Disobey

It was refreshing to come across a document-in-progress called the Glasgow Agreement, named for the city where the next UN COP will take place. Folks from the Global Ecosocialist Network have been discussing the types of opportunities this COP might present and the "agreement" presents a radical departure from past organizing and a new way forward. It also incorporates some new-old tactics which I have been promoting for some time. This is from the work of Erica Chenowith: "Second, contemporary movements tend to over-rely on mass dem-onstrations while neglecting other techniques—such as general strikes and mass civil disobedience—that can more forcefully disrupt a re-gime’s stability. Because demonstrations and protests are what most people associate with civil resistance, those who seek change are in-creasingly launching these kinds of actions before they have devel-oped real staying power or a strategy for transformation. Compared to other methods, street protests may be easier to organize or impro-vise on short notice. In the digital age, such actions can draw partici-pants in large numbers even without any structured organizing coali-tion to carry out advanced planning and coordinate communication.21But mass demonstrations are not always the most effective way of applying pressure to elites, particularly when they are not sustained over time. Other techniques of noncooperation, such as general strikes and stay-at-homes, can be much more disruptive to economic life and thus elicit more immediate concessions. It is often quiet, behind-the-scenes planning and organizing that enable movements to mobilize in force over the long term, and to coordinate and sequence tactics in a way that builds participation, leverage, and power.22 For the many contemporary movements organized around leaderless resistance, such capacities can be difficult to develop. Very possibly related to movements’ overemphasis on public dem-onstrations and marches is a third important factor: Recent movements have increasingly relied on digital organizing, via social media in par-ticular." They also call for a shift in focus; away from "institutional struggle" ( UN climate negotiators, governments,multi-national corps, etc) and towards direct action to disrupt fossil fuel infrastructure,"shift from symbolic disobedience in city centers" to the places of production. Andrea(s) Spreck lays out the case in an article from Waging Non-violence.