BOOKS & MORE: Time for an uprising

Politics? Not our thing. Hybrid warfare, on the other hand, is, and here the field gets a bit blurry because it also involves interfering with the opponent's political order. If you can't create peace without weapons, then maybe change. The German book title "Protest" is a bit wishy-washy, the English-language original title is: "Blueprint for Revolution." This, along with hybrid thoughts and political considerations, simply leads to the conclusion: There is nothing good unless you organize it. And much of what appears "spontaneous" in the news is the result of good organization, at least when it works. "Srdja Popovic shows with a lot of wit and a light touch that revolution is hard work," writes the political magazine "Cicero." It is right.

This is also made clear in the author's biography. Srdja Popovic (born 1973 in Belgrade) is an internationally known political activist. With the movement Otpor! co-founded by him, he managed to overthrow Slobodan Milosevic in 2000. Since then, he advises resistance fighters around the world with his independent organization CANVAS (Centre for Applied Nonviolent Action and Strategies), including in Egypt, Syria, Tunisia, Georgia, and the Maldives. The "Tagesspiegel" described Popovic as a "resistance guru." In the magazine "Foreign Policy," Popovic was named one of the top 100 global thinkers in November 2011, "Wired" listed him among the 50 people who will change the world, and the World Economic Forum selected him as one of the Young Global Leaders 2013.

And so the book is quite exciting to read: Here, Popovic brings together his concrete tips and tricks for organizing nonviolent protest, such as the most effective strategies, how to win over the press, find the right allies, or why humor is the best weapon, and backs them up with numerous impressive and creative case studies. "With imagination, cunning, and a good dose of humor, Srdja Popovic has created a movement that not only managed to overthrow the brutal dictator Slobodan Miloševic, but also became a kind of blueprint for nonviolent resistance worldwide," says Peter Gabriel. What may also be included: finding financiers abroad, creating safe spaces, international media work, and knowing what services can do for you. But that's not in the book.

“Protest! How to Scare the Powerful” by Srdja Popovic and Matthew Miller, Fischer Verlag, Frankfurt/Main 2015, 240 pages, Euro 16.99.