This document summarizes a presentation on updating Gene Sharp's 198 methods of nonviolent action for the digital age. It introduces the project to crowdsource enhancing the methods through online collaboration. Examples are given of how traditional methods like public speeches, mourning, and protests can be augmented with tools like hashtags, livestreaming, and check-ins. New digital methods are also proposed such as using maps, QR codes, and file-sharing. Concerns about online surveillance and censorship in repressive regimes are raised. Overall, the project aims to help activists utilize digital tools while considering context and security.
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Civil Resistance 2.0: 198 Methods Upgraded
1. source: Flickr/
moroccanmary
CIVIL RESISTANCE 2.0
A Crowdsourced Project on 21st Century Nonviolence
Mary Joyce
@ the International Center on Nonviolent Conflict
November 29, 2012
Digital Activism Research Project
University of Washington
www.digital-activism.org
2. GENE SHARP
source: humanfilm.no
introduction for a man who needs no introduction
3. GENE SHARP
activist
Nobel Peace Prize nominee
scholar
canonical list of 198 methods
of nonviolent action (1973)
most influential living theorist
of nonviolent struggle source: humanfilm.no
introduction for a man who needs no introduction
4. THE YOUNG TURKS
source: Fllickr/Ushahidi
source: Fllickr/Moroccanmary
who definitely do need an introduction
5. THE YOUNG TURKS
Patrick Meier Mary Joyce
source: Fllickr/Ushahidi source: Fllickr/Moroccanmary
Director of Social & Humanitarian Innovation Co-Founder of the
at the Qatar Foundation Digital Activism Research Project
PhD - Tufts University MA/PhD Student - UW
researches digital technology and researches digital activism in
nonviolence in repressive regimes resource-constrained societies
who definitely do need an introduction
6. THE MISSION
source: Fllickr/Elvert Barnes
Meld digital tools with nonviolence methods
7. BUT FIRST
source: Fllickr/Picture Perfect Pose
two notes of warning
8. ACTIVIST SECURITY
Do not attempt digital activism without first considering the
political context in your own country.
• Social media is public, meaning the digital actions of you and the
people you connect with can be watched by your government.
• Governments are also getting very good at cracking passwords
and linking accounts to physical locations, meaning you can be
identified and harmed in the physical world.
• Read “Digital Security for Activists” (https://oldhelp.riseup.net/assets/
digital_security_for_activists.pdf) or “Protecting Your Security Online” (https://
www.accessnow.org/blog/protecting-your-security-online-english-text-only1)
9. NETWORKED AUTHORITARIANISM
While activists are using digital tools to change the power structure,
repressive govts are using the same tools to prevent that change.
• Censorship of opposition content, so few people in your
country will ever see it (particularly in MENA and China)
• Surveillance of activists, both for chilling effect and to actually
apprehend and punish (particularly in MENA and China)
• Propaganda of their own position, successfully using social media
to maintain support for the status quo (particularly in CIS)
• Read: Rebecca MacKinnon, Katy Pearce, Evgeny Morozov (above typology is his)
18. NOT ONLY THE GOOD NEWS
Method 43: Public Mourning
19. ENHANCEMENT
Of the 54 methods of Protest and Persuasion there
were only 2 for which we could not find digital enhancements
Though the sections for Noncooperation and
Intervention have received fewer notes, coordination of
most of these methods could also be facilitated
by digital tools like SMS, email, chat,
and encrypted versions of these technologies.
20. NEW FORMS
Most means of Protest and Persuasion can now occur
online as well as offline.
Because Noncooperation and Intervention require
direct engagement with institutions of power, new forms require
that the institution of power have an online extension that can
be targeted, such as a “denial of service” attack on a
government website.
21. 10 NEW METHODS
1. Maps and Maptivism 6. Influence Search Engine
Results
2. QR Codes
7. Livestreaming
3. Digital File-Sharing
8. Check-ins
4. Nonviolent Media Hijacking
9. Self-Surveillance
5. “Trend” a Hashtag
10. Flash Mobs
23. QR CODES
source: frogloop.com
source: oneicity.com
Linking physical, mobile, and web.
24. DIGITAL FILE-SHARING
this could be a tactical manual
Use infrastructure accessible and familiar to your audience,
young people use this software for pirating movies and music.
31. FLASH MOBS
Minsk, 2006
source: smartmobs.com
source: feedbackagency.com
source: andrewcarr.org
This is a great dilemma action.
32. MORE CHANGES NEEDED?
Method 11 is
Records, Radio, and Television
source: clevescene.com
source: guardian.co.uk
source: cleanenergyjobact.com
33. AN INVITATION
bit.ly/
CivilResistance
source: Flick/Hello Turkey Toe
To advance strategic nonviolence in the 21st century
Digital Activism Research Project
University of Washington
www.digital-activism.org
