Srđa Popović (activist)

Srđa Popović (Срђа Поповић, born 1 February 1973) is a Serbian political activist.

He was a leader of the student movement Otpor that helped topple Serbian president Slobodan Milošević.

They released one album in 1993 called Između božanstva i ništavila.

In parallel to music, Popović joined the Democratic Party's (DS) youth wing called Demokratska omladina.

At the party conference in January 1994, he became the president of Demokratska omladina working under the also newly elected party leader Zoran Đinđić.

Although remaining a DS member, in 1998 with the establishment of Otpor!, Popović's activity in the party took a back seat to his engagement with the new movement.

Shortly after the overthrow of Milošević, Popović left Otpor to return to his political career in Serbia, becoming a Democratic Party (DS) MP in the National Assembly as well as an environmental adviser to newly appointed prime minister Zoran Đinđić.

It was founded in Belgrade on 10 October 1998, by a small group of student protestors, in direct response to the University and Media Acts (passed earlier the same year).

The organization was founded as a leaderless movement implementing the principles of nonviolent resistance in order to oppose the violent policies of the Milosevic regime and its constant infringements upon Serbs' fundamental democratic rights.

In December 1998, Otpor organized its first major gathering - at the Faculty of Electrical Engineering.

The demonstrators, about a thousand university students, then marched to the Faculty of Philosophy, in solidarity with their peers who had been locked up by the authorities in the latter so that they would be unable to join the peaceful protest.

Just two days later, about seventy Otpor members took part in the "We are paving the way" march and walked the 83 km distance between Belgrade and Novi Sad.

After the NATO bombing, Otport somewhat changed its goals and focused on campaigns which often provoked the regime in humorous and ironic ways, thus drawing citizens' attention and raising their motivation.

One vivid example was the "birthday party for Milošević" demonstration organized in Niš, during which more than two thousand citizens had a chance to write down what they wished Mr Milosevic for his birthday on a joint birthday card.

Along with the card, gifts, including a one-way ticket to the Hague, prison uniform, books by Mira Markovic, handcuffs and a birthday cake in the shape of a five-pointed star served to everybody present at the end of the action, were received on behalf of president Milosevic.

Numerous campaigns such as this one mobilized the whole of Serbia, alleviated Serbs' fear of violent reprisals by the regime, and inspired confidence.

The most important ones took place in the period 1999–2000, allowing Otpor to evolve from a students' to a people's democratic movement.

It rapidly gained popularity among student activists and expanded from a small organization to a large network of activists and supporters.

The resistance movement attracted a diverse range of opposition leaders and brought them together for discussions, from which the resistance movement established common goals against the Milosevic regime.

After briefly pursuing a political career in Serbia, he established the Centre for Applied Nonviolent Action and Strategies (CANVAS) in 2003 and published Blueprint for Revolution in 2015.

CANVAS has worked with pro-democracy activists from more than 50 countries, promoting the use of non-violent resistance in achieving political and social goals.

Popović is the co-author with Matthew Miller of Blueprint for Revolution: How to Use Rice Pudding, Lego Men, and Other Non-Violent Techniques to Galvanize Communities, Overthrow Dictators, or Simply Change the World (2015).

Blueprint for Revolution was met with positive reviews The Guardian called it "fantastically readable" and "brilliant", pointing to the usefulness and ingenuity of the ideas for creative nonviolent dissent it offers.

Critic Tina Rosenberg (The New York Times) wrote that the work of Popović and Đinović draws on the insights of Gene Sharp, a pioneer and leading theorist in the field of nonviolent resistance, but also manages to "refine" and extend his key ideas.

The review also praised the book for challenging conventional wisdom on the efficacy of peaceful movements and "cheerfully blowing up" common misconceptions about their internal structure, tactics, and chances of success.

Blueprint for Revolution was nominated for the Atlantic Magazine's book of the month.

It was originally published in the United States as well as in Canada, Australia, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, and Serbia.

It has since been translated into Serbian, French, German, Spanish, and Turkish.

Popović has been on book promoting tours in both the US and UK.

Popović has also authored or co-authored various CANVAS publications, available for free on the organization's website.

Nonviolent Struggle: 50 Crucial Points and the CANVAS Core Curriculum: A Guide to Effective Nonviolent Struggle both elaborate on how activists should approach the vital stages of organizing a nonviolent movement: comparatively assessing their capabilities against those of the regime, formulating a clear plan for action, implementing it as efficiently as possible, and responding to ensuing repression from the authorities without jeopardizing their goals and commitment to nonviolence.

Making Oppression Backfire, which Popovic co-authored with Tori Porell, more specifically examines how activists can make significant gains in the asymmetrical struggle against a regime's repressive apparatus, through knowledge and preparation.

It illustrates two key principles - firstly, that of "creating a dilemma" for the regime, which has to either tolerate the movement's actions and appear powerless or respond with force and risk alienating members of the larger community or publicly embarrassing itself.

Secondly, it provides insights into how to best take care of the movement's "foot soldiers" – its activists and demonstrators- foster cohesion, and cultivate a sense of community.

The site also contains a brief illustrated chronology of the evolution of Otpor!

and an examination of the unique features which allowed it to win over a large number of Serbs and mobilize solidarity to effect a profound political transformation.

Popović was one of the founders and leaders of the Serbian nonviolent resistance group Otpor!.

In October 2017, he was elected Rector of the University of St Andrews, succeeding Catherine Stihler.

Popović was born in Belgrade, where both of his parents worked in television.

He played bass guitar in a goth rock band called BAAL, which was fronted by Andrej Aćin who later turned to film making.