How Agent Provocateurs Harm Our Movements

History shows us that peoples' movements are more likely to succeed when they have unity among supporters, widespread participation, strategic planning, and nonviolent discipline. Unsurprisingly, movement opponents use agent provocateurs-fake activists working undercover-to behave in counterproductive ways that undermine these four keys to success.

Drawing from international examples, and an in-depth case study of the US Black Liberation Movement, this volume explores how agent provocateurs-and agent provocateur-like behavior-make movements smaller, weaker, and easier to defeat. It also offers some ideas for how activists can inoculate their movements against such harms and increase their chances of success.