Escalating Pressure Campaign – Don’t Let Your Opponents off the Hook! Make Campaigns Count: The Science of Effective Activism
What separates a campaign that changes the world from one that fades into obscurity? In this episode, Fiona and Marlene are joined by returning guest Dr Craig Dalzell from the think tank Commonweal to explore the research-backed principles of effective activism and civil resistance.
Make Campaigns Count: Drawing on the groundbreaking work of academics like Erica Chenoweth and Gene Sharp, we dive deep into what actually works—and what doesn’t—when organising for change. Why do some campaigns achieve their goals while others struggle to gain traction? What’s the difference between activism that captures hearts and minds versus campaigns that peter out?
In this episode, we:
- Examine planning and organizing methods used by successful movements, what they did right and where campaigns went wrong. How to make sure our activism is effective activism.
- We also explore the powerful potential of civil resistance and strategic disobedience and discover how to sharpen our campaigning focus for maximum impact.
- Watch the video on our YouTube channel. Or listen to the audio version.
Key chapters:
02:11 Core principles for escalating pressure
12:32 4 key steps for effective campaign planning
18:47 Options for organisational structures
26:02 The role of devolved governments
30:04 Re-designing events to increase pressure
32:53 Civil obedience/disobedience and resistance tactics
43:36 Contrasting the tactics of the far right
45:43 Further resources and information
50:37 Some ideas to get started
Useful links mentioned in the discussion:
- Erica Chenoweth “Why Civil Resistance Works“
- Boris Johnson’s Journey to Yes. Written in 2020 soon after Johnson became Prime Minsiter.
- The Pressure Series: 4-part blog series on pressure campaigning and non-violent direct action:
- Unionist Concerns and Fears of a United Ireland, written in 2019
- Commonweal are planning to update their excellent handbook “How to Start A New Country” Craig and Common Weal wish to thank the Scottish Independence Fund for their generous support of the project. Commonweal will also shortly launch a Crowdfunder – details will be added here when available. You can also make a regular donation to support all their work.
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