Noncooperation 101

Our core curriculum in 5 core modules (or download all modules at once).

Cases and Stories of Noncooperation

We are focused specifically on noncooperation/noncompliance — there is much much more to know about organizing and activism under an authoritarian. These are just a few of our favorite places to get examples of noncooperation:

Resist List — a Bluesky account tracking examples of noncooperation right now
Horizons Project, offers rigorously researched case studies about noncooperation alongside their work as organizers, conveners, facilitators, and sense-makers to these times
Waging Nonviolence, regularly reporting news on resistance to Musk/Trump.
A Force More Powerful — movie documentary about nonviolent resistance, including to Nazis and authoritarian regimes
Bringing Down a Dictator — story of Otpor’s nonviolent removal of Milosevic

Cómo luchamos

No cooperación y autoritarismo

One Million Rising

We have been working with One Million Rising: Strategic Non-Cooperation to Fight Authoritarianism.

Session 1: The Moment & Your Mission

One Million Rising—a national effort to train one million people in the strategic logic and practice of non-cooperation, as well as the basics of community organizing and campaign design. This is how we build people power that can’t be ignored. You’re invited to join us—and lead.

Slide Deck from Session 1

Session 2: How to Make it Happen

Session 3: What Now?

Pillars of Support

How to resist autocratic regimes: Pillars of support

Daniel Hunter with Choose Democracy walks through how noncooperation as a tool and a tactic can be used to defect pillars of support.

Pillars of Support Explained

We Hold More Political Power Than We Realize. An explainer video on the pillars of support.

Understanding Pillars of Support

One powerful approach that can help make sense of this complexity is the “pillars of support” framework: summarized by a simple image of a roof held up by several pillars.

Noncooperation

History and Practice of Noncooperation

Political scientist Erica Chenoweth unpacks what makes a successful movement against authoritarianism, and how nonviolent resistance can be used to uphold democracy.

Maria Stephan: The Strategic Logic of Nonviolent Conflict

Drawing from her research, Maria Stephan identifies key factors in successful nonviolent movements: Mass, diverse participation. wide range of nonviolent tactics, loyalty shifts, and resilience against repression.

Stacy Abrams’ 10 steps to autocracy

Stacey Abrams breaks down Trump and authoritarianism in 4 minutes

Embodied Non Cooperation

A somatic-based introduction to noncooperation with Briana Herman-Brand and Erika Lyla

Analyses

Taking on the Corporations and Billionaires Driving and Enabling Authoritarianism

So The National Guard is Coming to Your City?

Training Agendas for these times

Jury Nullification
60-minute training

Sense-making and Vision: how did we get here?
120-minute training

Sense-making and Vision: how did we get here?
120-minute training

Goals:
* preparing people emotionally to be ready to fight back (emotional triage),
* girding people for the long fights ahead by making people feel part of a large resistance community (how to organize under the new threat),
* orienting towards our next steps (you can adapt this to your design — here we’re introducing the “Block and Build” strategy).

This design requires some adaptations for your group, including your specific plans next and some chances for leadership to openly reflect on what they’re taking away from this moment. (People will want to hear from you!)

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Hope PV – Responding to Political Violence
120-minute training

Hope PV – Responding to Political Violence
120-minute training

The HOPE guide is designed to help people across the United States counter political violence. It aims to empower individuals and strengthen communities to make political violence backfire against those who incite, threaten, and enact it.
Community responses to political violence can both support victims and impose costs on those who incite and engage in abuse. We need to stand up to those who want to silence our voices, who try to deny us our rights, and who aim to bully their way into political influence through intimidation and violence.
Get updated versions at: Harnessing Our Power to End Political Violence

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Action Security and De-escalation
120-minute training

Action Security and De-escalation
120-minute training

Goals:
* how to make actions safer before, during and after an action;
* de-escalation with people on our side and opposition.

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How to talk with people you might disagree with
120-minute training

How to talk with people you might disagree with
120-minute training

Goals:
* Learn skills for bridging with unlikely allies:
– reframing condemnatory ways of communicating
– intro to Race/Class Narrative
– asking open ended questions
– sharing personal narratives
* Committing to at least one place where we will practice (e.g. public invitations or deep canvassing or…).

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Mutual Aid 101
120-minute training

Mutual Aid 101
120-minute training

Handouts: Mutual Aid 101 Handouts

Goals:
* Understand what mutual aid is and why people do it
* Know the initial steps of starting your own neighborhood pod
* Learn about Pod Mapping
Have additional resources for your own mutual aid work

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Materials for Specific Pillars

Agendas

Faith Pillar: We are stronger than you think
120-minute training

Faith Pillar: We are stronger than you think
120-minute training

Goals:
* Understand our context
(democratic backsliding and the history of authoritarianism here and globally)
* Discuss strategies for countering authoritarianism
* Reflect on lessons we can draw from stories of faith resistance
* Explore ways to take action in the near future

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Legal Pillar: Collective Action Against Democratic Backsliding
120-minute training

Legal Pillar: Collective Action Against Democratic Backsliding
120-minute training

A workshop for folks in the legal pillar (judiciary, lawyers, etc) about how collective action has helped stop democratic backsliding

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Noncooperation from Fed Workers

For security reasons, this is not a full training but includes some of the key elements for training fed workers.

Educators Fighting Authoritarianism

Case Studies / Articles

More case studies for each pillar.

Comic Books

“How can artists contribute?” Created by the US Department of Arts and Culture:

Learn More

Beautiful Trouble, an interconnected web of ideas and creative best practices that puts the power in your hands — tactics, theory, and principles from around the globe