Title: How Protests Become Successful Social Movements
Headings: How Protests Become Successful Social Movements
Economics & Society
How Protests Become Successful Social Movements
Step 1: Define the change you want to see
Step 2: Shift the spectrum of allies
Step 3: Identify the pillars of power
Step 4: Seek to attract, not to overpower
Step 5: Build a plan to survive victory

Content: Identify the pillars of power
While it is crucial to recruit allies from up and down the spectrum of support, it is also important to identify the institutions that have the power to implement the change you seek. These “pillars of power” can be the police, the media, the education system, government agencies, or other organizations. As important as popular support is to a movement, without institutional support, little is likely to change. In Serbia, the revolutionary group Otpor saw arrests not merely as an act of defiance, but as an opportunity to build positive relations with the police. In fact, protesters were trained to defend officers from any provocation within their own ranks. In the end, when the police had to decide whether to shoot into crowds or join the movement’s ranks, they chose the latter. Which stakeholders inside or outside the halls of power have the ability to implement or resist change? What are their incentives? How can they benefit or be hurt by the change you seek? These are all things you need to consider.