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An overview of the need for tactics and tactical thinking in human rights work, and a list of resources for further information.

Tactics and Tactical Thinking

In the past twenty-five years, strategic planning has become the norm in nongovernmental organizations. Curiously, the notion of tactics has not accompanied the development of strategic planning and still remains, for many, a pejorative term. We commonly say something or someone is “tactical” rather than “strategic,” meaning subject to limited, short-term thinking rather than long-term, core thinking. “Tactics” implies maneuvering for short-term gain or position, perhaps in an unethical manner and because it is not often used in the human rights field the word has raised a number of questions. “Isn’t this a military term?” “The word is confusing!” “What do you mean by tactics?” “People in my region don’t use this word.” So, you may ask, why are we using the word “tactic” rather than another word such as approach, methodology or technique?

In the New Tactics in Human Rights Project, we use “tactic” because of its integral relationship to the concept of “strategy.” Strategy defines what is important to do, tactics embody how to do it. The relationship between “the what” and “the how” is an important one in understanding — and demystifying — the concepts of strategy and tactics. Tactics — which may be activities, systems, techniques or even institutions — are one of the key building blocks of strategy.

Another source of confusion is that a strategy for one group may be a tactic for another. A government, for example, could develop a strategy of creating new institutions for protecting human rights. One of the tactics in this strategy may be creating a national commission on human rights. But as an entity, the commission must define its own strategy and the tactics it will use to implement it more precisely.

Building successful strategies also relies on tactical flexibility and access to a broad range of tactics. People, organizations and movements that rely too much on a narrow range of tactics may end up using them in the wrong circumstances or may miss opportunities to use other, more appropriate tactics. They may not be able to attract as broad a range of supporters as they would using more diverse tactics. Also, repeatedly using the same tactics allows the targeted adversaries or systems to adapt and change, rendering the tactics themselves less effective.

The New Tactics workbook, while by no means exhaustive, is an illustration of the breadth of tactics being used by the international human rights community. It is a testament both to the creativity — often born of necessity — of human rights practitioners and to the power of tactical and strategic thinking.

by Douglas A. Johnson
Executive Director
The Center for Victims of Torture

Resources for Strategic and Tactical thinking: