EPISODE NOTES

In the mainstream news, we might not hear much about a political movement in America, or in another country, unless it “turns violent.” Building an effective civil resistance movement takes planning, a shared commitment and coordination, and most movements are explicitly nonviolent. In fact, it’s often people unaffiliated with movements who are responsible for violence at protests. 

The situation frustrates both activists and journalists. Activists complain that their actions don’t get enough coverage, or more importantly, that the coverage tells an incomplete or skewed story. Journalists counter that activists need to get better at communicating with the media. 

Our guest Hardy Merriman watches political movements and the media that covers them closely, and he has advice for how both sides can tell better stories. Merriman is Director of the International Center for Nonviolent Conflict (ICNC), an organization that supports civil resistance movements globally through research and education. He’s deeply worried about the rise and strengthening of autocracy around the world. Authoritarians are cracking down on activists in ways that are hard to see – making the jobs of journalists more difficult, and even more crucial. 

Image: Protester interviewed in Tahir Square, February 7, 2011, Deirdre Kline, Wikimedia Commons

LEARN MORE

Chronicling Civil Resistance: The Journalists’ Guide to Unraveling and Reporting Nonviolent Struggles for Rights, Freedom and Justice

By Deborah Mathis and Hailey Grace Allen, edited by Hardy Merriman

ICNC, April 2021

Fostering a Fourth Democratic Wave: A Playbook for Countering the Authoritarian Threat

By Hardy Merriman, Patrick Quirk, and Ash Jain

ICNC and The Atlantic Council, March 2023

Read more from Hardy Merriman at hardymerriman.com