United States Institute of Peace, Washington, DC May 4, 2011
Presentation by Maciej Bartkowski on the Dynamics of Civil Resistance and the Idea of Adaptive Leadership at the United States of International Peace - "Leading Adaptive Teams in Conflict Environments, the Academy for International Conflict Management and Peacebuilding.
The talk highlighted major concepts behind the phenomenon of nonviolent resistance and juxtaposed the nature of civil resistance with the principles of adaptive leadership. Dr. Bartkowski emphasized, among others, that the unarmed struggle can be a transformational force equally for civil resisters and its adversaries that decide to leave the regime and side with the movement. Surprisingly enough, the strength of the transformation experience generated by civil resistance can be associated with the very same ideas that underpin adaptive leadership: diffused, and decentralized power, right questions and rational but inspirational propositions that mobilize people, followers become leaders, old roles are substitute by new identities, individual empowerment reinforces people’s commitment to the cause that often comes with a great deal of personal sacrifice.