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MOVEMENT FORMATION

Dr. Maciej BartkowskiSenior Director, Education and ResearchInternational Center on Nonviolent Conflict

Occurrence of major popular upheavals and “post factum” fallacy

As soon as the people rise up and regime falls the common view is that the popular upheaval was inevitable and the collapse of the brutal system unavoidable.

“Post factum” fallacy – all seem ‘logical’ but we look at yesterday’s events with today’s eyes and today’s knowledge

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“Egypt is not Tunisia”- Social and religious polarization

- Nature of regime - Educated middle class

- Organized labor- Access to internet -Pharaoh complex

- Catalytic event

Favorable/Inhibiting Conditions fallacy

Growth of a Resistance

Rejection of the status quo - developmental, educational, seemingly apolitical activities

Defiance – personal/group (small acts, cultural defiance)

Resistance – mass-based (direct collective actions + defiance)

Years, Months, weeks, days

Level of contention

Duration/time

Mobilization (mental, skilled-based)

Rejection

Defiance

ResistanceDirect

Indirect

Centuries, decades

Growth of a Movement

Dissident movement– few, setting ground rules for resistance, ideational framework

Protest movement - emotions high, NV discipline could be fragile, little concept of strategic advantage, goal is to win specific concessions quickly

Political movement – planning advanced, goal is to gain strategic advantage and shift power dynamics, long-term approach

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Level of participation

Scale and quality of organizational infrastructure

Political movement

Protest movement

Dissident movement

Mobilization (physical, material)

1. Not knowing how others feel 2. Not knowing if others will join and stay 3. Not knowing if actions succeed

Three Action Dilemma for Movement Makers

How does resistance grow and movement form if risks, costs, uncertainties and griviences remain constant (or high)?

Triggers of Resistance Action and Movements

1. Activising Emotions2. Enabling Discourse3. Philosophical reformulations4. Strategic considerations5. Regime behavior

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Matrix – 12 more years of Putin in power Truth – here and now

1. Emotions: Burning house dilemma

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The house is on fire. A lot of people gathered next to the house and watch the blazes engulfing the building. Suddenly a number of teenagers appear in the windows on a higher floor in the building on fire. They scream for help. One of the middle-aged bystanders moves and runs toward the building. Other people remain where they stood, watching….

What motivates the person who decides to come to the rescue of the trapped teenagers?

What motivates other bystanders to stay and remain inactive?

They could have been my daughter or son (compassion) There is my loved one. These are people I know, friends (love,

affinity) I would not be able to look into the eyes of my loved ones and tell

them that I did nothing when people were dying (guilt) If someone else do it I will be embarrassed (shame) The right thing to do (responsibility, selflessness) I have nothing to lose (active resignation) Others will talk about my heroism. I will tell about it to my

grandchildren (flattery, seeking glory) The best risk in town (excitement) Belief that s/he can do it because of skills/preparation (confidence)

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Rescuer’s Motives

Fear of getting injured, losing life (fear) I have kids and I do not want to risk that they become orphans

(fear) Lack of faith in their own ability (hopelessness) Overwhelmed by the challenge—how can I rescue so many people?

(passive resignation) Only one person decided to come to rescue (distrust) Lack of skills and knowledge about how to do it (skcepticism) Even if we run to the building we do not know if we reach the

apartments and if we rescue people (doubt) Waiting for firefighters to arrive. They will rescue them (avoid

taking responsibility)

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Bystander’s motives

Emotions – how people move from one emotion to another?

Inaction emotions – activising emotions Fear – Anger & Barvery Shame – Pride Humiliation (indignation) – Dignity Despair –Excitement/Commitment Denial – Acknowledgement Self-Interested – Shared Responsibility/Selflessnes Mistrust – Solidarity Apathy – Interest/Joy/Motivation

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India: British are ruling this country for their own benefit. Why should we help them? We will coerce them to leave but on friendly terms.

Poland: Communist Poland is a workers’ country. But workers have neither the right to organize themselves freely nor the basic means to live decently. Let’s organize on the basis of strength! Let’s not burn communist party’s buildings but set up our own workers’ committees.

Egypt: An Egyptian has only two options in the dire economic situation he experiences: either to become a beggar or a thief. Why should we be beggars or become thieves?

South Africa/US civil rights movement: Racism does not know the borders. It is not about being Black. Racism is about Experience. The fight against racism/apartheid is thus a common fight of the whole humanity regardless of race.

2. Enabling Discourse is Devised

Triggers for Resistance Action and Movements

Egypt "We want to keep this country safe, they want to destroy it“ “I love my country. It is the government I am afraid of” ”My country, I am sorry it took me so long” ”Mubarak, you have destroyed our country. Get out

and leave it.” ”This is the state not the kingdom.”

Saudi Arabia “Our protest is peaceful; Sunni and Shiites are

bothers; we will never betray this country”

Syria “They’re armed and we’re unarmed. ... this is our

country and we’re not giving it up”

Change! I am free citizen of a free

country

Enabling Discourse: reclaiming citizenship &patriotism

Egyptian man screams: "I'm doing this for my children. What life is this?“

Other Egyptians are quoted: "I was unemployed for five years. I had to move to theUnited Arab Emirates. This is what I was dragged into. My son will not suffer what I have suffered. This ends here.”

“I am the father of a 1-year-old daughter, and since I was growing up I’ve seen Mubarak. I don’t want my daughter to live under the same dictatorship.”

Posters in Russia say:“I want to give birth to free children in free country ““Defend Future of your children”“One day , she will ask you: Daddy what have you done when crooks and

thieves robbed our country?”

Enabling Discourse: Responsibility for our children, future generations

Triggers of Resistance Action and Movement

3. Philosophical reformulations

Poland - Organic work (social organism needs nurishment )

India – Satyagraha (active force of nonviolent actions)

Ghana – Positive Action (alterantive institutions & direct actions)

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Philosophical shift Victims are (dormant) power holders

Victims’ behavior or inaction is part of the problem

How did we participate in creating this monstrous system that has so much hate and fear of its own people? Yahya Shurbaji, Syrian activist, early Sep. 2011 just before his arrest

Subjugated are often “the cause of what have been inflicted upon them and that they should blame neither foreigners nor fate but [their] ignorance, lack of endavor and apathy” Abd al Rahman al-Kawakibi, 19th century Syrian thinker

"Political freedom doesn't depend on [regime]. It depends on the attitude of the people." Dmitri V. Trenin, Carnegie Moscow Center

Vicitims can become thier own liberators ”No one else will free us but ourselves” Aleksey Navalny, Russian anti-

corruption activist, September 15, 2012

”No poltiical miracle will help [oppressed people] if they do not help themselves” Adam Michnik, Polish anti-communist dissident

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Visualization of ”us”

4. Strategy: Granularizing, and visualizing injustice and response to it

Nashville lunch counter sit-ins in the United States (struggle against racism, segregation)

Salt March in India (struggle against British colonialism)

Free trade unions in Poland (struggle with communism dictatorship)

Tunisia– spotting Ben Ali’s presidential plane

Strategy- one method drives the same or/and other method(s)

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We support the Belarusian struggle for free speech

Strategy: Sympathetic agents of change mobilize other

participants

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5. Regime behavior: unjust systems carry the seeds of their own negation

Because the regime is captive to its own lies, it must falsify everything.... It pretends not to possess an omnipotent and unprincipled police apparatus. It pretends to respect human rights. It pretends to persecute no one. It pretends to fear nothing. It pretends to pretend nothing. Vaclav Havel

Rulers’ behavior: disrespect for people

“I have to say honestly, when I saw on television several people wearing these things on their chests, I know it’s indecent, but anyway, I thought it was some kind of propaganda in the fight against AIDS, as if they put a condom there, and tied it for some reason.” V. Putin

So we discussed the triggers of resistance action/movement formation …

1. Activising Emotions2. Enabling Discourse3. Philosophical reformulations4. Strategic considerations5. Regime behavior

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But what accounts for the emergence of a nonviolent movement/resistance?

What is left - ”last resort”

What is available/possible – conscious/intuitive choice

What is effective - planning and training

What others did or did not do – learning & adopting

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Learning about nonviolent resistance from others

Questions?

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