These sources reveal the rapid undermining of democracy towards an authoritarian breakthrough. There are categories to make the vast destruction graspable, charts to make it visible, and trackers to show the depth.

The second section introduces the research, strategy, and practice of resistance movements.

Authoritarian Playbook 2025: How an authoritarian president will dismantle our democracy and what we can do to protect it. – January 2024

Bright Line Watch: Monitoring democratic practices, resilience, and threats.

Trump’s Authoritarian Action Tracker | introduction at week 3

Categories:

• Undermining Democratic Institutions & Rule of Law; Dismantling federal government

• Suppressing Dissent & Controlling Information

• Dismantling Social Protections & Civil Rights; Enrichment & Corruption

• Attacking Science, Environment, Health, Arts, & Education

• Aggressive Foreign Policy & Global Destabilization; Nationalism

Trump Tyranny Tracker: Daily recap of power grabs, lawless moves, and the fight to stop Trump.

Project 2025 Tracker: Tracks the implementation of Project 2025.

Defending Democracy

Research, strategy, and practice of resisting authoritarian regimes.

One Million Rising Project: Indivisible’s nonviolent resistance movement. Training people in the strategy and practice of non-cooperation to undermine an authoritarian regime.

Protests, political violence and its alternatives with Erica Chenoweth: Interview about the study that found that 3.5% of the population taking to the streets (plus strategic non-cooperation) is enough to block authoritarian takeover; WITHpod & transcript

In-Depth

Civil Resistance: What Everyone Needs to Know (book) | Why Civil Resistance Works (book), shorter PDF

Horizons Project

Nonviolent Action Lab: Understanding how nonviolent action can achieve democratic aims.

podcast: The latest research, insights, and ideas on how nonviolent action can — or sometimes fails — to transform injustice.

In the HKS Ash Center for research and teaching on advancing democracy through civil resistance.

Pro-democracy Organizing against Autocracy in the United States: A Strategic Assessment & Recommendations: Chenoweth & Marks, PDF

Q&A and Cautionary Updates Regarding the 3.5% Rule: Chenoweth, PDF

Waging Nonviolence

Why Protest?

From the resources in this section:

• Mass nonviolent protests build a sense of unity and connection.

• Show that lots of people are fed up.

• Shift social norms about what’s acceptable and what isn’t.

• Create the social permission for groups to stop complying with the authoritarian status quo.

• Strengthen the resolve within various institutions to stand up for democracy.

• Invite lots of people to join us. We need large-scale mobilization.

• Elicit loyalty shifts within key pillars of support.

• The 2018 blue wave is directly tied to the number of people turning out at women’s marches in 2017.

• It needs to be combined with strategic non-cooperation like the Montgomery bus boycott.

Intro Videos

Pillars of Support Explained: The strategy of pulling away an autocrat’s support systems, 4 min

Intro: What’s Next in the Fight?: Concise intro to winning pro-democracy campaigns, Maria Stephan, 10 min segment in the No Kings debrief

Civil Resistance: What Everyone Needs to Know: Erica Chenoweth, 11 min

History and Practice of Nonviolent Resistance: What makes a successful movement, Erica Chenoweth, 18 min

The success of nonviolent civil resistance: TEDx, Erica Chenoweth, 13 min

Why Civil Resistance Works: Erica Chenoweth, 8 min

Why Civil Resistance Works: The Strategic Logic of Nonviolent Conflict: Maria Stephan, 7 min

Long-Form Videos

A Force More Powerful: A Century of Nonviolent Conflict - A documentary series in six 1/2 hour segments. Episode 1: India, USA, South Africa. Episode 2: Denmark, Poland, Chile.

Bringing Down a Dictator - 55 min documentary on Otpor! defeating Milosevic in Yugoslavia

The Power and Promise of Nonviolent Action - Maria Stephan, 90 min