Civil Disobedience
Intentional, nonviolent violation of laws or rules, such as sit-ins, occupations, or blockades, to expose injustice and force moral or political confrontation. This strategy is planned, disciplined, and undertaken with clear awareness of legal risk.
Example: Sit-ins at segregated lunch counters during the U.S. civil rights movement, where participants knowingly broke local laws to challenge racial segregation.

Cultural & Narrative Intervention
Shaping public understanding through storytelling, art, symbolism, media engagement, and framing to change how an issue is perceived and discussed. This strategy works by redefining what feels normal, acceptable, or urgent.
Example: ACT UP’s use of bold visuals, slogans, and media-savvy actions to reframe the AIDS crisis as a political failure rather than a personal tragedy.

Disruption
Interrupting normal operations, such as traffic flow, institutional routines, or supply chains, to make harm impossible to ignore and force response. Disruption creates urgency when visibility or messaging alone is insufficient.
Example: The 2016 Standing Rock protests, where water protectors disrupted construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline by physically blocking work sites and access roads.

Economic Pressure
Using financial leverage like boycotts, strikes, divestment, or withdrawal of labor or consumption to impose material or reputational costs on decision-makers. This strategy targets profit, stability, reputation, and long-term viability.
Example: The Montgomery Bus Boycott, which applied sustained economic pressure to challenge segregation in public transportation.

Institutional Pressure
Leveraging formal systems such as courts, regulations, oversight processes, public comment, and documentation to slow, block, or expose harmful actions. This strategy is often quiet, procedural, and cumulative.
Example: Civil rights organizations using lawsuits and court challenges to dismantle segregationist policies in the U.S. during the mid-20th century.

Mass Demonstration
Large-scale public gatherings such as marches, rallies, and vigils that make the size and legitimacy of public opposition visible. This strategy builds momentum, coalition strength, and social normalization of dissent.
Example: The Women’s Marches in 2017, which demonstrated widespread opposition and helped catalyze local organizing across the U.S.

Mutual Aid & Community Care
Providing direct support such as food, medical care, housing assistance, or childcare, while building trust and resilience within communities. This strategy sustains participation and reduces reliance on systems that are failing or causing harm.
Example: The Black Panther Party’s Free Breakfast for Children Program, which met immediate needs while building community power and political consciousness.

Protective Presence & De-escalation
Reducing harm and preventing escalation through trained support roles such as marshals, medics, legal observers, and documentation teams. This strategy protects participants and preserves accountability during actions.
Example: During the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests, National Lawyers Guild legal observers were present at demonstrations to monitor police conduct and document arrests and use of force.

Solidarity Actions
Cross-movement support that expands pressure and prevents isolation. Solidarity demonstrates shared stakes and raises the cost of repression.
Example: Labor unions supporting the U.S. civil rights movement by providing resources, public backing, and participation in major actions.

Tactical Frivolity
Using humor, creativity, and absurdity such as costumes, music, parody, or playful disruption to disarm authority, attract broader participation, and undermine narratives of threat.
Example: Anti-globalization protesters using street theater and costumed demonstrations during the 1999 WTO protests in Seattle to confuse authorities and capture public attention.