UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Author and activist Srdja Popovic will present a lecture titled “A Magic Formula for Social Change? How Humor, Dilemma Actions, and Creative Tactics Can Save Democracy” at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 8, in the Lewis Katz Building’s Sutliff Auditorium on the Penn State University Park campus.
Popovic has been recognized as one of the world's leading voices for the creative use of nonviolent activism for social change. He founded the student movement “Otpor!” (“Resistance!”) in 1998, which played a crucial role in ousting president Slobodan Milosevic, former Serbian dictator accused of war crimes. After Milosevic was defeated in 2000, Popovic was elected to and served in the Serbian Parliament from 2000 until 2004. He then went on to launch and continues to serve as executive director of the Center for Applied Nonviolent Actions and Strategies (CANVAS), which was created with the intent of teaching people all over the world about how to be successful in nonviolent conflict. CANVAS has worked with activists from 46 different countries to date, spreading the knowledge of the nonviolent strategies and tactics used by “Otpor!” worldwide.
Popovic was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2012. He was also named one of the “Top 100 Global Thinkers” by Foreign Policy Magazine in 2011 and a “Young Global Leader” by the World Economic Forum in Davos in 2014.
Popovic has written two books: “Pranksters vs. Autocrats: Why Dilemma Actions Advance Nonviolent Activism,” which he co-authored with Sophia McClennen, professor of international affairs and comparative literature and director of Penn State’s Center for Global Studies and for which Popovic and McLennen received the Brown Democracy Medal from Penn State’s McCourtney Institute for Democracy in 2020; and “Blueprint for Revolution: How to Use Rice Pudding, Lego Men, and Other Nonviolent Techniques to Galvanize Communities, Overthrow Dictators, or Simply Change the World.” His 2011 TedTalk, How to Topple a Dictator, showcases his theory of effective nonviolent activism and offers valuable tips and strategies for movements to succeed.
Popovic’s upcoming lecture will highlight a research article he published with McClennen and Joseph Wright, professor of political science, in The Journal of Democracy in 2023. The team is engaged on a follow-up project, funded in part by Penn State’s Center for Security Research and Education.
A reception and book signing will immediately follow the lecture. Copies of “Blueprint for Revolution” and “Pranksters vs Autocrats” will be available for purchase.
Popovic’s visit is being hosted by the Center for Global Studies and co-sponsored by the Global and International Studies program, the Department of Political Science, the Humanities Institute, the McCourtney Institute for Democracy, the Rock Ethics Institute, Penn State Global, and the School of International Affairs. For more information, contact Amber Catral at arb320@psu.edu or email cgsinfo@psu.edu.