“It is an approved maxim in war, never to do what the enemy wishes you to do, for this reason alone, that he desires it. A field of battle, therefore, which he has previously studied and reconnoitered, should be avoided, and double care should be taken where he has had time to fortify and entrench. One consequence deducible from this principle is, never to attack a position in front which you can gain by turning.”
Napoleon Bonaparte, War Maxim XVI
“In forming the plan of a campaign, it is requisite to foresee everything the enemy may do, and to be prepared with the necessary means to counteract it. Plans of campaigns may be modified, ad infinitum, according to circumstances -- the genius of the general, the character of the troops, and the topography of the theater of action.”
Napoleon Bonaparte, War Maxim II
A civil society movement like the "Stronger United" Campaign goes through five basic stages:
- Emergence: various individuals and civil society organisations are increasingly dissatisfied with the status quo but unhappy with the traditional choices offered by the existing institutionalized political parties. They are all attempting to create new openings, new political spaces, new ways of thinking and acting, enabling them to come up with creative, effective and legitimate solutions to the problems at hand;
- Crystallization: the contours of a new grassroots action network begin to take shape, focusing around a number of guiding values and principles and a core leadership team. A system of communication of these ideas and interaction between an expanding membership is created, ready to be “scaled up” by means of both substantive deepening and geographic widening. This is the phase we are in now, following the rise of the a variety of intellectual and activist movements putting in question the “pensée unique” of the entrenched national political parties still in power across the continent;
- Operationalization: at this stage, the Campaign message and delivery methods are worked out, financial resources are made available, contacts with similarly-minded organisations and movements are established, and coordinating hubs are set up in the key geographical locations that will facilitate the “scaling up” of the network;
- Implementation: this is the moment when the Campaign begins to attract wider public attention and be recognized as an important participant in the debates and discussions to come on they key topics being addressed – in our case, the BREXIT Referendum but also the reforms necessary for the survival of the European Project;
- Adaptation: once the Campaign has achieved successfully the transition from contestation movement to institutionalized new paradigm, and has began the transformation of the European project in accordance with its vision, values, and principles, it must continually adjust and adapt to its dynamic, changing environment and expand its reach on both sides of the Atlantic.
Stage I: Emergence stage
Stage II: Crystallization stage
Stage III: Operationalisation stage
- Phase 1: Setting up British Isles’ Network Hubs
- Phase 2: Setting up European Network Hubs
- Phase 3: Setting up North American Network Hubs
Stage IV: Implementation stage
- Phase 4: Expanding the 8-Point Action Plan Network
- Phase 5: Winning the BREXIT Referendum
- Phase 6: Activating the European Public Sphere
- Phase 7: Energizing the 2019 European Parliament Elections
Stage V: Adaptation stage