“How Change Happens” review
“How Change Happens” by Duncan Green is a must-read for anyone thinking about advocacy in development. My review here is fairly brief, because the book is freely available and the best way to get a feel for the book is to start reading it. It is probably the most enjoyable development book I have read, and can be finished in no time. This review is divided into three sections: the complex environment of change, the methods of change, and the agents of change.
Systems are often stubbornly resistant to change! The realities of power, complexity, and timing that characterise the political systems advocates find themselves in must be understood, and Green provides some ways to grapple with them. Firstly, power: surface level assumptions about power dynamics are likely to be wrong; for example, it is often the case that significant power in a system is informal (for example in traditional leaders). As a result, we are unlikely to make progress without mapping out the power relationships, both formal and informal. Secondly, complexity: we must understand that political systems are best thought of as complex and evolving systems. This means that we do not necessarily know what will work in many contexts. This requires flexibility; for example, being willing to shelve a project if a critical juncture reveals a new opportunity. The more uncertainty involved in interventions, the more open we should be to experimentation - perhaps trying a variety of quick prototypical strategies to see what sticks. Finally, timing: these systems will evolve according to their own internal logic, which is hard to influence in the absence of external shocks. Critical junctures, or events with significant public consequences, can create changes in and of themselves (think the rise to power of a new leader, 9/11, the GFC, and so on). These can also be leveraged to bring about change, especially if these events are crises highlighting an underlying problem which new policy can help to solve. Public and policymaker opinions are not always available for molding; they are often static until a crisis destabilises them.
What sort of approaches might be taken when the time is right to act? Firstly, it’s helpful to have a backdrop of global policy norms to draw upon. These function as reference points which can be leveraged by activism to create social pressure on governments. Governments’ public perception on the world stage does matter, and they may not want to be seen as lagging behind neighbouring countries. The same can be true for large corporations. Secondly, advocacy can build upon these norms. One framework for advocacy is “insider and outsider action.” Insider action is cooperative and seeks to broker deals. Outsider action is confrontational. Often a combination of the two works well: outsider action (for example protests, boycotts, enlisting celebrities, industry giants, or well connected people to write to the government or make a public statement) can create a sense of urgency for a government to address a social issue. Then insider action can help to create policy for a productive way forward. If motivation is flagging on the government’s part, a fresh burst of outsider advocacy may be needed. Other strategies include publicly commending governments and corporations for progressive action, persuading with compelling and reputable research, using the arm of the law to push back on the executive branch, and many other strategies.
Finally, who is doing this change? Is it NGOs? Policy think tanks involving world leaders, and multilateral institutions? Legal systems? Governments? Trans-national companies? Green is remarkably even-handed, arguing that all of these can contribute positively to the process of making change. At some stage, however, those with the greatest numbers and who are affected the most by injustice are the citizens of a state. These can be represented by civil society organisations; groups wherein citizens self-select to discuss, plan and agitate for change. So how do outsider organisations encourage these citizens? A helpful framework which Green borrows from Jo Rowlands focuses on breaking down the types of power that grassroots activists need: Power Within, Power With, Power To and Power Over. Often “power to” and “power over” (which often overlap) are overrepresented in common articulations of the idea of power, at the expense of “power within” and “power with”. Power within is characterised by an understanding of rights, of being in the right, and some way of transcending fear. This must, however, transition to “power with”. This political solidarity is essential to making change happen. Only then can a movement be made towards “power to” and overcoming “power over”. Green is reticent to assign too significant a role to external NGOs, noting that in advocacy work they may unfortunately be viewed as simply the mouthpiece of conglomerates such as the USA, “the west”, or the global north. However, he allows that NGOs can and should advocate in northern countries to solve collective action problems, to help with cutting edge practice, and to remove barriers to the development and empowerment of people in southern countries.
Advocacy can seem impossible at times. What is the appropriate degree of optimism for a book like this? The frequent use of positive case studies indicates that Green can afford to be optimistic. In some cases the optimistic sheen seems too thin. I was unconvinced by his argument for the power of law - wouldn’t many countries attracting advocacy work have a comparatively weak/overburdened legal system? However, at other times his realism shows through to provide a helpful counterbalance. Not everything is possible; NGOs without an exit strategy and excellent corruption laws without implementation will fail. In the final analysis, Green presents a balanced, helpful, witty and engaging guide to advocacy that is justly applauded by Amartya Sen, Francis Fukayama and many others. Please read it!
