Services for Think Tanks and Policy Institutes
Outcomes of civil resistance-driven political transitions (CRTs) versus non-CRTs (i.e. from violent rebellions, coups and elite-led liberalization) in non-democratic regimes from 1945-2015. Credit: Jonathan Pinckney. When Civil Resistance Succeeds: Building Democracy After Popular Nonviolent Uprisings. ICNC Press, 2018. p. 34.
The rise of authoritarianism worldwide is a threat that must be faced and countered. A more authoritarian world is a world of more violent conflict, atrocities, human rights abuse, corruption, humanitarian crises, displaced people, and attacks on democracies, international institutions, and global stability.
Fortunately, an established body of research shows that one of the most powerful drivers of democratic development over the last century is civil resistance movements. This means that strategies to reverse the authoritarian tide must put the role of dissidents and popular nonviolent movements at the center of their focus.
External actors that support democracy and human rights—including governments, multilateral institutions, and the INGO sector—can all increase the impact of their work by doing so.
To this end, I offer these services to think tanks and policy institutes:
Services for Think Tanks and Policy Institutes
The rise of authoritarianism worldwide is a threat that must be faced and countered. A more authoritarian world is a world of more violent conflict, atrocities, human rights abuse, corruption, humanitarian crises, displaced people, and attacks on democracies, international institutions, and global stability.
Fortunately, an established body of research shows that one of the most powerful drivers of democratic development over the last century is civil resistance movements. This means that strategies to reverse the authoritarian tide must put the role of dissidents and popular nonviolent movements at the center of their focus.
Outcomes of civil resistance-driven political transitions (CRTs) versus non-CRTs (i.e. from violent rebellions, coups and elite-led liberalization) in non-democratic regimes from 1945-2015. Credit: Jonathan Pinckney. When Civil Resistance Succeeds: Building Democracy After Popular Nonviolent Uprisings. ICNC Press, 2018. p. 34.
External actors that support democracy and human rights—including governments, multilateral institutions, and the INGO sector—can all increase the impact of their work by doing so.
To this end, I offer these services to think tanks and policy institutes:
More information about these services is below. Contact me for a free consultation.
Strategy and Program Development
One of my blog posts addressing the importance of support to civil resistance movements.
Civil resistance movements shape world affairs. As more populations arise to demand rights, freedom, and justice against authoritarian rule, core questions facing the foreign policy community are how to engage, support, and create an enabling environment for grassroots nonviolent pressure.
To address these questions, I help institutions incorporate civil resistance thinking and content into their existing activity portfolio. I also help design new programs and strategies of engagement.
I started ICNC Press in 2015, which has produced 25 original publications and 17 translations.
Over my 18+ years of work with the International Center on Nonviolent Conflict, I developed a portfolio of activities (workshops, convenings, advancing policy-relevant research, and producing cutting edge publications, among others) at the intersection of research, support for dissidents, and outreach to the policy community. I bring this experience, lessons learned, and best practices to my work.
Research and Writing
The last decade has seen leaps in our understanding of the power and impact of civil resistance movements on domestic and international affairs. This work must integrate into foreign policy thinking and catalyze new approaches.
Bridging the scholar-practitioner divide, I provide research and writing services in this field as principal investigator, author, or co-author. I also provide editorial feedback on draft manuscripts.
I was a principal investigator at the Fostering a Fourth Democratic Wave project at the Atlantic Council and lead author of the publication Fostering a Fourth Democratic Wave: A Playbook for Countering the Authoritarian Threat (2023).
Past work also includes:
- Contributing a lead essay—"A decade of support to pro-democracy and human rights movements: Trends and lessons learned"—to the European Endowment for Democracy's 2023 annual report, marking their ten-year anniversary.
Co-authoring the 2019 Special Report Preventing Mass Atrocities: From a Responsibility to Protect (RtoP) to a Right to Assist (RtoA) Campaigns of Civil Resistance.- Providing review and editorial feedback for The Democracy Playbook: Preventing and Reversing Democratic Backsliding
- Publishing on the role of civil resistance in undermining violent extremism.
- Blog posts on the importance of civil resistance, foreign policy, and external support (for example, here and here).
Research and Writing
The last decade has seen leaps in our understanding of the power and impact of civil resistance movements on domestic and international affairs. This work must integrate into foreign policy thinking and catalyze new approaches.
Bridging the scholar-practitioner divide, I provide research and writing services in this field as principal investigator, author, or co-author. I also provide editorial feedback on draft manuscripts.
I was a principal investigator at the Fostering a Fourth Democratic Wave project at the Atlantic Council and lead author of the publication Fostering a Fourth Democratic Wave: A Playbook for Countering the Authoritarian Threat (2023).
Past work also includes:
- Contributing a lead essay—"A decade of support to pro-democracy and human rights movements: Trends and lessons learned"—to the European Endowment for Democracy's 2023 annual report, marking their ten-year anniversary.
- Co-authoring the 2019 Special Report Preventing Mass Atrocities: From a Responsibility to Protect (RtoP) to a Right to Assist (RtoA) Campaigns of Civil Resistance.
- Providing review and editorial feedback for The Democracy Playbook: Preventing and Reversing Democratic Backsliding
- Publishing on the role of civil resistance in undermining violent extremism.
- Blog posts on the importance of civil resistance, foreign policy, and external support (for example, here and here).
Presenting
I have extensive experience guest lecturing on a wide variety of topics related to civil resistance and movements. My presentations incorporate cutting edge research alongside practitioner insights.
A sample of venues at which I've presented include:
- Alliance for Peacebuilding annual conference
Speaking at the Democracy Under Threat conference in The Hague, Netherlands, November 12, 2022
- American Society of International Law
→ Watch presentation - American University
- Atlantic Council
- Australian Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies, Queensland University
- Cambridge University (England)
- Carter Center
- Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies, University of Sydney (Australia)
- Center for Victims of Torture, Minneapolis, Minnesota
- Central European University
- Chautauqua Institution
→ Watch presentation
→ Read related article
Speaking at International Democracy Day Brussels, September 15, 2023
- Community of Democracies
- Council on Foreign Relations
- Creighton University
- → Watch presentation
- Dartmouth College
- European Humanities University (Lithuania)
- Facultad Latinoamericana de Ciencias Sociales (FLACSO) (Ecuador)
- Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University
→ Watch presentation - Frontiers of Democracy conference, Tufts University
→ Watch presentation - George Mason University
- Georgetown University
- Harvard University (2011, 2013, 2017, 2024)
→ Read related article
→ Read related article
Speaking at the Community of Democracies Governing Council meeting, March 5, 2015
- International Peace Research Association Annual Conference
- The James Lawson Institute
- James Madison University
- Josef Korbel School of International Studies, University of Denver
- Kadir Has University (Turkey)
- Middlebury College
→ Read related article - Monterey Institute for International Studies (now the Middlebury Institute)
- National Endowment for Democracy (NED)
- New York University
- Peace Research Institute of Oslo
- Stanford University
- United States Agency for International Development (USAID)
Speaking at the United States Institute of Peace, October 16, 2019
- United States Institute of Peace (USIP)
→ Watch presentation - University of Amsterdam
- University of Basque Country (Spain)
- University of Chicago
- University of Deusto (Spain)
- University of Michigan - Ann Arbor
- University of San Francisco
- University of Sarajevo (Bosnia)
- University of St. Andrews (Scotland)
- University of Toronto
- Virginia Polytechnic Institute (Virginia Tech)
* Note: Videos of some of these presentations are available for viewing here.
Contact Me
For more information about my services and costs, contact me. I can offer a free initial consult.
