Supporting Nonviolent Action and Movements

Determining whether and how to support grassroots actors can seem daunting. Nonviolent social movements, campaigns, and civic initiatives are, by their nature, bottom-up, homegrown phenomena involving the voluntary participation of citizens. Theses social movements are often fluid and decentralized, composed of multiple formal and informal entities arrayed in networks or coalitions. Is it possible to enable or support what are essentially organic groupings and processes? Based upon detailed research and extensive interviews, Shaazka Beyerle examines how external actors can support anti-corruption, transparency, accountability, and good governance movements and campaigns, and provides invaluable strategic questions, considerations, and practices to better inform donor policy decisions and practices to support peaceful citizen-driven change, particularly in fragile contexts.