ruckus.org —  Action Strategy: a how-to guide   Actions can empower a generation, catapult an issue onto the international stage, and force political change.  Yet, actions can also be poorly executed or harmful to your group and goals. This guide is here to help you design a strategic action.   Click below to download our free Action Strategy Guide!   If you can, please consider making a small donation to help us continue providing action training, resources, and hands-on support for our movements for justice! This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License. Download: RuckusActionStrategyGuide.pdf

ruckus.org —  Action Planning Manual The Functions of Direct Action As we discuss the uses of direct action, remember one thing: almost all successful actions occur within the context of an ongoing campaign. This means that political - not only logistical - work has been done before the action. This improves the chances that your action will be understood and successful. This also means you intend to follow up on your action. Intervention demands responsibility. Action Development Although each action is different and in its course takes on a life of its own, there are a series of more-or-less standard steps to develop one. These steps presume that you are developing your action within the context of an ongoing campaign. The Action Planning Manual The Action Planning Manual starts with an introduction to direct action, discusses the functions and symbolic nature of direct action, and provides steps for action development. The Symbolic Nature of Direct Action There is much debate over "hard" vs. "soft" action. You hear it at meetings, around campfires, or read it in an eco-journal: folks advocating "harder" action and often criticizing "soft" action as being "just symbolic." This argument has at times even kept groups on different sides of the divide from working together effectively. But this argument shows a misunderstanding: all direct action is symbolic by nature.