Introduction
Years ago, as I began to research for The Dandelion Insurrection (the prequel to The Roots of Resistance), I stumbled onto the vast and ever-growing field of nonviolent struggle. More than just protests and marches, the world of courageous change-making involves strategy and dynamics, techniques and philosophies, studies and experiments. My nonviolent struggle library now takes up a whole wall of my house and threatens to pile up in stacks in my writing corner. The Roots of Resistance is written on the building blocks of this knowledge. Much of the novel’s plot was crafted by applying my understanding of strategy for nonviolent movements to the situations the characters faced. This glossary of techniques offers insights into a few of the concepts that appear within the pages of this novel. Each definition also includes examples from the book and some have suggestions for further study. I encourage all of my readers to learn more. This knowledge will change our world. Indeed, it already has.
You can also find over one hundred essays on nonviolent struggle here on my website, plus the essays of The Man From the North, inspired by Charlie Rider’s writings in the novels. Another useful resource is The Dandelion Insurrection Study Guide to Making Change Through Nonviolent Action, which uses the novel as a fun and engaging way to learn some very practical knowledge about nonviolent struggle. This glossary references the study guide, connecting you to further study and group exercises on certain topics.
Affinity group: a small group of people who train for and participate in nonviolent actions together. Example: the Dandelion Swarms could be viewed as affinity groups. Learn more on War Resisters’ International website.
Agent Provocateur: a person hired by one’s opponents to intentionally instigate or commit violent acts during a nonviolent struggle in order to provoke and/or justify repression, or to discredit the movement. Example: the Roots act as agent provocateurs during the latter chapters of the novel. Learn more about countering agent provocateurs on the Antimedia website.
Alternative & Parallel Institutions: organizations and systems aimed at partially or fully replacing institutions controlled by or in support of the oppressor group. These can be economic, political, social, transportation, educational, or communications systems. Examples: the Alternet, and the Penny Elementary. Learn more at www.mettacenter.org
Assassination: Murder for political purposes.
Backfire/Backlash (also called political ju-jitsu, aikido effect): an effect that occurs when an opponent’s use of violent repression is met by disciplined nonviolent resistance, and backfires against the opponent, showing the opponent in the worst possible light. Opinions and power relationships shift in favor of the nonviolent group, weakening the opponent’s strength and contributing to their defeat. For this to occur, nonviolent resisters must remain steadfast in the use of nonviolent tactics. If the nonviolent resisters adopt violence, it is likely to undermine their position rather than their opponent’s. (Adapted from Sharp’s Dictionary of Power and Struggle) Example: this dynamic occurs at the bridge in the desert, when the violent repression of the police and private security agents causes Frank Novaro to blockade the road with his truck. The violence of the security agents also plays a role in catalyzing nationwide actions against extraction companies. Learn more about this in the study, “Backfire Basics“. Find an exercise on managing repression in The Dandelion Insurrection Study Guide, pg 18-20.
Boycott: an organized refusal to continue social, economic, or political participation with an injustice or opponent. The word comes from Irish resistance to exploitive landlords. In 1886, tenants in Mayo County refused to speak or do business with Captain Boycott, a land agent, in protest of his evictions in the region. Examples: Charlie’s corporate media boycott, the boycott of businesses opposing the Relief Bill, the boycott of businesses using prison labor during the Debt Prison Strike. Check out this checklist on organizing a boycott.
Burnout: to tire due to overwork or stress; to reach a point of collapse due to overwork. Example: Charlie reaches this point several times in the book, and uses a variety of restorative practices to keep going, including support of friends and taking a break. See also: self-care.
Casualties: deaths. Despite occasional massacres and the unarmed nature of nonviolent protesters, nonviolent struggle has a 1:10 casualty rate compared to civil wars. (Chenoweth and Stephan, Why Civil Resistance Works) Example: pg 8, as Charlie walks to the funeral of the people killed in the drone strike, he also notes the comparable casualty rate had they chosen to start a violent civil war.
Citizen Media: journalism by persons who are not professional journalists. The term is related to participatory media and democratic media. Example: Charlie mobilizes citizen media teams to support the efforts of the Dandelion Insurrection when the corporate media presents their work in a negative light. Learn more about citizen media.
Civilian-Based Defense: a plan of nonviolent action through which it is possible to deter and defeat foreign military invasions, occupations, and internal coups through noncooperation and defiance by society. Example: Idah Robbins references this concept, later Tucker Jones and Alex Kelley implement a plan of civilian-based defense in the context of Operation Full Stop. Learn more from Gene Sharp’s work at the Albert Einstein Institution.
Civil Disobedience: the active refusal to comply with specific laws that are considered unjust, or breaking laws to achieve objectives considered crucial enough that breaking the law is justified. Example: the Freedom of Speech marches and demonstrations attempt to use civil disobedience of the recently passed American Protection Act to overturn the law in the courts and make it unenforceable through mass noncompliance. Learn more about civil disobedience from War Resisters’ International.
Civil Resistance: widespread nonviolent resistance by the civilian population. The means of action and dynamics are those of nonviolent action. Learn more at the International Center On Nonviolent Conflict.
Concentration and Dispersion: refers to methods of nonviolent action that assemble or disperse bodies in a physical space. Examples of concentrated actions include marches, rallies, blockades, and sit-ins. Examples of dispersed actions include stay-at-home strikes, call-in-sick strikes, and boycotts. When dealing with violent repression, shifting from concentrated to dispersed actions can protect people while maintaining pressure on one’s opponents. Example: the blockade on the bridge, the marches for the Freedom of Speech, and the anti-eviction squads are examples of concentrated actions. The debt strike and the boycotts of the company’s blocking the Relief Bill are dispersed actions. Learn more in The Dandelion Insurrection Study Guide, pg 35.
Constructive Program: “Constructive program is a term coined by Gandhi. It describes nonviolent action taken within a community to build structures, systems, processes or resources that are positive alternatives to oppression. It can be seen as self-improvement of both community and individual. Constructive program often works along side obstructive program, or Civil Disobedience, which usually involves direct confrontation to, or non-co-operation with, oppression. Constructive program is doing what one can to imaginatively and positively create justice within one’s own community.” (From the Metta Center Glossary) Example: the community conflict resolution teams, peace teams, and restorative justice circles are constructive programs dealing with the lack of trust of police in certain neighborhoods. They are also examples of alternative institutions. Idah Robbins’ Nonviolent School is also a constructive program. Learn more about planning constructive programs in The Dandelion Insurrection Study Guide, pg 61-66.
Co-optation (also co-option): has two meanings. The first refers to awarding individuals from an opposition group with a degree of privilege or power in order to control them. The second refers to when a larger (or more powerful) group takes over some of a smaller group’s related interests without adopting the full program or ideal, often undercutting the need for deeper change. Examples: pg 1-39, Friend tries this with the Gray Atonement Flags; pg 165, the Butcher tries to get Charlie and Tansy to sell-out on some movement goals in exchange for others.
Counterrevolution: action taken to undermine or reverse a revolution. This occurs when the previous government has been removed from power but the usurping group has not fully consolidated its own control. Example: many of the Dandelion Insurrection’s challenges in The Roots of Resistance are related to attempted counterrevolutionary measures by the rich and formerly powerful.
Cultural Resistance: has two meanings. The first refers to holding to one’s own way of life, language, customs, and beliefs despite pressures from another culture. The second is the use of arts, literature, and traditional practices to resist oppressive systems or policies. Examples: the Acadians and the tintamarre; Kinap and the Indigenous nation’s style of organizing. Learn more at New Tactics In Human Rights.
Cumulative Campaigns: a series of campaigns toward movement goals that build cumulatively upon the success of the previous campaign. Examples: the school resistance campaigns build cumulatively from the catalyzing model of Los Jardineros into dozens of similar school struggles nationwide. These, in turn, inspire parallel resistance campaigns to stop the seizure of other public assets by plunder monkeys. Learn more at Waging Nonviolence. See also, The Dandelion Insurrection Study Guide, pg 53-59.
De-escalation: using skills and tactics to diminish the intensity, size, or likelihood of violent conflict. Examples: many characters apply these skills at different points throughout the story, on both small and large scales. They are used during street actions by Idah, Inez, and various peace teams. Zadie’s speeches and Charlie’s writings calling for nonviolent discipline could also be considered de-escalation tactics for the broader movement. Learn more at Meta Peace Team.
Debt Strike and Debt Resistance: refusal to pay some or all of a debt and its interest as a method of economic boycott. This tactic has been used in opposition to debtors’ policies, and also as a method of denying resources to opponents. Example: the Debt Strike in solidarity with the Debt Prison strike. Learn more at Beautiful Trouble and Strike Debt.
Demands: a set of goals or objectives, generally defined in tangible points, that the movement wishes the opposition to concede or meet. Examples: pg 67, the movement expanded its initial demands to include another list of economic justice and human rights issues outlined in the People’s Demands that formed the basis for the new Relief Bill.
Direct Action: social, economic, or political action taken by people to intervene directly in an injustice. Direct action is contrasted with indirect action, such as getting someone to act in favor of one’s group (i.e. lobbying politicians to get a new law passed), or by leaders or public figures (as by negotiations). This term has been used in both violent and nonviolent contexts. Examples: Let’s Be Frank campaign’s vehicle blockades of roads, the children of Los Jardineros marching to reclaim their school, the Freedom of Speech marches and demonstrations. Learn more at Beautiful Trouble.
Disruption: a theory of social change that argues that disruption of the current system is necessary for propelling change. It was articulated by Frances Fox Piven and Richard Cloward who felt that poor people gain leverage only by causing “commotion among bureaucrats, excitement in the media, dismay among influential segments of the community, and strain for political leaders.” Examples: the tintamarre, murmurations, Dandelion Swarms, Los Jardineros, Begging for Change campaign. Learn more from this essay on Popular Resistance.
Escalation: in the context of nonviolent movements, escalation refers to increasing the intensity of a campaign either through frequency of actions, types of actions, pressures upon targets, or shifting to more confrontational strategies in which the stakes to all parties heighten. Example: the campaign for the new Relief Bill follows stages of escalation from awareness-raising murmurations, to Not One Penny More’s boycotts, to rent strikes and anti-eviction efforts, to the debt prison strike, to the solidarity debt strike. Learn more at War Resisters’ International.
Flash Actions: a flash action is a rapid convergence of people into action, generally unrehearsed or pre-organized. The concept originated with flash mobs as a form of participatory performance art, with groups of people using online communications to arrange to show up in a public location to do some kind of playful protest activity. In later years, the spontaneity of flash mobs gave rise to a wide variety of flash actions characterized by their rapid organization on short notice. Examples: the Dandelion Insurrection implements flash mob-type actions with many variations. They also utilize tactics that have elements of spontaneity within a more choreographed structure. They call these murmurations, which is further defined below. Learn more at Beautiful Trouble.
Hacking: to break into or alter a computer program or system. Example: the Spyder hacked into the paternity lab’s computers to get DNA results on Will Sharp’s identity.
Humanizing Effect: unlike violence, which relies on dehumanizing the enemy, nonviolent struggle gains strategic and practical advantages by humanizing the opposition, the movement, and the bystanders. It cuts through the illusion of the opponent’s infallibility, helps maintain nonviolent discipline, reduces the likelihood of violent repression in some cases, builds empathy particularly among ally groups, and increases willingness to participate in the movement. Examples: the desert resisters frequently humanized themselves to the extraction company workers, and also to the security agents; also the Man From the North humanizes the Dandelion Insurrection by calling upon the many voices in the movement in an attempt to build nonviolent discipline. Learn more in The Dandelion Insurrection Study Guide, pg 12-14.
Infiltration: the process of deliberate, usually covert, entry of agents into an organization or movement in order to influence its actions or goals, disrupt the organization, or discredit the movement. Approaches and tactics used by infiltrators include seduction, surveillance, insertion into command and communications structure, spreading misinformation, provoking violence or sabotage, stalling and obstructing movement activities, and more. Examples: pg 231-233, the Roots report on their progress infiltrating different groups within the Dandelion Insurrection. Later in the book, they leverage their positions to disrupt and discredit the movement. Learn more about the widespread infiltration of social justice movements through these articles by Kevin Zeese and Margaret Flowers of Popular Resistance: Infiltration to Divide, Disrupt and Mis-direct are Widespread in Occupy and Infiltration of Political Movements is the Norm, Not the Exception, in the United States.
Interposition: in third party nonviolent intervention, interposition is the act of physically getting in between conflicting parties to deter them from using violence against one another. Examples: Idah Robbins uses interpositioning during the Freedom of Speech march when one of the Roots, undercover as a Solidarity Center volunteer, attempts an act of provocation toward a cop. Learn more from the Metta Center Glossary.
Kinap: a Wabanaki word that means “warrior” or “helper”, and describes someone who dedicates themselves in service of the community. Example: the character Kinap is named for this quality. Learn more in Sacred Instructions: Indigenous Wisdom for Living Spirit-Based Change by Sherri Mitchell – Weh’na Ha’mu’ Kwasset (She Who Brings the Light).
Leaderful: a style of leadership which stands in contrast to “leaderless” by empowering shared leadership and actively cultivating the ability of many to hold responsibilities, skills, and decision-making capacities. Examples: the Dandelion Insurrection uses a leaderful structure paired with trainings and communication to manage its multi-nodal, dispersed nature. Learn more in The Dandelion Insurrection Study Guide, pg 83. See also, Beautiful Trouble, here and here.
Leaderless: an organizational style popularized by the 2011 Occupy Protests which eschews hierarchical leadership and charismatic leaders.
Leaked Information: knowledge or data that is disclosed to an unauthorized person. Examples: the Mouse leaks several pieces of information to the Dandelion Insurrection, including the secret version of the Relief Bill, the businesses lobbying against the Peoples’ Demands, and the threat of plunder monkeys. These actions allow the movement to adapt their strategies effectively.
Movement of Movements: a description of many movements occurring simultaneously and working toward shared or overlapping goals of systemic change. Learn more through these essays: We Are a Movement of Movements and Awakening the Movement of Movements.
Multi-nodal: similar actions or campaigns coordinated in multiple locations at the same time. Example: during the Let’s Be Frank campaign, people all over the country parked their cars across the roads to block extraction companies.
Murmuration: an act of flocking by a group of birds, generally to evade a predator, used as a category of nonviolent action in the Dandelion Insurrection wherein the simple rules are known to the participants, allowing cohesive, yet flexible, action. Examples: during the Relief Bill campaign, streets are blocked, social functions disrupted, and politicians swarmed using murmuration style actions. Learn more in The Dandelion Insurrection Study Guide, pg 83.
Nonviolent Action: a method of working for change that does not use physical violence, but rather engages a broad range of nonviolent tactics of protest and persuasion, noncooperation, and intervention. In 1973, scholar Gene Sharp catalogued 198 Methods of Nonviolent Action. Find them at the Albert Einstein Institution.
Nonviolence Commitments: an agreement, often written and signed, that outlines expectations of behavior during a nonviolent action, and helps to maintain both discipline and accountability. Check out Dr. King’s Nonviolence Commitment Card.
Nonviolent Discipline: sticking to the agreed-upon course of a nonviolent action, both with the predetermined strategy, tactics, and methods of action; and with the maintenance of persistent nonviolent behavior even in the face of repression. Examples: the Dandelion Insurrection has varying success maintaining nonviolent discipline throughout The Roots of Resistance. The school resistance and Relief Bill campaigns show widespread discipline and commitment. Later campaigns, such as the extraction resistance and the effort to repeal the American Protection Act, struggled with agent provocateurs, violent flanks, and mixed perspectives on the need for nonviolent discipline. Learn more about nonviolent discipline through this study.
Nonviolent Intervention: directly interfering in a situation using nonviolent action. The intervention usually – but not always – involves physically disrupting the system or structure of injustice, or the activities of the targeted power holder(s). Nonviolent intervention is distinguished from both symbolic protest and noncooperation. Examples: the blockade at the bridge, the car blockades, Dandelion Swarms, Will Sharp’s whistleblowing, Operation Full Stop’s shutdown of systems, the Mouse’s shutdown of the former president’s access to funds, occupying toll booths in protest of plunder monkey takeovers, and the Grapes of Wrath filibuster speak-in.
Nonviolent Noncooperation: “Ending, restricting, or withdrawing social, economic, or political cooperation with opponent individuals, activities, institutions, or a government.” (From Sharp’s Dictionary of Power and Struggle) Examples: Los Jardineros’ school walkout, boycotts of businesses blocking the Relief Bill, Operation Full Stop’s walkout, the Little League strike for Stolen Bases, debt strike, rent strike.
Nonviolent Protest and Persuasion: a broad range of nonviolent actions that either protest an injustice or attempt to persuade individuals or groups to take action on an issue. Some of these methods include: protests, demonstrations, rallies, banners, posters, colors and symbols, marches, walkouts, renouncing honors, protest letters, and more. Examples: Charlie’s essays, the yellow shirts before the Dandelion Insurrection vote, the tintamarre, marches, the Begging for Change cans and coins shaking.
Participation: one of the key dynamics for successful nonviolent struggle, identified by Chenoweth and Stephan in Why Civil Resistance Works. This study found that any nonviolent movement that successfully mobilized 3.5% of the population into acts of noncooperation and intervention always won their struggle. Learn more in Why Civil Resistance Works and in The Dandelion Insurrection Study Guide.
Peace Teams: “A Peace Team is a group of local people trained in peaceful conflict resolution methods who promote friendship, solidarity, social justice, and alternatives to violence in the local community. Peace teams, when requested, can provide service outside their local communities. Peace teams have been developed as responses to war and conflict much the same as that of the localized Gandhian Shanti Sena in India. Many times they are a response to potential violence in a community supported by training committed volunteers in the principles of nonviolence strategies and mediation skills.” (From the Metta Center Glossary) Example: the Dandelion Insurrection engaged peace teams in two contexts, using them as an alternative institution to police in local neighborhoods, and also using them to help maintain nonviolent discipline at demonstrations and marches. Learn more at Meta Peace Team.
Pillars of Support: the institutions and sections of a society that supply a given government (or opposition group) with its needed sources of political power to maintain and expand its power capacity. By undermining or eroding these pillars, it is possible to weaken the power of the opponent to a point where desired change is possible. The term was introduced by Robert L. Helvey. (Adapted from Sharp’s Dictionary of Power and Struggle) Find an in-depth strategic analysis tool for Pillars of Support in The Dandelion Insurrection Study Guide, pg 40-45. Check out this group exercise from Training for Change.
Plunder Monkeys: a term invented by author Stephen King, who referred to Donald Trump’s cabinet choices as “a motley crew of plunder monkeys”.
Power Vacuum: as it relates to nonviolent struggle, this describes a situation when one regime has vacated the power structure, but the incoming regime (movement or otherwise) has not yet taken over. Unexpected power grabs can occur during a power vacuum, thwarting or supplanting the nonviolent movement that ousted the previous regime. Example: when one third of the elected officials resigned or fled, a power vacuum was opened. Without a clear plan from the Dandelion Insurrection, the remaining politicians were able to mobilize quickly to form the “Interim Government” and use the transitional period for their personal gain.
Principled Nonviolence: a group of belief systems which include rejection of violence on grounds of a principle. “Principled nonviolence is not merely a strategy nor the recourse of the weak, it is a positive force that does not manifest its full potential until it is adopted on principle. Often its practitioners feel that it expresses something fundamental about human nature, and who they wish to become as individuals.” (From Metta Center Glossary) Examples: several characters reference personal commitments to principled nonviolence, including Idah Robbins who draws from Dr. King’s legacy, Zadie who draws from her beliefs about love and human nature, and Kinap whose understanding comes from her Indigenous beliefs. Learn more at www.mettacenter.org
Pragmatic Nonviolence: adoption of nonviolent tactics for pragmatic reasons of effectiveness, or because violence is not a realistic option in the particular socio-political situation. Example: the Texas Free Rangers agreed to use nonviolent tactics for their efforts with the Dandelion Insurrection. They did not adopt the principles or philosophy of nonviolence. Learn more at the International Center On Nonviolent Conflict website.
Propaganda: messaging (written, oral, or pictorial) intended to influence the attitudes, opinions, and beliefs of those to whom they are directed.
Property Damage/Destruction: physical damage or destruction to property. This is an often-contested area of tactics and has been interpreted as both violent and nonviolent, depending on situation and those defining it. Nonviolent struggle researcher Gene Sharp defines destruction of one’s own property as a nonviolent action, but not destruction of others’ property. Examples: the Roots use property damage toward the extraction companies, as do the Off-shoots during public demonstrations. Learn more through this historical and strategic analysis piece by George Lakey.
Repression: violent or hostile actions threatened or applied by an opponent to stifle, punish, crush, or destroy movement opposition. Examples: private security, police, and military forces at the bridge during the Desert Resistance; the police at Inez’ protest march; the assassination attempt on Zadie; the smear and slander campaign aimed at Charlie and Zadie. Learn more on how to deal with repression in this video from researchers Erica Chenoweth and Dr. Stephen Zunes. Find an exercise on managing repression in The Dandelion Insurrection Study Guide, pg 18-20.
Resistance Camp: a tactic of building an encampment to support resistance action, sometimes in the direct path of an opponent’s intended goals. Example: the Desert Resistance Camp.
Restorative Justice: “Restorative justice is the nonviolent replacement for the present model of retributive justice, whose aim is punishment. Restorative justice aims to transform the harm done by a crime, which is considered a breach of relationships, into restored relationships among all parties.” (From the Metta Center Glossary) Example: restorative justice is mentioned as an alternative community conflict program used by neighborhoods struggling with lack of trust of established channels such as the police and justice system. Learn more at the Metta Center for Nonviolence.
Sabotage: acts intended to immobilize, dismantle, damage, or destroy equipment, machinery, communications, facilities, means of transportation and so on, carried out by persons or groups in conflict with the owner, operator, or beneficiary of the goods or services (including the state or occupation regime). Examples: the pipeline explosion and the transformer station explosion.
Self-Care: practices that nourish the physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual well-being of activists with the intention of building resilience for the long-haul of social change. Examples: Tansy Beaulisle’s jogging practice, Alex Kelley or Tucker Jones’ meditation practice. Learn more at Beautiful Trouble.
Self-Defense: defense of one’s self when physically attacked. In the context of nonviolent actions, the forms of self-defense used at protests or demonstrations should remain non-violent if the group seeks to make repression backfire on the oppressor.
Smear Campaigns: an effort to damage or call into question someone’s reputation through negative propaganda. Examples: pg 209, onward, Charlie and Zadie are both the subjects of smear campaigns.
Slogans: short and memorable written or spoken messages, opinions, or views. Examples: “Be kind, be connected, be unafraid” is a slogan of the Dandelion Insurrection, as is “For life, liberty, and love!”
Spectrum of Allies: a strategy tool used by nonviolent movement organizers to identify ally/opposition stances and analyze how to shift people and groups into more favorable positions in relation to the goals of the movement. Learn more at Training for Change or in The Dandelion Insurrection Study Guide, pg 46-48.
Spiritual Activism: a style of activism rooted in one’s spirituality; or conversely, a socially-engaged spirituality. Example: Kinap’s approach to spirit-based activism.
Strategy: a plan of action that shows how to achieve desired goals and objectives. Example: pg 91, Alex Kelley works on strategic analysis and planning in relation to stopping the plunder monkeys. Learn more about developing strategy for nonviolent campaigns in The Dandelion Insurrection Study Guide.
Strike: an organized halt or slow-down of labor during a conflict, intended to pressure employers or others for a particular goal or set of goals. This is a broad category of nonviolent action that includes many variations based on participants, duration, intention, and application. Examples: the Towing Union strike in support of the car blockades, the Little League strike against “stolen bases” in protest of plunder monkeys; the Debt Prison strike. Note: though the broader Debt Strike and earlier rent strikes used the term “strike”, they are technically not strikes, but other forms of nonviolent action involving withholding of payments. Learn more about organizing a strike.
Swarming: a collective behavior of animals moving en masse, including swarms of hornets or bees, schools of fish, flocks of migrating birds, and murmurations of starlings or swallows. Swarming is used for group protection, hunting, and travelling. As a concept, it is applied to human group movement and strategies for mass action. It has been used in small groups (as in some flash actions) and also in complex systems analysis for the movement of movements (see definition, above). Examples: the Dandelion Swarms, pg 68, use swarming and murmurations to create flexible, but unified, mobile street actions capable of pressuring politicians and others. Learn more at Wikipedia and read Swarming: That’s How the Movement of Movements Rolls.
Targets: the focus of a nonviolent action, campaign, or movement. Targets may be individuals, groups, corporate entities, government bodies, and more. A target may be a primary target (capable of making a direct decision or action on the issue), or a secondary target (capable of applying pressure to the primary target), or even a tertiary target like a potential ally group the movement is attempting to mobilize into action. Examples: during the Relief Bill campaign, the primary targets were the Congresspersons, the secondary targets were their donors and businesses trying to block the bill, and the tertiary targets were several groups of citizens, including those who opposed the bill. Learn more about planning strategic campaigns and choosing targets on the War Resisters’ International website.
Tintamarre: an Acadian pots-and-pans, bells-and-whistles demonstration named after the sound of birds rising to wing and settling down again. It is used as a celebration of culture and survival, as well as overcoming cultural repression. Example: pg 71, Valier suggests adding an element of the tintamarre to the Relief Bill actions. Learn more about the tintamarre on Wikipedia.
Transparency & Openness: an operational principle in nonviolent action that states that the organizations and individuals involved in the nonviolent movement will act publicly and without secrecy, that the leaders will be known to the public and opponents, that activities will be announced and responsibility for them will be taken by the movement without deceit or hiding. Examples: the Dandelion Insurrection operates largely on transparency and openness in The Roots of Resistance, unlike in the first novel. This stands in contrast to the actions of the Roots, who operate covertly and secretly.
Violent Flanks: an armed and violent group existing either within or independently of a nonviolent movement. Examples: the Roots and the Offshoots are both violent flanks in relation to the Dandelion Insurrection. For further research of the dynamics and effects, see Chenoweth and Schock’s study, Do Contemporaneous Armed Challenges Affect the Outcomes of Mass Nonviolent Campaigns?
Whistleblowing: action by individuals to expose harmful or dangerous policies, corruption, or falsehoods of a company or government agency. Examples: the Mouse blows the whistle on the hidden version of the Relief Bill. Will Sharp blows the whistle on the true identity and purpose of the Roots. Learn more at Wikipedia.
Resources for Further Study
Books:
The Dandelion Insurrection Study Guide On Making Change Through Nonviolent Action by Rivera Sun
Sharp’s Dictionary of Power and Struggle by Gene Sharp
Why Civil Resistance Works by Erica Chenoweth and Maria J. Stephan
Sacred Instructions: Indigenous Wisdom for Living Spirit-Based Change by Sherri Mitchell – Weh’na Ha’mu’ Kwasset (She Who Brings the Light)
The Handbook for Nonviolent Campaigns by War Resisters’ International
Websites/Online Resources:
George Lakey’s Direct Action Manual
International Center On Nonviolent Conflict
Pace e Bene/Campaign Nonviolence