#20 John Dear speaks with political scientist, author, teacher, advocate and organizer Maria Stephen on how ordinary people can bring about extraordinary change: “The resistance is alive and well across the United States today."
#20 John Dear speaks with political scientist, author, teacher, advocate and organizer Maria Stephen on how ordinary people can bring about extraordinary change: “The resistance is alive and well across the United States today."
This week, I speak with Maria Stephan, a political scientist, teacher, advocate, and organizer, who has dedicated her life to the proposition that ordinary people, when organized and inspired, can bring about extraordinary change.
She is the co-author with Erica Chenoweth of Why Civil Resistance Works: The Strategic Logic of Nonviolent Conflict, one of the most important books in decades, which documents how nonviolent resistance campaigns over the last century have been twice as effective as armed struggles, and been major drivers of democratization and civil peace.
“The resistance is alive and well across the United States today, with over 1300 protests with 3.5 million participants at the recent ‘Hands Off’ Day of Action… Faith communities are a glue that give people hope, and promote unity throughout these protests.”
“On the one hand, we have more regimes taking away rights and abusing power, but on the other, there's an explosion of nonviolent campaigns and mass mobilizations of ordinary people around the world,” Maria Stephan tells me.
Maria works with www.Horizonsproject.us focusing on the role of nonviolent action and peacebuilding in advancing human rights, democracy, and sustainable peace in the US and globally. Before joining Horizons, Maria founded and directed the Program on Nonviolent Action at the U.S. Institute of Peace, overseeing global programming, applied research, and policy engagement.
She was the lead foreign affairs officer in the U.S. State Department’s Bureau of Conflict and Stabilization Operations, and also worked at the International Center on Nonviolent Conflict. She has taught at Georgetown University and American University.
“Nonviolent resistance is a skill based activity; you can learn how to do better and how to build broad-based coalitions… We need to think big, both globally and locally. We need a more interconnected ‘movement of movements.’ We need to change the popular consciousness so that movements and campaigns are seen as a cool form of activity.”
KEEP THE MOVEMENT MOVING
Check out her recent article, "We Are Stronger Than We Think," at https://wagingnonviolence.org/2025/02/we-are-stronger-than-we-think/