Activism Portal

A guide to activist web resources on arranged by subject area. If you would like to see a site listed, please tell us!

Activism is the application of ideas and methods to bring about some kind of social change.

Tactics

San Francisco: The tactics that worked
Protesters roam in small, swift groups to stall city traffic Joe Garofoli and Jim Herron Zamora, Chronicle Staff Writers Friday, March 21, 2003 San Francisco -- It took three hours for anti-war activists to cripple downtown San Francisco using hit-and-run civil disobedience tactics to an extent never before seen
in the Bay Area.

DIY Guides

Fight the Man and Get Away Safely
The intention of this guide is not to show you how to incite or conduct a riot. It does not promote violence or try to make moral judgments on the efficacy of certain tactics over others. Nor does it want to dwell on the various definitions of ‘violence’ and non-violence’ and partake in those arguments which plague and hinder the activist community. It is merely a compilation of suggestions on how to safely survive situations created by police violence and confrontation, once such a situation has occurred. Trainings which consider throwing and running
as acts of violence and advise you against those actions have not prepared us for police overreaction of recent protests. This guide tries to fill in, where typical non-violence trainings may leave out, practical advice on how to get out of such situations without going to jail or the hospital, and without compromising your body or your voice.

Anarchism in Action: Methods, Tactics, Skills, and Ideas
A book of practical organizing and activist information for anarchists and other radical anti-authoritarian activists.

Activist Security
The Nighttime Gardener
Practical Security Handbook

Further reading

  • Another World Is Possible: Globalization And Anti-Capitalism. David McNally. Arbeiter Ring, 2006.
  • The Art Of Free Co-Operation. Geert Lovink (Editor), Trebor Scholz (Editor), and Brian Holmes (Contributor). Autonomedia, 2007.
  • DIY Culture: Party & Protest In Nineties Britain. George McKay. Verso, 2004.
  • Global Activism Global Media. Neil Stammers (Editor), Martin Shaw (Editor), and Wilma De Jong (Editor). Pluto Press, 2007.
  • Hey Kidz! Buy This Book: A Radical Primer on Corporate and Governmental Propaganda and Artistic Activism for Short People. Anne Elizabeth Moore and Megan Kelso. Soft Skull, 2004.
  • A Promise And A Way Of Life: White Antiracist Activism. Becky Thompson. University Of Minnesota Press, 2005.
  • Sociology For Changing The World: Social Movements/Social Research. Gary Kinsman (Editor), Kate Tilleczek (Editor), AK Thompson (Editor), and Caelie Frampton (Editor). Fernwood, 2007.
  • Video For Change: A Guide For Advocacy And Activism. Gillian Caldwell, Sam Gregory, Thomas Harding, and Ronit Avni. Pluto Press, 2007.