Introduction
Protest is powerful! This guide connects you with resources about the impact of protest, how to organise protests, making protest strategic, and protecting the rights and safety of protesters.
I am no longer accepting the things I cannot change. I am changing the things I cannot accept. – Angela Davis
Before you jump in we’d like to remind you that protest can take many forms. Gene Sharp defined 198 Methods of Noviolent Action and there are many more. All kinds of people engage in protest, for all sorts of reasons. Protests can channel outrage and anger as well as grief, compassion, solidarity, humour and more.
Protests are important for the messages they send to powerholders, but also for the connections between the people taking action. Feeling part of something bigger than ourselves, instead of being isolated individuals, can be empowering and life changing.
A successful demonstration – one that accomplishes its goals either immediately or over the long term, and that runs the way organizers envisioned – depends upon clarity of purpose, getting people there, getting the message to those who need to hear it, and leaving a sense of success and support for the issue with your target audience, your constituents, the public, and the media. – Activist Handbook
Explore The Commons Library for more information about all kinds of social change skills: Nonviolent Direct Action, Community Organising, Digital Campaigning, Coalition Building, Working in Groups, Wellbeing and plenty more. Contact the Commons Librarians if you need help finding something, or if you have a tool or story to share.
Why Protest?
Polarizing protest takes a suppressed and simmering issue and brings it to a boil, moving it to the fore of public discussion and, at least temporarily, placing its consideration above other disputes and ordinary deliberations. – Mark Engler & Paul Engler
Protest Movements: How Effective are They?
What makes a protest movement successful? Nonviolence and numbers matter. See the research from the Social Change Lab.
New Study Reveals a World of Growing Protests
A recent study verifies an increase in the size and frequency of protests and paints a fascinating picture of the characteristics of protests around the world.
Why Protests Work, Even When Not Everybody Likes Them
Paul and Mark Engler look at why protests work but how protest is inherently polarizing — and how movements can win in a polarized context.
Do Disruptive Protest Tactics Work?
Making a Scene & Making Sense – The Impact of Disruption & Action Logic
Do disruptive protest tactics work? This research reveals they lead to greater levels of media attention and higher levels of active support for the groups carrying them out.
How to Make Sure Your Disruptive Protest Helps Your Cause
Five key factors determine whether controversial protests are more likely to spark backlash or create positive outcomes.
Disruptive Protest Tactics: Helpful or Harmful?
Research examining whether disruptive protest tactics are ultimately helpful or harmful for advancing progress on critical social issues.
Don’t Forget to Campaign!
Campaigning for Social Change: Beyond just Protesting for it!
Daniel Hunter outlines the key elements of campaigns: a strategic time-tested model for effective social change work.
Why Campaigns, Not Protests, Get the Goods
George Lakey says it’s time to retire one-off protests in favour of direct action campaigns to maximize the chance of winning victories.
Campaign Strategy: Start Here
Looking to start a campaign or improve your campaign strategy? Here is a list of manuals, templates, tools and other resources to get you started.
Media Impact of Protests
The Effect of Protests and Media Reporting on Public Opinion Impacts: A Case Study
Research from the UK on the effectiveness of disruptive animal rights protests and media reporting on UK public attitudes towards animals.
A Comparative Analysis of Australian Media Coverage of the 2019 Climate Protests
A report and analysis about Australian mainstream media coverage of climate protests and activists in 2019.
Media Checklist for Actions
A thorough checklist to help you prepare for traditional and social media in the lead up to an action, including some considerations for non-violent direct actions.
How Disruptive Climate Campaigners use Mainstream Media
How should direct action campaigners approach mainstream media? Two case studies from Australia: Blockade Australia and Disrupt Burrup Hub.
Organising a Protest
Protest is, in its own way, storytelling. We use our bodies, our words, our art, and our sounds both to tell the truth about the pain that we endure and to demand the justice that we know is possible. It is meant to build and to force a response. – DeRay Mckesson, Civil rights activist
Organising Your First Protest
Learn how to organize your first protest – Resources from the Article 20 Network including a recorded discussion with experienced organizers.
How to Organise a Protest March
This article from The Activist Handbook explains step by step how to organise a protest to draw attention to your cause.
Make Change: How-To’s for Effective Peaceful Protest
Inspired by the Black Lives Matter movement this article includes tips and links to make what you need for safe, peaceful, and effective protest. Includes signs, effigies, banners, street art, ways to manage pepper spray and tear gas, surveillance considerations and interactions with police liaison.
Making Protest Accessible: Tips and Checklists for Actions
Tips and checklists for planning and running accessible protests and other actions.
Organising for Effective Non Violent Actions
This article by Jørgen Johansen and Brian Martin discusses how to design effective protest actions by considering various factors and choices available to organizers.
The Tactic Star
A tool for planning and evaluating tactics, it names some key factors that change agents should consider when determining their tactics.
Movement mobilization: Growing small groups and mass mobilization for protests
In this article, we explain how to mobilize people for your movement. Use this guide to learn how to recruit volunteers for your nonprofit or mobilize a large group of people for a protest.
Protest Camps: Tips for Set Up & Strategy
Tips for setting up and managing protest camps effectively covering topics like planning, strategy, practicalities, safety and facilitation.
Get Creative
The Visibility Brigade: A Template For Activism
Want to make a sign that gets noticed? Here is a template and tips shared by the Visibility Brigade, who make different signs each week.
Creative activism: Hologram protest
The practicalities and possibilities of using holograms to challenge and subvert anti-protest laws are explored in this case study from Spain.
Parasols of Protest – Make your Own
Sharon France, graphic designer, shares how she created the designs for ‘parasols for protests’ for the People’s Climate March.
A Better World is Paintable: How to make banners, stencils, street murals, parachute banners, and more!
Tools, skills, and resources from 350.org to build capacity to run effective campaigns and movements to tackle the climate crisis.
How to Share Messages at a Protest: Easy Read Guide
A short, easy read guide about how to share messages at a protest by the Commons library.
Dilemma Demonstrations
Strengthen a Campaign with Dilemma Demonstrations
Strengthen a Campaign with Dilemma Demonstrations – They are effective because rather than telling people about a problem, they show it.
Dilemma Actions: The Power of Putting your Opponent in a Bind
A study of 44 dilemma actions over the last 90 years examines the many benefits of creative protests for social movements.
Defending Democracy with Humor and Dilemma Actions Tactics
Explore how humor and dilemma actions empower pro-democracy movements by exposing authoritarian absurdities and fostering community resilience.
Affinity Groups
Checklist for Affinity Groups
Checklist for affinity groups – looking out for each other and yourself when participating in a blockade or protest.
Affinity Groups for Non-Violent Direct Action
Affinity groups are a feature of many large scale non-violent actions. An affinity group is a small group of people (eg: 5-15) who have something in common who take action together. Groups could focus on a specific theme eg street medics or legal observers or more commonly it is a group of people that take action as a team.
How to Start a Direct Action Group to Make Martin Luther King Proud
George Lakey shares a ‘recipe’ on what it takes to create a thriving direct action group – wisdom built up over many years from trial and error.
Communicating your Protest
Media Checklist for Actions
A thorough checklist to help you prepare for traditional and social media in the lead up to an action, including some considerations for non-violent direct actions.
Live Tweeting at Rallies and Marches
Inform supporters, politicians and the media about what is happening at your protest in real time. This Twitter focused guide has tips that are relevant to other platforms.
How Disruptive Climate Campaigners use Mainstream Media & Social Media?
How can direct action campaigners use mainstream media and social media? Learn from the experiences of two Australian groups: Blockade Australia and Disrupt Burrup Hub.
Communications and Media: Start Here
Many more resources to help you get clearer on what communication channels to use and how to develop compelling framing and messages.
How to Talk About Demonstrations
A guide from NEON (UK) with messaging tips to support spokespeople responding to news stories around demonstrations.
Backfire Manual: Tactics Against Injustice
A practical handbook and model for activists to be more effective when facing injustice and powerful, dangerous opponents.
Rights & Safety
Who keeps us safe? We keep us safe! – Abolitionist chant at protests
Know your Rights
Please note these guides relate to certain countries or states. Check the legal situation where you are.
Legal Guides for Activists about Protests
A collection of legal guides and resources for activists about protesting in Australia.
What is Activist Legal Support?
Melbourne Activist Legal Support outlines the elements of legal support and why it’s crucial for activists.
Protesting rights in the United States, Activist Handbook
Legal rights and police practices in the US.
Protesters’ Rights – American Civil Liberties Union ACLU
In the USA the First Amendment protects your right to assemble and express your views through protest. However, police and other government officials are allowed to place certain narrow restrictions on the exercise of speech rights. Make sure you’re prepared by brushing up on your rights before heading out into the streets.
Criminalisation of Protest
Organizing in Increasingly Repressive Environments: Pushing Against Criminalization
With the global rise of authoritarianism, civil society is experiencing an unprecedented crack down. Lessons from organizing against repression in Florida, Brazil, and Nicaragua.
Protest in Peril: Our Shrinking Democracy
Research Report findings about the right to protest in Australia by the Human Rights Law Centre including recommendations to government.
Climate Activists in Australia are Learning How to Protect their Protest Rights
Australian climate activists have successfully navigated years of increasing protest criminalization, revealing strategies for all to follow.
Tactics Used by Fossil Fuel Companies to Suppress Critique and Obstruct Climate Action
Climate activists have often engaged a wide range of tactics in their efforts to bring down fossil fuel emissions and halt climate change. But what about the tactics used by fossil fuel companies to obstruct climate action and suppress critique?
Be Safe
Street Medic Pro-Tips: Medical and First Aid Support at Protests and Direct Actions
Tips from the Melbourne Street Medic Collective about basic safety, first aid, situation management, organisation and support at protests.
Toolkit: Protest safety tips from Greenpeace
Greenpeace has been holding and supporting protests around the world for nearly 50 years. They produced this guide in response to requests for advice on protest tactics, digital, and physical security against militarized police forces. The guide is from a US point of view but helpful for other places.
Staying Safe: Protective Strategies for Activists
It’s important to know how to stay safe as an activist and human rights defender (HRDs). These tips are from Melbourne Activist Legal Support.
Resources for Marshals at Protests and Rallies
Marshals have been used by many movements for many years and there are different approaches to marshalling depending on philosophy, security culture and movement practices.
Wellbeing support team at protests: Taking care of fellow activists during protest actions
Taking part in a protest can have a significant impact on your wellbeing. In this guide, we explain what you can do before, during and after a protest action to take care of everyone’s wellbeing.
Police Brutality and Activist Trauma Support
A guide to help activists understand and improve trauma support and recovery after police brutality.
Get in Formation: A Community Safety Toolkit
Security & safety practices, Verbal De-escalation, Office and Organizational Safety, and Security for events and actions by Vision Change Win.
De-escalation tactics at protests: Guide on how to diffuse tensions
In this guide, you will learn how to de-escalate tensions at a protest. Using these de-escalation tactics will help keep your protest non-violent.
Local Events Risk Assessment for Friends of the Earth UK (click on Risk Assessment)
An example of a risk assessment template by Friends of the Earth UK.
Documenting a Protest
In order to learn the lessons of social movement history we need people to keep records of what actually happened. Archiving your campaign might not feel like a big priority when you’re busy fighting the good fight – but it can ensure your side of the story of that fight gets told. – Activist Archiving: Start Here
How to Archive a Protest: A Field Guide For Southern Memory Workers
This guide about how to archive a protest includes a checklist and tips of what to think about before, during and after a protest.
Tracking Movement Moments: #BlackLivesMatter Case Study
Documenting and amplifying police brutality has been a crucial aspect of the Black Lives Matter movement, including during the May-June 2020 protests. These resources include examples of how people are documenting BLM as well as links to tips and articles to help you get started with documenting and archiving.
Get Archiving! Archivist Activist Backpacks, Hackathons and Other Ideas
A list of ideas for activists to archive their movements & moments including archivist activist backpacks, hackathons, collaborations, crowdsourcing archives.
Explore Further
- Case Studies of Protests
- Civil Resistance Tactics in the 21st Century: Report and Webinar
- TED talk: The success of nonviolent civil resistance: Erica Chenoweth at TEDxBoulder
- Watch Inspiring Activist and Protest Speeches
- Films and Documentaries about Social Justice, Movements, Victories and Leaders
- Books to Read if you are Interested in Activism, Social Change & Justice
- Nonviolent Direct Action: Start Here
- Resisting Authoritarianism
- What can I do to fight this coup?
Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SA