Introduction
A book for changemakers about social movement organising written by two experts in activist education and community organising.
Crafted for those who dare to challenge the status quo, this is a radical guide for activists. Drawing from frontline experiences in trade unions, environmentalism, animal rights, and social justice movements, the book explores essential themes from leadership to the art of negotiation.
It asks crucial questions about organising and social movements in the 21st century. Avoiding easy prescriptions, the authors uniquely guide readers to where theory meets practice.
Publisher Description
Written by two experts in activist education and community organising, this is a refreshing take on movement building, empowering changemakers of today to forge new paths towards a more just world.
As well as the experiences of the authors the book draws on key books and articles on organising over the last 40 years to illustrate how knowledge of strategies and tactics used in previous campaigns can inform our choices when seeking to direct our limited resources to effect change.
It is a refreshing take on movement building, empowering changemakers of today to forge new paths towards a more just world. It explores essential themes including leadership and the art of negotiation and asks crucial questions about organising and social movements in the 21st century.
Avoiding easy prescriptions, it guides readers to where theory meets practice. The book is in some ways a response to Saul Alinsky’s ‘Rules for Radicals’ (Vintage, 1989), celebrating his contribution, but questioning his legacy. In contrast, the authors suggest that there are not, in fact, any rules, merely ‘reflections’ and approaches that lead to key questions about strategy and tactics.
Rather than suggesting that there are fixed rules on how to organise or campaign, the book seeks to engage the reader with key questions as to how we create social change.
The questions may well remain the same: how is the unjust status quo sustained, what power protects those perpetrating injustice, who are our people, where can we build power, how can we use the resources we have in a more strategic and targeted way? But the answers constantly change over time and depend on the movement involved, the extent of its ambition, the forces raged against it, and the resources it has available.
In order to change the world, it’s important to think about the reason it is the way it is, what has shaped it, and what forces continue to shape it. Whether it is climate change, LGBTQ+ rights, racism in the workplace, the use of animals in research laboratories and intensive farming, the casualisation of work, or the unaffordability of housing, there is a reason why the world is as it is. In fact, it’s often because of the balance of forces where some powerful groups benefit and, not surprisingly, seek to maintain their benefit, while others suffer, and equally, not surprising seek to organise to effect change.
Contents
Introduction: What’s This Book About?
- The Two Souls of Organising – Above and Below
- Understanding Theory of Change and Its Importance to Effective Organising
- Without Power We Have No Movement
- Organising and Mobilising: Why Understanding the Difference Matters to Your Campaign Strategy
- Equality As Central Organising Practice
- Leadership and the Development of Leaders
- Developing a ‘Story of Us’
- Communication and the Changing of Dominant Narratives
- The Art of Negotiation
- Disorganising: How Opponents Seek To Disrupt
- Rethinking and Remaking Organisations
Final Reflections
Listen to Podcast
Changemakers: Radical Strategies for Social Movement Organising, Transforming Society Podcast
Everybody wants to change the world, but can we actually make a difference?
In the first episode of our Transforming Business podcast series with Martin Parker, Jane Holgate and John Page, authors of Changemakers: Radical Strategies for Social Movement Organising, discuss the power of activism and challenge the belief that change is impossible.
They explore the distinction between mobilising and organising, the role of optimism in driving social change and how we can actively contribute to meaningful transformation in our communities.
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Reading Guide
Chapter 3: Without Power We Have No Movement (PDF)
The publisher has kindly shared Chapter 3 with the Commons community. Here is a snippet.
Identifying the locus of power in your campaign
Think of a campaign objective you are seeking to achieve. Identify the overall decision maker(s) who will need to change their decision for you to be successful.
- Who are your people, and how can you organise them around this issue?
- What do they care about? (Hint: this might be money, it might be electoral support, it might even be ‘anything for an easy life’.)
- What do you have, if anything, that they want?
- What can you do that impacts on them, either by starving them of something they care about, or by rewarding them for moving to support your initiative?
About the Authors
Jane Holgate is Professor of Work and Employment Relations at the University of Leeds and a Trustee of the Ella Baker School of Organising. She has been a long-time trade unionist, serving in elected positions and a community activist.
John Page serves on the committee of the Ella Baker School of Organising. He has worked as a union organiser and in organising or campaigning roles at the Jo Cox Foundation, the Equality Trust, HOPE Not Hate and the Runnymede Trust.
Explore Further
- Books to Read if you are Interested in Activism, Social Change and Justice
- Theories of Change
- All About Movements: Why Building Movements Creates Deeper Change
- Bill Moyer’s Movement Action Plan and Four Roles of Activism
- Organising: Start Here
- Power and Power Mapping: Start Here
- What’s New in the Commons Library