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Overview

The word “revolution” usually reminds people of violence and war. However, it doesn’t have to be that way. For example, Gandhi’s nonviolent revolution ousted the British from India while Milošević was toppled by a nonviolent movement in Serbia.

The following key points will take you on a journey through successful strategies that political activists like Srdja Popovic have used to overthrow dictators, stand up to power and fight back against oppression. These methods can be applied by anyone, anywhere, in order to bring about democratic change.

In this article, you’ll learn what the “pillars of power” are and how to shake them. You’ll also learn that humor is a powerful tool for change, especially in nonviolent actions. Finally, you’ll find out why violence never works as effectively as nonviolence.

Big Idea #1: Start a revolution by picking a battle you can win.

Any movement is small when it’s first started, and that makes it hard to get people interested. So movements need to make a name for themselves before they can draw in the crowds. The best way to do this is by picking smaller battles that seem winnable. Some of the most powerful nonviolent revolutions were launched with these kinds of strategies. Just look at Gandhi’s Salt March in 1930, which was one step on the path toward an independent India.

Mahatma Gandhi was a leader of the Indian independence movement and is considered one of the most important figures in modern history. He led the Salt March, which started when he marched 240 miles to make salt illegally because it was heavily taxed by the British government.

Gandhi started a movement to fight for political independence. He chose to start this movement by marching from his home in South Africa all the way across India and back again, gathering people along the way. The British were surprised by Gandhi’s march because they weren’t expecting it, but once he had gathered thousands of followers, they couldn’t ignore him anymore.

So, small victories are key to social change. However, speeches aren’t the only way of doing this. For example, Harvey Milk was a politician who fought for gay rights in America.

When Milk got into politics, he thought that the way to gain followers was by giving speeches about what mattered most to him. However, this strategy didn’t work for him and he lost two elections. After learning from his failures, Milk decided to focus on something that everyone in San Francisco cared about: dog poop in the city’s parks. In the end, he succeeded with this campaign and was elected to local government in 1977.

Big Idea #2: Successful political movements use inspiring visions to promise a better future.

A movement is a group of people who share the same goals and work together to achieve them. Movements are built on an inspiring vision that motivates their followers to take action. In order for this vision to be successful, it must be based on a strong aspiration. This is what happened with Otpor! in Serbia, when they overthrew Slobodan Milošević’s dictatorship by following their dream of openness and freedom for all Serbians.

Here’s what happened:

After the fall of the Soviet Union, a powerful leader rose to power and established an authoritarian regime. This leader banned all foreign music and led a propaganda campaign against Serbia’s neighbors.

In the 1990s, a Serbian group called Otpor! was formed. They were set on changing their country and opening it up to the world. At first, they didn’t hold political office but eventually helped overthrow Milošević in 2000 by spreading their vision of an open Serbia. In 2008, when Maldives prepared for its first democratic election in 30 years, one member of the opposition party traveled around the country and saw elderly people with nothing to do just staring at the ocean because they had no jobs or food or medicine; this gave him insight into what his group’s vision should be: pulling low-income citizens out of poverty.