Chapter Three: Multiple types of resistance:
Game Change, Outside Game and Inside Game

Active popular support is the fuel for successful social movements. Turning active popular support into social change requires three different types of resistance: 1. game changing events that change public opinion and recruit new people; 2. outside game strategies that pressure decision makers; and 3. inside game strategies that put movement-identified leaders in positions within the system where they can effect change.

Since the November 2016 election, new organizations have sprung up like wildflowers to absorb the revitalized energy of mass protest. Amid this whirlwind of activity, however, it can be difficult to know how or where plug in. Many people have asked us how they can get involved and how they can make the biggest difference.

The study of civil resistance points to some answers.

Almost every tactic used across the broad spectrum of civil resistance falls into one of three types, and most effective movements in democratic countries succeed by employing some form of all three. We call these three types of resistance: game change, outside game and inside game.

This section will explain what makes each type of resistance effective, as well as how they complement one another. While it can be beneficial to center your efforts around one organization and focus primarily on the type of resistance that best suits your circumstances and passions, we recommend that everyone support all three types of resistance. The Tea Party showed us how much power can be leveraged when all three are used at once. If hundreds of thousands of people contribute in this way,Trump and the Republicans won’t stand a chance.