How Americans Can Defend Democracy Through Mass Action
Republicans are continuing their second coup attempt with the goal of seizing full permanent control of the federal government through election rigging tactics such as voter suppression, gerrymandering, and refusing to certify election results. Sadly, congress seems unlikely to do anything in response to this dire threat. It is now vital that we consider how the public can directly fight back against undemocratic Republican rule should this electoral coup succeed in cementing their power. History has many examples of coup attempts which have been stopped by ordinary citizens who took a stand against them. Never be convinced that we are powerless in the fight against tyranny. I guarantee that regardless of your background, you have important skills and contributions to make in the fight for American democracy.
While many imagine the fight against authoritarian governments as needing to be a violent struggle, there are a wide range of tactics which can be deployed to force a shift from authoritarianism to democracy. Effective nonviolent strategy is not based around passivism, but exerting pressure through economic, social, psychological, or political force. As research has shown, nonviolent tactics have proven very successful in stopping coup attempts historically.
Delegitimize election cheaters and build a mass movement opposing them
The first and most important step is to call this anti-democratic coup what it is and refuse to accept undemocratically elected government as legitimate. Governments depend on the public seeing them as having legitimacy in order to function. By undermining this, you threaten the very foundation of the coup government’s power. Spread the idea of the coup government’s illegitimacy and build a mass movement around it with mainstream support.
The Republican coup plotters are attempting to shroud their actions in legal legitimacy. Do not let them. A politician who “wins” an election by abusing their power to warp electoral law in their favor cannot be considered legitimate. This second coup is not as showy as the last one but it poses an even greater danger to our democracy. Do not get sucked down the rabbithole of just how much election rigging should be tolerated. Draw the line and refuse the authority of election cheaters at every level of government.
View the laws and law enforcement agents of the coup government as illegitimate while disobeying them openly. Undermine coup government authority and function in whatever ways possible, while refusing them resources, information, and compliance of any kind. Though this cannot always be relied on, try to turn local government and regional Democratic party chapters into machinery of resistance. Local government action is ideal, but even their statements of support can be helpful.
Create a broad and inclusive movement where everyone has a place. Nonviolent movements have the advantage of giving people with a broad range of skills opportunities to use their abilities in the creation of political force. Journalists, artists, writers, drivers, carpenters, physical laborers, and social media campaigners all have a place in such a movement. Active and meaningful involvement should not even necessarily mean leaving your own home.
Building critical mass is absolutely essential to the success of a movement like this. Coalition building should be a top priority, especially early on. Keeping pro-democracy Americans on the side of the movement is important. This provides the very foundation of political campaigns of this nature. If you lose the public, you lose everything. Keep organizing as positive, hopeful, and fun as possible, even when times are scary, especially when they are scary. Fear is the greatest tool of an authoritarian government, it must be defeated for victory against them to be possible.
Prioritize social cohesion, communication, and strategic planning
Gatherings to build social cohesion within the movement are every bit as important as meetings to plan strategic political action. Host workshops on resisting authoritarianism at your college or a pro-democracy picnic. Events, artwork, social media campaigns, and putting up flyers are all great ways to build a movement. Always make sure potential new members have a way to stay connected through social media or other communication channels. The movement and the society more broadly should avoid becoming atomized. A divided society falls much more easily into authoritarianism.
Build strong communication networks and protocols, both in person and online. It is vital for Americans who stand in opposition to Republican minority rule to come together often to coordinate. Large scale general assemblies and meetings are useful for physical environments, while also organizing on secure digital platforms like Signal and Matrix. Less secure platforms like Reddit, Facebook, and Discord should also be utilized for lower risk discussion and activities. There is often a choice between accessibility and security when choosing communication tools. It is important to analyze the benefits and drawbacks of available options and make the best choices for each individual situation. A culture of verifying information is important in all communications. When lies spread, the opposition wins. Resistance movements like this one can benefit strategically from maintaining active communication with social movements fighting for democracy elsewhere in the world.
Decentralized decision making and conflict resolution are key. Organizations and influential figures may play vital roles in social movements like these, but it is important that no organization or group of people function as leaders or have decision making power over other participants. While shared consensus on tactics and objectives is highly beneficial, broad movement-wide hierarchies prevent and slow down action. It also makes movements vulnerable because leaders can be arrested or killed. Beware of those who use social bullying tactics to gain control over movements, regardless of their intent, identity or claim to power. Having systems established to manage conflicts is essential, nothing can destroy social movements faster than infighting. Aggressively attacking other members of the coup resistance should be considered social friendly fire and looked down upon.
Goal oriented strategic planning is critical to success. Such a movement should not simply react to the moves of its opposition, but instead think ahead and take continuous strategic action, building bridges to desired outcomes step by step. There must be constantly evolving plans for applying the nonviolent force required for the movement to accomplish its objectives, as well as strategies for the requisite support systems to maintain those actions long term. Passively making your voice heard to authoritarians will do nothing. Tactics must be grounded in strategic analysis rather than feeling, and evaluated based on how practical rather than how seemingly righteous they are. When you go high, Fascists go low. It is not justness which brings political victory, but good strategy and the drive to apply it. Open communication networks are useful for creating environments where ideas can be exchanged, tactics can be proposed, and collective brainstorming can occur.
The idea that victory is possible and necessary must be maintained. Often some social movement participants do not believe deep down that they can actually win, so whether they realize it or not they begin to shift their energy towards what feels within their control. This is why infighting often picks up when movements stagnate, as the problems a movement set out to address begin to feel unsolvable, they turn out of frustration to internal issues, sometimes ones which do not even exist. Too many activists develop self-fulfilling prophecies of failure, and are in some cases even welcoming defeat after in their minds, having fought a noble fight in a struggle they could never win to begin with. In opposing America’s transformation into an authoritarian state, democracy’s defenders cannot afford this kind of thinking, as this is not a struggle they can afford to lose. Movement participants must always act to win.
Keep actions as nonviolent as possible but remember that violence is entirely defined by societal opinion and public perception. If an entirely peaceful march is falsely reported by rightwing media as a violent one and this becomes the dominant narrative, the result is the same as if that march actually was violent. Intentional efforts to control public narrative are vital. The other factor is that public opinion on which acts are violent is dynamic and can be shifted by a movement or its enemies. American culture by default views damaging property as much more violent than most other countries, but this sort of thing can be changed if a movement communicates clearly with a sympathetic public which comes to see certain actions as either less violent or more justified in the circumstances.
Note: Actions listed on the graphic above are not necessarily placed to reflect opinions on them or practicality within American society or practicality in this context, but rather present a general framework for thinking about nonviolence.
In Hong Kong a common saying during the protests was “Don’t cut the reed mat”. In this context, it means to remain unified as a movement and avoid denouncing other participants who choose to use different tactics, even if you disagree with them personally. This avoids a dangerous kind of splintering which can fatally weaken movements by separating their elements. Open discussion of which tactics are more strategic however is highly beneficial and should be encouraged. Social movement participants should always keep in mind who their real enemies are. There are however some scenarios in which preventative intervention might be beneficial, such as situations where there is a serious threat to human life.
Careful consideration should go into actions taken in self defense. They can often be seen as violent by the public and reduce support. While attacks by opposition often result in increased support, this has its limits. Sometimes allowing an enemy to attack you results in only a strategic loss, particularly when there is civilian militia opposition carrying out deadly attacks on a recurring basis using automatic weapons, explosives, or vehicles. Especially in these cases, the pros of higher level defensive actions would likely outweigh the cons. In general, the minimum amount of defensive systems required to accomplish the strategic objectives should be used. Sometimes systems designed for security can substantially hinder a movement's capabilities. Be extremely wary of security teams attempting to exercise authority over others in environments such as occupations, especially if they are armed.
Create infrastructure and leverage institutions to support resistance efforts
Building strong support networks to aid those fighting back against tyranny is important. As this is likely going to be a long fight, it will require resources and support systems to maintain. In many respects, this will be a war of attrition. Providing the support necessary to sustain the movement long term is just as important as applying pressure. Effective movements like these are able to develop systems to help meet the basic needs of their participants to increase the amount of time they can spend campaigning. These systems generally provide material, medical, psychological, or legal support. Forming local and nationwide networks for each of these will be important.
Material support includes fundraising and supply donation pipelines, as well as intentional living communities, housing shares, occupations, transportation systems, food pantries, public kitchens, free childcare services, and small stipends for full time movement participants. It is helpful to have resource coordinators dedicated to helping those in the movement get connected with resources which may be useful to them.
Medical support often takes the form of street medics providing care to people during protests. Volunteer medical professionals may be able to provide a higher level of care in environments such as occupations and intentional communities. Medical support can also provide access to medicine and other resources.
Psychological support is absolutely vital to the success of movements like these due to the stressful nature of this work. A culture where self-care is encouraged and mental health is destigmatized is extremely beneficial to social movements. Community care is just as important, mutual support should be openly encouraged, with some acting as emotional support providers. Licensed mental health professionals volunteering with the movement can provide an even higher level of care.
Legal support includes bail funds, and volunteer lawyers, as well as legal advisors who can help movement participants make informed decisions while planning direct actions based on the legal risks involved.
Institutions should be turned into infrastructure of resistance. Colleges and churches have long been nerve centers of political activism, and they will likely serve a similar purpose in this struggle. These institutions provide connections to community, gathering spaces, and a plethora of other resources. Working with existing local political organizations is vital, particularly in organizing direct actions. The Democratic Party should be gradually pressured to pass resolutions of support for the pro-democracy movement at the local, state, and eventually national level; this helps lend the movement legitimacy.
Though it will take a great deal of pressure, local and state governments in left leaning areas should be made to acknowledge the coup government as illegitimate and provide support to the resistance campaign. State and local governments can also protect their populations by passing trigger laws in anticipation of certain authoritarian actions by the illegitimate federal government. If other methods fail, the establishment of parallel governments to gradually replace the functions of the illegitimate federal government may be practical. This could take the form of a union of pro-democracy states or smaller structures at the local level similar to the Western States Pact of the COVID-19 era. Democratic governments elsewhere in the world can also be appealed to for other forms of support. If other means are unsuccessful it may be necessary for state and local governments to take a more active role in opposing the authoritarian federal government.
Continuously apply pressure which those in power cannot ignore
Apply escalating pressure in forms the coup government cannot ignore, shut down the US economy and take action against the coup’s backers until democracy is restored. While denying legitimacy and refusing cooperation with the coup government will get the movement far, this will not be enough on it’s own. It is critical to apply economic pressure using a diverse set of tactics over a prolonged enough period that the coup government and its backers become convinced that no amount of physical force can stop it. Worker strikes in key areas such as air traffic control are going to be important, but due to shifts in our economic system, worker strikes of the scale and duration needed to apply sufficient pressure on their own are impossible. Similarly, boycotting corporations who refuse to recognize the coup government as illegitimate may be helpful but will not be enough, especially because one political group boycotting something can mean greater profits from its opposition.
Though many approaches exist for shutting down the US economy, the most viable one for most people will be taking nonviolent action to occupy and shut down economic infrastructure such as major highways, railways, airports, docks, and facilities which house the technological backbone of Wall Street and payment processors. It is important to identify corporations and oligarchs complicit in the theft of American democracy so that they can be targeted with forceful nonviolent action. More aggressive tactics such as nonviolent land seizures and the destruction of assets belonging to corporations or billionaire oligarchs siding with the coup government should be considered if other approaches fail. The public perception cost of asset seizure will likely outweigh any material gains from it. Encouraging supporters of democracy around the world to boycott US tourism until our democracy is restored may also be beneficial. While shifts in economic systems have rendered some older tactics of nonviolent resistance such as strikes less effective, these changes may have also opened up new opportunities for movements to apply pressure, these should be sought out.
Federal and in some cases local law enforcement will respond with force to tactics which apply economic pressure even if they are nonviolent. This is why it is important to nonviolently overwhelm security forces siding with the coup government and spread them too thin to defend economic targets while encouraging mass defection. This can most effectively be accomplished by causing a lot of problems in a lot of places at the same time, government security forces tend to not respond very well to this due to their structure. Moving between protest targets rapidly is helpful for exploiting this weakness. Tactics which revolve around going to a location, taking an action, and disappearing before there can even be a security response are very useful as well.
Nonviolent occupations of the land surrounding federal law enforcement facilities and courthouses with the message that coup government security forces are illegitimate will be highly important. Similar occupations of prisons where movement participants are being held after being kidnapped by illegitimate government security forces may also be helpful. Security forces backing the coup government should be mocked and inconvenienced whenever possible in ways which waste their time and resources. It is also very important to encourage them to quit their jobs and join the Americans fighting for democracy. When force is used against nonviolent activists it often results in even more people joining their side, but this does have a limit as all potential active participants in a society become engaged and the population becomes more desensitized to government violence.
Many people are initially concerned that the military would be immediately deployed against civilian populations in the event of widespread civil unrest. This should not be a concern, at least in the short term. While the national guard may be deployed in some states, the full force of the military would not be any time soon. Republicans in power will likely be hesitant to even attempt this, as such unconstitutional orders would likely result in widespread defection and disobedience among the military. Still, a continuous effort should be made to preemptively encourage military personnel to defy the coup government should they receive such illegal orders.
A framework for effective nonviolent civil resistance to authoritarianism
The architecture of such a movement is outlined in the visual below, broken down into its four key components. Together they form a powerful structure capable of sustaining bold political action long term. It’s shape is that of a skyward drill, with the majority of its mass located at the base to provide essential support while the smaller pointed top applies the force necessary to gradually pierce through the resistive armor of authoritarian governments. Note that this structure does not indicate a hierarchy or tiers of importance, but personal risk and the number of active participants at each level.
What we have outlined here is a general model for resistance based on research into what has historically made past movements of this nature successful, adapted to the modern American context. We could be wrong about some of this, and truthfully it is impossible to be certain whether an entirely nonviolent approach will succeed, however we are confident that it is our best first shot. Tactics must always remain fluid, movements like this must be dynamic and able to adapt constantly to the situation. Over the course of the next year we will be bringing together experts and activists from across the country to develop more detailed strategies for resistance.
This will not be an easy struggle, but it is one we can win. Republicans are attempting this coup because they know they are in the minority and cannot continue to win through free and fair elections. The vast majority of the American public does not support their hate filled authoritarian agenda and believes in democracy. Numbers are not on their side, and history will likely not be either, but in the end it will be up to us to make sure of that. It will also be our prerogative to never stray from the ultimate goal of establishing true democracy at every level of government in the United States. The aim of this movement should always be to distribute, never to consolidate political power.
In the next article, we will break down how you as an individual can play a role in such a movement based on your skillset and profession. On the Resources of Resistance page you’ll find a library of resources on how to fight back against coups and authoritarian regimes.
If you enjoyed this article, please consider supporting us on Patreon! This helps us to produce more content like this, host workshops on strategic nonviolence, and perform other work in pursuit of our mission to protect American democracy.