Category: Uncategorized
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Enter the Disruptors: Calling BS and Mobilizing the Masses
That’s the title of Chapter 4 of my new book, Saving Ourselves: from Climate Shocks to Climate Action, which I’m hoping will be in press at Columbia University Press by early 2023. The book synthesizes my research on climate policymaking and activism over the past 20+ years to look at where we are going and…
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Teaching How to Study #Resistance
Much of the content on this site has focused on understanding the Resistance: where it came from, who was involved, why they were involved, and what it means to political life in America today. My writing is informed by my independent research on activists and at protests in the US, along with my personal interpretation…
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What Can We Learn from the Protests Against Systemic Racism in Summer 2020?
I just posted a piece at FixGov at the Brookings Institution that summarizes my recent piece with Stella Rouse, “Intersectionality within the racial justice movement in the summer of 2020,” which was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The article analyzes data collected from participants in the protests after George Floyd…
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Stop Clapping for Tinkerbell: The Left Needs to Be OK with Getting its Hands Dirty
Yesterday, Vanessa Williamson and I published a piece in the Nation about the asymmetries in the tactics on the Left vs the Right. We point out that many progressive organizations follow “an outdated playbook of one-day rallies and electoral politics that currently can achieve no more than a pro forma vote on doomed federal legislation.”…
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Welcome to the Graveyard of the Progressive Movement
5 years ago this weekend, millions joined the Women’s March in the largest single day-demonstration in US history. This weekend, however, there is no Women’s March scheduled. Instead, we will only see activists marching in DC as part of the Annual March for Life (against abortion rights). Last January, I spoke with Danielle Kurtzleben on…
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Does the Rittenhouse Verdict Change the Lessons of the American Resistance?
The outcome of the Kyle Rittenhouse case provides an important moment for reflection about the role of protest in American democracy and the risk protesters face when they participate in activism. While protests on the Left have remained predominantly peaceful over the past five years, the dangers to protesters have spread silently. I wrote about…
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More Climate Resistance Around the World
Today is a Global Day of Action for Climate Justice. It follows yesterday’s huge climate march that was coordinated by youth involved in Fridays for Future and featured a speech by Greta Thunberg. I wrote this piece to explain how the climate movement has grown (and why we should expect to see much more activism…
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Before the Women’s March Marches Again
On Saturday October 2nd, the Women’s March will march again. This time, the focus is specifically on defending Reproductive Rights. Although it is not clear how many people will join this mobilization in the streets during a pandemic before the Supreme Court reconvenes, the issue of Reproductive Rights is certainly on the mind of many…
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When Protest Becomes Insurgency Revisited
Today, the House of Representatives is holding its first hearing of the January 6th Committee, which includes the testimony of 4 police officers. Listening to the testimony is chilling but provides us with important reminders that there is much to learn about how January 6th happened. Every single testimony provides evidence that the insurrection was…
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Networks of Engagement Around the 2020 Election
As part of the Indivisble Census, members of the Indivisible network were asked to indicate how they worked with the Democratic Party, Individual Candidate’s Campaigns, and other groups during the 2020 election. About half reported working with each. Respondents wrote in about 2,000 groups that they had worked with around the 2020 elections. Five groups…
Dana R Fisher 