Martha Awojobi and Natasha Adams discuss how NGOs can build strategies and coalitions to resist the rise of authoritarianism.
How do we resist?
Hannah Spencer's victory in Gorton and Denton is a much needed reminder of how powerful people are when they come together and say no to politics of greed, individualism and extractivism.
We are witnessing the collapse of empire, the shrinking of our civic spaces, a rejection of truth in favour of neoliberal smokes and mirrors, a mass gaslighting operation by our political and media class. We are seeing the rise of authoritarianism worldwide, the erosion of our hard won rights, and devastating impacts for marginalised people and for our planet.
Business as usual just ain't going to cut it, and it wasn't really an effective strategy in the first place. We need to completely reimagine the role of charities and funders in the political moment.
Joining Martha Awojobi (CEO of JMB Consulting and creator of Uncharitable) is Natasha Adams, movement strategist and researcher, and co-author of Meeting the moment: How the UK social change sector can respond to the rise of authoritarianism and the far right.
Their analysis is clear:
'The social change sector isn’t responding at the speed, scale, or ambition needed. We’re stuck in ways of operating that are no longer fit for purpose, predicated as they are on the assumption of a simpler media landscape and a liberal democracy, which is rapidly being eroded. The picture is bleak. And turning things around won’t be easy. But we can learn from other countries how to effectively push back'.
A lot of organisations simply don't know where to begin when it comes to navigating the political climate, let alone resisting. Luckily for us, Natasha has done all of the research so you don't have to. The report proposes five key strategies to meet the moment:
Investing in movement and solidarity work
Addressing narrative dysfunction
Influencing politics
Addressing threats
Re-orienting strategy and resources
We will be devling into these five strategies at our next Uncharitable event on 8th April at 10am. For those who are looking at practical ways that their organisation can be part of the movement to resist the rise in fascism and authoritarianism, this one is for you.