Rules of Activism

Organizing, Protest, and the Fight for Democracy
1. Auflage 2025
ISBN: 978-1-5095-6956-4
Verlag: Polity Press

Buch, Englisch, 276 Seiten, Format (B × H): 150 mm x 226 mm, Gewicht: 397 g

Since its founding, activists have demanded that the United States lives up to its democratic promise. Now, with Rules of Activism, Charles Euchner offers a concise "field guide" to the critical place of political and social movements in American politics.

Activists have always been at the center of democratic reform in America: abolitionism and suffragism, labor and urban reform, civil rights and antiwar protest, feminism and environmentalism. They have agitated and confronted authorities to promote basic rights, economic opportunity, and community wellbeing.

In this comprehensive guide, Euchner describes fifteen core rules of successful movements. In describing each rule, he offers compelling case studies of activists at work and then examines the rule?s underlying logic. Every aspect of activism is explored: recruitment, training, organizational development, leadership, strategy, tactics, and the pivot from protest to policy.

In a world of growing inequality and existential crises, activist politics has never been more important. Rules of Activism offers a necessary guide for practitioners, scholars and students, and ordinary citizens seeking to understand this core political practice.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Euchner, Charles

Fachgebiete

• Sozialwissenschaften Politikwissenschaft Politische Kultur Staatsbürgerkunde, Staatsbürgerschaft, Zivilgesellschaft
• Sozialwissenschaften Politikwissenschaft Politische Kultur Politische Soziologie und Psychologie
• Sozialwissenschaften Soziologie | Soziale Arbeit Spezielle Soziologie Politische Soziologie

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Introduction: ‘This is What Democracy Looks Like’
Part I: Insight and Outreach
Rule 1: Connect, Listen, and Share
Rule 2: Identify Gaps and Contradictions
Rule 3: Master the Big Idea
Rule 4: Map the Sites of Power
Part II: Building Capacity
Rule 5: Recruit Allies, Near and Far
Rule 6: Build a Strong Organization
Rule 7: Nurture Servant Leadership
Part III: Strategy and Tactics
Rule 8: Create a Multi-Dimensional Strategy
Rule 9: Work Off the Grid
Rule 10: Rally for Solidarity and Attention
Rule 11: Withdraw Consent
Rule 12: Block, Occupy, and Subvert
Rule 13: Create Enduring Symbols and Identity
Part IV: Win Some, Lose Some
Rule 14: Evolve Multi-Stage Campaigns
Rule 15: Pivot from Protest to Policy
Postscript: Activism and Democracy

Über Autor(innen)

Charles Euchner is an independent writer whose books include Nobody Turn Me Around: A People’s History of the 1963 March on Washington.