Learn from people who have fought autocracies. We’ll be regularly adding interviews.
Interview with Ivan Marovic: Overcoming despair and apathy to win democracy
Choose Democracy is teaming up with Choose Democracy to provide resources on how to stem the rising authoritarian tide. This is the first in a series of interviews with experienced organizers and movement thinkers on ways to defend democracy.
The Serbian dictator Slobodan Milosevic had already been in power for a decade, when a small group of university students began organizing what would become a successful nonviolent revolution in 2000. Calling themselves Otpor! (“Resistance!” in English), they began by developing their strategy and agreeing to not only rely on nonviolent tactics but to train others, making that a hallmark of their struggle.
After Otpor’s victory, Ivan Marovic — one of the movement’s original leaders — continued strengthening his training skills and began making himself available to pro-democracy groups around the world.
Bringing Down A Dictator is a 56-minute documentary about the nonviolent defeat of Serbian leader Slobodan Milosevic. It focuses on the contributions of the student-led Otpor! movement.