Pranksters vs. Autocrats

The Lawrence and Lynne Brown Democracy Medal, presented by the McCourtney Institute for Democracy at Penn State, recognizes outstanding individuals, groups, and organizations that produce innovations to further democracy in the United States or around the world.
The 2020 Brown Democracy Medal winner, Srdja Popovic, was a leader in the revolution that brought down the Milošević regime in Serbia and he continues to help protestors around the world learn effective, sometimes humorous, nonviolent tactics. In 2020, he teamed up with Sophia A. McClennen to study the concept of "dilemma actions," which offers a structured, strategic approach to fighting back against authoritarianism, as well as for defending democracy.

Srdja Popovic is Executive Director of the Centre for Applied Nonviolent Action and Strategies (CANVAS) and author of several books on nonviolent movements, including Blueprint for Revolution: How to Use Rice Pudding, Lego Men, and Other Nonviolent Techniques to Galvanize Communities, Overthrow Dictators, or Simply Change the World. He is also a cofounder of the Center for Civic Resilience and fifty-third Rector of St. Andrews University in Scotland.

Sophia A. McClennen is Professor of International Affairs and Comparative Literature at Penn State University and founding Director of the Center for Global Studies. She has published eleven books including Is Satire Saving Our Nation? and The Routledge Companion to Literature and Human Rights.