civic Solitude: Why Democracy Needs Distance, “the trouble is that our social environments are primed to short-circuit our thinking. They engage our reflexes while suppressing our judgment. Here’s how. We humans are all subject to a cognitive dynamic known as belief polarization. This is the tendency for individuals to adopt more extreme perspectives as a result of their interactions with like-minded peers. When we shift toward more radical views, we become more inclined to dismiss anyone who does not agree with us as ignorant, irrational and devious… As belief polarization escalates, we feel more pressure to conform. Hesitation begins to look like disloyalty. Even a momentary reluctance to affirm the party line signals to allies that our commitment to the group is wavering. Accordingly, we become more inclined simply to adopt the opinions that are popular among our peers – we decide what to think by mimicking our allies.”
WATCHING
How to Survive the Next 4 Years as an Undocumented American
Define American with Jose Antonio Vargas
Like millions of other undocumented Americans, Jose Antonio is trying to figure out how he’s going to survive the next four years. In this series, he’ll be seeking to answer a fundamental question: “How do you define American? When we start deporting people person by person, family by family, that’s the question we are going to be asking. In this first episode, he speaks with two exceptionally brave women who have devoted their careers to helping other undocumented immigrants: Patrice Lawrence, executive director of UndocuBlack and an advocate for undocumented and formerly undocumented Black immigrants; and Erika Andiola, a leading immigrants’ rights activist based in Phoenix, and currently serves as Communications Director at Young Center for Immigrant Children’s Rights.”
Loss, Shame, and the Rise of the Right with Arlie Hochschild
Next Question with Katie Couric
“Arlie Hochschild, a sociologist from Berkely, has spent a chunk of the last decade in ruby red areas of the United States. During that time she’s written two books: Strangers In Their Own Land, and now, Stolen Pride. Arlie interviewed dozens of people from Pike County, Kentucky–the whitest and second poorest district in the country–to better understand what’s happening in the rust belt and why those voters are so drawn to Donald Trump. In her view, it’s not just about the economy, trans rights, or climate change, but about loss, shame, and ultimately pride. Arlie invites us to open our minds and ears so we can learn about one another and begin to come together.”
The Fall of Any Dictator Reflects Badly on All Autocracies
Sky News
“Journalist and author Anne Applebaum joins Trevor Phillips to discuss the network of authoritarian states and the issues they pose for the West. It comes after the Assad regime which ruled over Syria was toppled by rebel forces. Ms. Applebaum says, ‘the fall of Assad as a blow to the alliance [of Russia, China, Iran etc.] – it may mean Putin doubles down on his war in Ukraine.’”
LISTENING TO
Solidarity is Hard
Reimagining Democracy for a Good Life Podcast
“Democracy flourishes when communities inspire and learn from one another. In this special chapter, recorded live at the 2024 PolicyLink Equity Summit, Hillary Holley, Kent Wong, and Alberto Retana discuss the evolution and power of local action in the South and in Los Angeles, showing how each community’s unique path fuels a shared fight for justice, resilience, and real change.
The Future of our Former Democracy
More Equitable Democracy Podcast Series
This seven-part series describes how Northern Ireland’s history and politics offer a blueprint for how the US can implement a better electoral system, especially in the wake of rising polarization and political violence. Developed by More Equitable Democracy, a racial justice organization working to advance racial equity through electoral reform, the series offers historical context, personal stories, and expert interviews, “to inspire listeners to consider radical changes that can lead to a more equitable and representative democracy.”
Rest, Resilience, and Joy in Tough Times
More PlayFull Than Ever Podcast
“Kristine Michie and a group of changemakers discuss resilience and joy post-2024 election. They share anecdotes, reflections, and strategies on rest, ancestral wisdom, and community in advocacy. This episode inspires and offers practical ways to make an impact, blending play and purpose.” Some of the insights include: joyful communal experiences strengthen bonds and inspire hope; rest as resistance ensures sustainable advocacy; ancestral wisdom provides grounding and strategies for modern challenges; and, role modeling uplifts the next generation, fostering a legacy of advocacy.
FOR FUN
Parallels Between Wicked and Civic Engagement
Our friend Piper Hendricks from Stories Change Power put together this fun list of parallels between the movie musical Wicked and real-life civic engagement. If you’ve seen the movie or musical, you’ll enjoy this commentary. We especially appreciated her last three insights about Silence in the Face of Oppression, that Communities Thrive When People Stand Together, and that Change Requires Courage.