What are the features of the Infrastructure?

In order to recognize the features of the infrastructure of the change movement we must know first that the change movement is similar to a great extent to the military war (2), and the main difference between them is in the nature of the used weapons and in the way the conflict is managed, as the conflict is settled in the state of war through military action, whilein the change movement through the political and social act.

The act of change requires – like the military action – a particular infrastructure that is divided on a range of different fronts. We will break down these fronts into three major Lines:

1. The Front Line: Which forms the confrontation line, action, and direct exposure to the arbitrary leadership tools, it also represent the field of direct interaction between the main action tools of the two parties of conflict. Hence it is the line where all fixtures, ideas, visions, arguments and strategies of the “Change Power” are embodied in activities and specific tactics, as an arrow head directed towards the opponent.

This horizontal “Front Line” is composed of a set of projects, these projects are embodied in institutions, movements or work groups, which all share in holding the spirit of confrontation and addressing the existing regime with the direct action, and of these projects:

Mobilizing Projects: This includes projects that mobilize people or bases asking for change in facing the tyrannical leadership, such as the popular movements, work groups, or individuals who possess leadership abilities to mobilize the masses.

Rights Projects: These projects are seeking to make constitutional and legal amendments, as an attempt to change the legal status.

Media projects: These projects faces the propaganda of the regime and market for the change movement directly, it is also interested in educating the public and promote the change culture. Whether this movement is represented in the satellite channels, the internet, the press or independent members… Etc.

2. The Back Line (Supportive): This line formsthe logistics support (3) for the change movementas a whole, as it provides the necessary support to the Front-Line projects. Examples of projects of this line:

Intellectual Support: Which is represented in the intellectuals, research centers and scientific institutions that set the perceptions, ideas, and formulate theories of work. They also answer the reality questions, and the critical and urgent questions thrown on the change movement. In addition theyparticipate in the formulation of programs, the drawing of stages and the determination of the paths and alternatives.

Economic Support: Represented in founding a real financial structure through huge economic projects providing financial support for the change movement, as exemplified in the merchants, business men, or others who support projects neededby the change movement in all its various lines.

Technical Support: Including training on some of the required skills as well as providing some services that may be needed by some forms of the change works.

Relationships: Represented in building bridges of necessary relationships for the change works both at home and abroad, and these are the relationships that can be invested positively by activation or negatively by neutralization according to the needs, policies and controls of the change movement.

3. The Qualitative Line: This line represents one of the trump cards in the hands of the change movement if prepared for carefully, for it is the one which gives the change movement qualitative power by which it can negotiate and impose its own terms. Within this line the dislocation tools gather which disintegrate the regime and isolate the arbitrary leadership from its sources of support. Such as projects oriented towards the sections that, if moved, will mark the adventof change, or build strong relationships and international interests that will hold back the international community's support to the forces of tyranny, and if we know that the gross national product of Turkey is less than the sales of General Motors Corporation; we will realize the size of political power owned by such companies in political negotiation.

Some of the Qualitative Line’s projects may overlap with the Front and the Back Lines’ ones, as a qualitative confrontation movement, qualitative network of relationships, qualitative pressing economic structure, or qualitative media projects may be founded, as exemplified in the political, economic and legal influence.

What are the requirements for its establishment?

The projects of establishing the infrastructure for the change movement can be considered of the heavy industries projects, they are those projects that provide the basis and ground for all the other change projects. To work on establishing the infrastructure requires from institutions or movements that address this role the following:

First: The existence of an overall strategy and clear phases for fighting the struggle, so that this infrastructure can be built in its light, otherwise forces of change will be moving in a strategic vacuum.

Second: To bring forward the interest of the change project as a whole on the interests of the organization, movement, or institution, and the public interest on the private one, meaning that the thinking of the leaders of those movements, institutions and their foundations should not be limited to the interests of the institution only, also to not to consider the successes of others as a withdrawal of the carpet from under their feet.

Third: Openness on the whole society with its individuals, institutions, and qualitative cadres, which means the use of any effort, experience, or efficiency, regardless of the party or organizational affiliation. This openness requires changing the policy of using the individuals with trusted loyalty to the institution to the policy of using the capacity, and individuals with high capabilities within the overall context of the change movement’s policies.

Fourth: Draw a map for the overall change movement so as to clarify areas of vacuum and others of saturation, and the completeness of the Front, Behind, and Qualitative lines. Then efforts and projects are directed towards the void areas to establish a balanced change movement.

Fifth: Raise the slogan of strategic partnership not dependency, i.e. deal with the public institutions, individuals and work groups in the community as strategic partners in the project of change, not as followers who should imitate, listen and obey.

Sixth: The predominance of the leading character –where the figuresof the doctor who diagnoses the situation, the theorizer who draws the overall tracks for action, and the businessman who possesses the courageto invest and seize opportunities integrate- on thefestive one which is dominated by being concerned with the abundance of activities, crowds, buildings, conferences, and celebrations.

Seventh: Address many of the deadly ideas that prevent turning the act of these institutions from the internal organizational concern to the public concern of the change project, many of those ideas were dealt within the book “Minds Quake” (4).

These requirements represent the most important ones needed by the institution addressing the role of establishing and activating the infrastructure of the change movement.

Finally, it should be noted that change movements should not get busy with confrontation work while overlook the preparation for such quality works. As by extrapolating a lot of the change experiences that failed, we find that the majority of movements and change powers were concentrated, at the beginning of the movement,in the front line, while putting other Behind or Qualitative Lines on the sidelines oftheir movement, which leads to widening the Front Line and expanding the Confrontation Line without the presence of real support to backup this front , ensure its continuity, and supply it with its intellectual, media, technical, and other needs.

The completion of this infrastructure and to fill in the gaps in the change movement lines may not be related to the time factor as much as it is related to the awareness of the movement leaders and the public opinion with these areas, as well as the failure of the regime in dealing with the situations, and his reactions that lead to increased congestion.

Important Notes:

• The change movement cannot be satisfied with the Front Lines only, especially that the more the impact and severity of events increases, persons in charge of the Front Lines will not be able to find time, ability, or security necessary to perform the other important roles, both at the level of thought and money.
• Sometimes roles between the lines overlap, for example, the Media Movement may perform a confrontation act, at the same time, it implements a supportive work including the spread of awareness and the culture of change. Economic action may enter the Qualitative Line as a winning pressure card,or within the Supportive Lines range as a funding that will go to the change projects’ owners.
• The change movement should not be without claws. You should think about the deterrent paper in the case of planning to eradicate them. These claws (The Qualitative Lines) may be in the form of mass social force, universal support for it, the powerof a network of qualitative relations, or any qualitative power the change movement choses. By this, the movement can negotiate with the regime whenever it wants, then it can impose its own terms, and if it waves its hand during negotiations the claws appear!
• None of the work areas or lines mentioned above can be dispensed from, accordinglyall forces seeking change must be aware that the project is larger than the energies of each of them individually, and each line needs many institutions, movements,and various task forces, in order to increase the dispersion area of the regime, in the light of the unity of purpose.
•  Working in the framework of these lines does not requirean organizational affiliation with a specific institution; instead whenever small work groups move within some of these lines the more secure it is for them and for the change movement. Since those who seek to work in the Qualitative Lines must realize that the attempt to access such places has a high cost.
• The main forces of the state such as the police, the military and the media are not the opposition’s opponents, so the more the horizontal area of protests expand, opposition should aim for attracting members of these qualitative forces to its line. Usually this process takes place automatically whenever the storm of protest gets stronger, and extend though out the nation.

 By Ahmad Adel Abd Al-Hakeem

Translated by Rana Mohammed

May 11^th,2007