Prefigurative Politics in Practice
The concept of prefigurative practices can help us identify and cultivate the many forms of activism that help to open up the space of possibilities from within which we can co-create better futures.
Topic
Tactics
Tactics are the exciting part of any campaign – the actions that involve people, put pressure on powerholders, and make a splash in the media. This topic includes activities to choose your tactics from a wealth of options, case studies that showcase different tactics, and the nitty gritty of organising particular actions.
Subvertising: Sharing a Different Set of Messages
Exposing the manipulation and damage wrought by the advertising industry and outline the ways in which subvertisers are fighting back.
Frontline Action on Coal FLAC: Ten Years on the Climate Frontline
Frontline Action on Coal (FLAC) have used blockades and non-violent direct action to oppose new fossil fuel projects in Australia.
5 lessons for success from real-world #BrandJam campaigns
Brandjam campaigns use a companies brand value as a way to access public attention. So…what’s to be learned here?
Films and Documentaries about Social Movement Struggles, Victories and Leaders
Be inspired with this list of movies and documentaries about social movement struggles, victories and leaders – Selma, Milk, Silkwood, Norma Rae, Gandhi and more.
How Powerful Conversations Won Abortion Rights in Ireland
Overturning the abortion ban in Ireland meant equipping people to share their stories and spark conversations with their friends and family.
Australian Actions at the Point of Assumption
Points of Assumption – A list of Australian examples of tactics and actions that have reframed debates and beliefs and made social change.
Australian Actions at Different Points of Intervention
Australian examples of actions that intensify impact in terms of ensuring visibility, challenging opponents, and disrupting narratives.
Elections and Activism: Case Studies
A collection of case studies of how activists have intervened in elections collated by The Commons Social Change Library.
Elections and Activism: Campaign Skills
This collection provides how-to guides and resources regarding the skills and tactics you’ll need to reach your goals in election time.
From Protest to Politics: The Effectiveness of Civil Society in shaping the Nuclear-free Policy in Aotearoa New Zealand
A case study about what made anti-nuclear activism successful in Aotearoa New Zealand between the 1960s – 1980s.
Civil Resistance against Climate Change: What, when, who and how effective?
New research considers what Australian climate activism – specifically climate change civil resistance – looks like, how it is changing, and what it is achieving.
Tasmanian Wilderness Society blocks dam construction (Franklin River Campaign) 1981-83
Tasmanian Wilderness Society activists blockaded the Tasmanian Franklin below Gordon Dam site, proposed by the Hydro Electric Commission.
Australian Rainforest Action Groups boycott Malaysian rainforest timber, 1988-1994
Australian Rainforest Action Groups blockaded ships bringing rainforest timbers logged in Sarawak, Malaysia.
International groups boycott Nestle products to end indiscriminate advertising, 1977-1984
Nestle artificial baby milks infant formula marketing Third World International Baby Food Action Network.
Hazara asylum seekers hunger strike on Nauru, 2003-2004
Hazara refugee asylum seekers engaged in hunger strikes to protest their continuing detention by Australia on Nauru.
Billboard Utilising Graffitists Against Unhealthy Promotions (BUGA UP) campaigns against tobacco advertising, Australia, 1978-1994
Civil disobedience actions reversed tobacco advertising messages to show the negative health effects of cigarettes.
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.
Thanks But No Tanks: Learnings from Disrupt Land Forces [Brisbane: 2021]
Actions and learnings from Australia’s Disrupt Land Forces Campaign at the Brisbane’s 2021 Land Forces weapons expo.
Greenpeace and Sea Shepherds force Japanese seafood company Nissui to sell stakes in whale hunting ships 2005-2006
Greenpeace and Sea Shepherd initiated a consumer boycott against Sealord Tuna to end whaling by its parent company, Nissui.