Blueprint for Revolution: how to use rice pudding, Lego men, and other non-violent techniques to galvanise communities, overthrow dictators, or simply change the world

by Srdja Popovic

A dictator really needs ordinary citizens to go to work in the morning and make sure that the airports and television studios and soldiers’ pension plans run smoothly. And it’s important to understand that these average Joes who follow his orders just want to do their jobs and go home; even when they wear uniforms and get violent, they’re not necessarily evil and they’re not necessarily beyond redemption. As I told the Syrians, the policeman bashing their heads with a riot shield is probably happy to do so, not because he fears and despises freedom but because he’s being paid overtime. And as long as he’s paid, as long as everything keeps working smoothly, the dictator is safe on his throne. The activist’s first task, then, is to make sure the normal course of affairs comes to a screeching halt—to make sure the pillars are shaken.