Pro-Democracy Movement Playbook

Seizing the Moment and Building Lasting Power

Strategic Orientation for 2025

The diminishing popularity of Trump, his political network, and aligned figures (e.g., Elon Musk) signals an opening. The more unpopular the authoritarian agenda becomes, the more leverage we have at every level of government.

The key to making the most of this leverage is not just resisting, but advancing a positive, durable vision of democracy. The goal must be to institutionalize democracy through protecting marginalized groups, expanding rights, and rebuilding public trust through visible gains.

Core Strategic Principles:

• Seize Momentum: Exploit fractures and fatigue within the authoritarian coalition.

• Shift from Defense to Offense: Move from "stop Trump" to "build democracy."

• Localize Action: Meet people where they are: in city councils, school boards, statehouses, and with a particular focus on the smaller institutions with elected leadership, right down to the local water board.

• Anchor in Specific Demands: Ensure every protest, march, and statement is tied to both broad opposition, and concrete, achievable demands.

• Invest in Resilient Coalitions: Cross-racial, cross-class alliances are crucial.

Tactical Pivot: From Protest to Policy

Current Model: General protest, awareness-raising, reactive posture.

New Model: Targeted pressure and specific asks and follow-through mechanisms.

How to Pivot:

• Always pair protest with specific demands: “End the state anti-immigrant bill HBXXX” and not just "Support immigrants.”

• Use moments of outrage as springboards: Channel outrage into legislative or administrative change.

• Engage bureaucracies: Demand specific executive orders, administrative rules, funding allocations.

• Develop 'Demand Packages:' Target local, state, and national institutions.

Core Demand Frameworks

Universal (National) Demands

• Voting Rights Restoration (national standards for access and fairness)

• Judicial Reform (ethics rules, court expansion conversations)

• Immigration Reform (pathways to citizenship, asylum rights)

• Protections for Protest and Assembly (repeal anti-protest laws or create protective laws at the local level)

• Algorithmic Transparency (social media accountability reforms)

Blue State Agenda (where the ground is friendlier)

• Sanctuary Expansion (cities and states)

• Voting Innovations (automatic registration, ranked choice voting, expanded early voting)

• Anti-Disinformation Laws (state action where federal gridlock exists)

• State-Level Equal Rights Amendments

• Proactive Anti-Fascism Education (curriculum updates, public awareness campaigns)

Red State Agenda (hostile ground, but strategic)

• Local Safe Harbors: Municipal policies protecting immigrants, trans youth, and other vulnerable groups

• Ballot Initiatives: Where possible, use direct democracy to enshrine rights

• Court Challenges: Pre-prepare legal strategies to challenge unconstitutional executive actions

• Disruptive Civic Actions: Occupy, pressure, embarrass — but always tied to specific legal or electoral demands

• Build Parallel Institutions: Mutual aid, alternative media, civic spaces to withstand repression

Levels of Action

Local:

• Elect pro-democracy city officials, DAs, and school board members.

• Pressure city councils for non-cooperation resolutions (e.g., with ICE).

State:

• Defend governors’ executive actions against federal overreach.

• Pass state laws expanding rights (even if symbolic, they lay groundwork).

National:

• Frame every federal policy fight around "saving democracy."

• Use congressional investigations and executive orders aggressively.

Messaging Priorities

• Hope, not Fear: Frame democracy as an exciting, hopeful project — not just "saving" something old.

• Concrete Wins: Publicize every local success; "Democracy Works Here" campaigns.

• People Power: Center stories of ordinary people leading change, not just celebrities or politicians.

• Big Tent: Focus on shared democratic values across ideological differences (e.g., "Freedom to Vote").

Closing

The current moment demands audacity. Democracy advocates must pivot from reacting to building — faster, sharper, and at every level. Specific demands tied to institutional change are the key to turning temporary backlash against authoritarianism into permanent democratic renewal.