Blueprint for Revolution

In Blueprint for Revolution, Srdja Popovic outlines his philosophy for implementing peaceful world change and provides a model for activists everywhere through stories of his own experience toppling dictatorships (peacefully) and of smaller examples of social change (like Occupy Wall Street or fighting for gay rights).

Through examples of using laughter and music (e.g., Pussy Riot) to disarm the opposition and gather supporters, to staging a protest of Lego Men in Siberia (when flesh-and-blood people would have been shot), to a boycott of cottage cheese in Israel to challenge price inflation while organising around rice pudding to overthrow the dictator of the Maldives, Popovic uses true and sometimes outrageously clever examples of the ways in which non-violent resistance has achieved its means. Popovic argues in favour of non-violent resistance not for ideological reasons (as persuasive as those are) but because non-violence actually works better than violence.

This is an inspiring (and useful!) guide for any activist and a thoroughly entertaining read for any armchair politico. In addition, the stories Popovic tells here are hilarious, accessible, inspiring, and at times outrageous. Aside from his own experiences, also he includes little-known stories from the lives of Nelson Mandela, Gandhi, Harvey Milk, and Martin Luther King Jr.