The 22nd Century Initiative

open.substack.comDemocracy as InfrastructureA Call to Action for Progressive Leaders

3 Nov 2025

The fight against authoritarianism IS the fight for economic justice, racial equity, gender liberation, and environmental survival.

Liberalism didn’t lose an argument. It lost a fight it didn’t know it was in, because it believed the fight would be refereed. It won’t be. Learn more about what comes next in the full article at bit.ly/antiauthoritarianplaybook.

Before dawn, federal agents led a 72-year-old green card holder from his home in cuffs and pajamas. The raid was never about the 28 charged. It’s a message to voters, vote counters, and everyone judging the results. The fear does the work. Don’t carry it further. bit.ly/antiauthoritarianplaybook

"Sexual violence is power that doesn't ask, and an authoritarian government is the same refusal at national scale."

Our latest Anti-Authoritarian Playbook article explains why the two travel together and lays out 6 concrete actions you can take, starting with tomorrow's #StopSexualViolence national day of action (Oct 8). Read the full article: bit.ly/antiauthoritarianplaybook

5 Aug

📣 NEW SEASON ALERT: Season 3 of the Anti-Authoritarian Podcast, Free Country, is here. If you've been asking how we build a movement powerful enough to defeat authoritarianism, start here. convergencemag.com/podcast-show...

1 May

Today, we are hitting the streets to honor the power of the working class. Solidarity is our strength as we put people before profits. Join the movement for a fairer future. #MayDay social.demcast.com/s/VD9JsX6K

28 Apr

Billionaires have record profits. Working families can't pay rent. That's not an accident—it's a rigged system. May 1 we take it back. Tax the rich. Fund our communities. #MayDay social.demcast.com/s/cvS4TBY8

24 Apr

Authoritarian takeovers are stopped by organized people—not polite requests. May 1 we defend our rights, protect our neighbors, and force the government to work for working people. Join us. #MayDay social.demcast.com/s/cMCDuoh2

15 Apr

The Three R’s Framework was developed to combat the three narrative pillars of autocracy and withdraws cultural consent from authoritarian power. Learn more about this framework and so much more by subscribing to the Anti-Authoritarian Playbook: bit.ly/antiauthoritarianplaybook

@horizonsprjt.bsky.social

2 Apr

Unity doesn’t mean uniformity. Different ideas and frameworks are the fuel to progress. What matters is enough people moving together, with enough force to actually change something. Read the Ideological Traffic Jam: bit.ly/ideologicaltrafficjam

The 22nd Century Initiative reposted

The Horizons Project

26 Mar

From No Kings to elections to the science of unlearning, these pieces are feeding our work and our minds this month. https://horizonsproject.us/the-vista-march-2026/ @msifry.bsky.social @ashdashlee.bsky.social @ruthbenghiat.bsky.social @22ci.bsky.social @outrageoverload.net @truthout.org

antiauthoritarianplaybook.substack.comAre Trans People the New Jews?The short answer is, no, trans people are not the new Jews; Jews are the “new” Jews.

23 Mar

If we view attacks on trans people through the lens of mid-20th century anti-semitic fascism, it's both terrifying and clarifying. It's a code red but there's still time to act The danger level is high enough to demand full mobilization, but not yet so high that resistance is impossible.

23 Mar

The comparison to mid-20th century antisemitic fascism is terrifying because the trajectory is clear, the mechanisms are in place, and the political will for escalation exists.

23 Mar

It's clarifying because we know what to do. The civil resistance research is unambiguous. The historical examples are documented. The tools exist. The question is whether we’ll deploy them at scale before the window closes.

19 Mar

After five years and over 107,000 conversations across 12 states, the United Vision Project is sharing what they’ve learned about bridging deep political divides. Join them for a virtual briefing to explore the data, the insights, and what comes next!

antiauthoritarianplaybook.substack.comTHE MINNEAPOLIS MODELHow a City Resisted a Federal Occupation and What the Pro-Democracy Movement Must Learn from It

16 Mar

Minneapolis is a living demonstration of what coordinated resistance looks like when multiple distinct communities maintain their own identities and strengths while feeding a common river of action. antiauthoritarianplaybook.substack.com/p/the-minnea...

12 Mar

We’re not waiting for any heroes to save us, together we must save ourselves. Learn how to empower your springs to fuel the river that will free us all from authoritarianism. Read the Ideological Traffic Jam by visiting bit.ly/ideologicaltrafficjam.

2 Mar

Art doesn't just decorate the world; it reveals it, documents it, challenges it, and imagines something better. That's exactly why it's always the first target. Learn about why authoritarians target the arts and what we can do about it: bit.ly/antiauthoritarianplaybook

@horizonsprjt.bsky.social

12 Feb

When they come for the arts, they come for our collective imagination and resistance. Support your local artists. Buy their work. Show up to their events. Art is infrastructure and essential. Read more by visiting The Anti-Authoritarian Playbook: bit.ly/antiauthoritarianplaybook

The 22nd Century Initiative reposted

The Horizons Project

29 Jan

Here's what we're reading, watching and listening to this month. @19thnews.org @onesixcomics.bsky.social @timothysnyder.bsky.social @weforum.org @daniel-hunter.bsky.social @22ci.bsky.social @moreincommonus.bsky.social @wagingnonviolence.org @ivehaditpodcast.bsky.social @cftchange.bsky.social

horizonsproject.usTHE VISTA: January 2026Many around the country have been inspired by the collective action of the people of Minnesota in the face of ICE’s surge in the state. We’ve also been called to honor the many distinct responses people are experiencing to the murders in Minneapolis. But what is clear is that the egregious political violence has spurred many new voices to denounce the authoritarian tactics,

4 Feb

11:45pm: the moment between complacency and collapse. But here’s the thing, we can still turn this around. Not by waiting, but by acting together. bit.ly/antiauthoritarianplaybook

Lex McMenamin (they/them)

3 Feb

What happens when election workers, police, and business leaders all refuse to cooperate with authoritarianism? The regime falls. It's happened before. It can happen again. Read the Anti-Authoritarian Playbook: bit.ly/antiauthoritarianplaybook

The 22nd Century Initiative reposted

@lexmcmenamin.com

31 Jan

for over 3 weeks, I've spoken to ICE watchers and organizers across the country: first right after Renee Good's killing — then 2 weeks into my reporting, Alex Pretti was killed. ICE watchers are being detained and harassed — but they're also stopping ICE abductions and inspiring others to join them

theguardian.com‘Backing down isn’t an option’: Minnesota ICE shootings mobilize Americans to join ICE observer groupsThe killings of Minneapolis residents Renee Good and Alex Pretti have inspired people across the US to document federal agents’ activities in their communities

The 22nd Century Initiative reposted

We Make The Future Action

@wmtfaction.bsky.social

28 Jan

Over the weekend, 75,000 Minnesotans from every walk of life marched and over 1,000 businesses shut down to demand ICE and the regime end their campaign of abductions and killings. Minnesotans across races, faiths, and genders, are demonstrating that the #BraveOfUs stand with and for each other.

The 22nd Century Initiative reposted

Rise and Resist

@riseandresist.bsky.social

28 Jan

Stay tuned for further details…

The 22nd Century Initiative reposted

Free DC

@freedcproject.bsky.social

25 Jan

HAPPENING NOW: A massive crowd is gathered in freezing temperatures outside ICE headquarters in DC to demand ICE OUT OF ALL COMMUNITIES NOW.

youtube.comHow Blowing A Whistle Is An Act Of Nonviolent Resistance - Maria J. StephanYouTube video by The Late Show with Stephen Colbert

23 Jan

“Disciplined nonviolent resistance can make state violence and repression backfire.” - @mariajstephan.bsky.social on countering the authoritarian playbook on Colbert last night www.youtube.com/watch?v=N7Mg...

23 Jan

Faith communities play a powerful role in civil resistance. Faith leaders are showing up in powerful ways in Minneapolis and beyond.

This post is unavailable.

antiauthoritarianplaybook.substack.comWhat Serbian Activists Can Teach Us About Staying Safe Under Authoritarian PressureLessons from the frontlines of the 2024 Serbian uprising for democracy defenders everywhere

22 Jan

As you join and organize actions this weekend and beyond, assume total surveillance and act accordingly. Serbian activists give us a powerful blueprint: stay connected to each other, stay diligent and clear, stay consistent, stay ahead. antiauthoritarianplaybook.substack.com/p/what-serbi...

antiauthoritarianplaybook.substack.comWhy You Can’t Understand American Authoritarianism Without Understanding RaceOr: How the War on Black Freedom Became the Infrastructure for War on All of Us

21 Jan

The infrastructure authoritarians are using was built to destroy Black freedom. You cannot resist it effectively without understanding that. And you cannot understand it while remaining silent about race. antiauthoritarianplaybook.substack.com/p/why-you-ca...

12 Jan

Political violence is not normal and we will not let authoritarians make us feel like it is. In these difficult times, we must continue speaking truth to power, fostering community relationships and care, and taking action together.

10 Jan

We grieve Renee Nicole Good and all those killed by ICE. ICE’s lawless operations have made our neighborhoods less safe. This violence is not isolated but the predictable result of abuse of power. We demand accountability for this killing and an end to ICE raids.

podcasts.apple.comScot Nakagawa and Zev Mishell: Why Joy Is Essential to DemocracyPodcast Episode · The PlayFull Podcast with Kristine Michie: Bringing Fun to the Serious Work of Changing the World · 01/08/2026 · 48m

8 Jan

In the face of exhaustion and the onslaught of authoritarian violence, joy, play, faith, and resistance can sustain our movements for democracy and justice. podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/s...

7 Jan

Our Executive Director Scot Nakagawa joins The Playfull Podcast TOMORROW to discuss democracy, resistance, and the serious work of changing the world. Tune in wherever you get your podcasts.

19 Dec 2025

Taiwan showed the world how 23 million people can stand strong against authoritarian pressure. Democracy isn't something you have. It's something you do. Every single day. What will you choose to build?

16 Dec 2025

We need to be clear and honest about where we are and strategic hope about where we can go! The Anti-Authoritarian Playbook draws lessons from movements that won against authoritarianism. Visit bit.ly/antiauthoritarianplaybook

buff.lySubscribe to The Anti-Authoritarian PlaybookBy Scot Nakagawa of The 22nd Century Initiative. Click to read The Anti-Authoritarian Playbook, by Scot Nakagawa, a Substack publication with tens of thousands of subscribers.

Paid subscribers to the Anti-Authoritarian Playbook turn analysis into impact and strengthen the pro-democracy movement. Subscribe today to help power the Anti-Authoritarian Playbook to equip activists, organizers, and defenders with the tools they need.

We need to be clear-eyed about where American democracy stands right now. Experts who study authoritarian consolidation globally agree: we’ve already crossed the threshold into what they call “competitive authoritarianism.” 🧵

Whether authoritarianism consolidates or gets pushed back depends entirely on whether pro-democracy forces maintain strategic coherence, organizational capacity, and the willingness to sustain pressure over time. Now we must organize accordingly.

antiauthoritarianplaybook.substack.comWhere We AreA Strategic Assessment of Authoritarian Consolidation

The experts have done their job naming where we are. Now we do ours: building the resistance that prevents consolidation and creates the conditions for democratic renewal. antiauthoritarianplaybook.substack.com/p/where-we-are

Competitive authoritarian regimes are vulnerable to sustained, strategic opposition precisely because they maintain democratic forms. Those forms can be exploited by movements that understand the terrain.

The bottom line is we’re in a qualitatively different moment than we were a year ago. The transition to competitive authoritarianism has occurred. But it’s early-stage, faces real structural constraints, and remains assailable.

It’s not inevitable that authoritarianism continues consolidating in the US. But our strategy has to start with reality: we are no longer a liberal democracy.

The strategic imperative is staying in the fight, contesting power through every available channel: courts, elections, mass mobilization, economic pressure, and international solidarity.

But here’s the critical part for our organizing strategy: Trump is politically weaker than successful autocrats typically are at this stage. The U.S. also has stronger institutional constraints than countries that slid into stable competitive authoritarianism.

Most importantly, US opposition is well-organized, well-financed, and electorally viable. We’re harder to co-opt, repress, or sideline than opposition movements in El Salvador, Hungary, or Turkey were. Our civil society is robust, our resources substantial, and our organizational capacity is real.

The pattern is clear and follows an authoritarian playbook we’ve seen globally. Executive overreach through governance by decree. Politicized control of the civil service. Targeting perceived opponents through IRS investigations and regulatory agencies.

The authoritarian playbook also looks like delegitimizing opposition, threatening media, suing universities, purging NGOs, and demonizing opposition donors. It looks like using immigration enforcement as a consolidation tool, including deploying military forces against state governors’ wishes.