List of de-escalation tactics that work in possibly violent conflicts

1. Choose tactics that are harder to attack

   • demand officials count every vote

   • avoid big rallies (they invite rumbles); more smaller rallies are better

   • work in small teams

2. Reframing/reconditioning

3. Move closer

   • “We’re watching you!”

   • but evaluate danger

4. Move back (when aggressive protesters are escalating police or opponents)

   • “Can we move back a little?”                 

   • “They need more space”

5. Sitting down  (primal, widely used in other cultures)

   • or kneel

   • not fight or flight

   • decreases odds of running (running turns into stampede/ rout/ massacre)

6. With teargas

   • arms in air

   • slowly walk away

   • chant “Slowly… Walk… Slowly…

7. Buddy/small team

   • look around for allies

8. If stampede

   • stretch arms and lock hands

9. Be courageous

   • put your life in their hands

   • disciplined love

10. Smartphones

    • video and photo

    • backfire

    • violation strengthens nonviolence

11. Strategy

    • get inside opponents’ heads

    • come back stronger and bigger

    • courage makes us stronger and safer

12. UCP (Unarmed Civilian Protection)

    • peacekeepers/ marshals/ ambassadors

    • recognizable clothing

    • reduces anxiety

    • builds unity/ presence

    • watch for trouble along edges of protest

    • chant “De-escalate”, “Slow down”, “Walk”, or “Sit down”

13. Isolate violence

    • grab hands to barricade

14. Humanize police and/or counter-protesters

    • they are more than their current role/ what they are doing now

    • soften / open their hearts (then minds will open)

    • invite conversation/ transformation (ie, CLARA)  

15. Tell stories

    • seek more stories

    • our lives may depend on our stories

1. CLARA with targeted person

2. Presence and eye contact

3. Dialogue and empathy with target

   • “Are you OK?  Do you want any help?

   • “What do you need?  How can I help?

   • offer possible solutions

   • offer emotional support/ empathy

4. Distraction and humor

   • surprising out-of-context statements

   • crack a joke

5. Delegate

   • ask others nearby to help

   • identify credible messengers for targeted person

6. Distance – if target is willing, help them move out of situation 

eg, Antoinette Tuff story

1. CLARA (DCPT has best guide, 2 pp)

2. Dignity

   • “You also are beloved of God”, 

   • “I care about you

   • “You are better than that

3. Ask questions/ Give options

   • “What do you need?  Will you work with me?

   • If he pulls a gun, “I will listen to you…  We can talk through this… 

   • “I will stay with you…(prevent suicide)

4. Interconnectedness/ solidarity

   • “We can meet everyone’s needs here…  Let’s do this together…

   • “We are one family…  Think about your mother…

   • share suffering, fear, anger, hard time, relationships, mistakes

   • offer water bottle, face mask,…

5. Distract

6. Delegate

7. Peel away enablers (aggression is often a performance for friends or others)

   • identify enablers

   • get their attention, to minimize their enabling

8. Interposition

   • get closer, get between, get to their level

   • stand, sit, lie on ground

   • encircle, hug, hold hands/arms, push/ pull, block/ hold (?)

   • form U shape with others to slowly walk aggressor back (leave exit route)

“Active Bystander Intervention,” DCPeaceTeam training, 2020 Oct 17

• Stephen Zunes resources: ICNC webinar 2017 Dec 7 “How Can Civil Resistance Work against Violent Coups”, Presentation ~30 min, Q&A  ~27 min

• Monograph available “Civil Resistance Against Coups:

• A Comparative and Historical Perspective,” 104 pp, free download

• ChooseDemocracy.us training 2020 Oct 1 “How to beat an election-related power grab”; 2 hr, Recording?  Visit Choose Democracy site

• Nonviolence International panel 2020 Oct 6 “We are all part of one another” 2 hr