Build a universal message
The Play
Elected authoritarian leaders thrive on fragmentation—cultural, geographic, and generational. They live by the motto divide and conquer. Democratic movements often respond in fragments: a message for youth here, a policy for workers there, a slogan for elites elsewhere.
Worse still, we draw lines between democratic actors themselves—based on conflict, competition, or mistrust—instead of rallying around shared values and a common vision. This drains energy, exhausts supporters, alienates broader audiences, and weakens our ability to offer a compelling alternative.
This play flips the script. It's about identifying the values that unify and turning them into a message that speaks to everyone. Rather than fragmenting communications, find common denominators to create a drumbeat—a steady rhythm of messages that adapt to different groups while pointing in the same direction.
It's not about watering things down. It's about lifting them up—crafting a shared moral core that resonates across identity lines. A universal, positive message keeps core supporters energized and opens doors for new audiences to join in, making it a powerful tool for lasting impact.
Why it works
- Shared values cut through divides. Universal values resonate across demographics, creating a common emotional foundation.
- Positive visions inspire, not just resist. People are drawn to hopeful futures, not just to battles against shared enemies.
- Consistency on values strengthens identity. A repeated, coherent message shapes collective identity and reinforces belonging over time.
How it works
1. Start With What Unites, Not What Divides
Begin not with segmentation, but with core values. Before you dive into research or audience mapping, clarify the universal principles that define your movement: dignity, freedom, fairness, and safety, for example. These aren't just abstract ideals—they're emotional anchors that resonate across identities. Once you ground yourself in these values, they will become your drumbeat, the steady, unifying rhythm that shapes all your messaging.
2. Frame a Positive Vision
Once you've defined your universal values, use research to connect them to people's everyday concerns and daily struggles. Show how these values address real fears, needs, and hopes. Craft a hopeful vision rooted in tangible symbols and relatable stories—making your message not just inspiring, but also believable and close to home.
3. Sequence the Drumbeat: Let One Word Mean Many Things
Your universal values set the drumbeat—a steady rhythm through all messaging. Don't just present abstract policies; show how they reflect a shared aspiration for a better future.
For example, take dignity:
- For workers, it's fair pay.
- For youth, it's agency over their future.
- For startups, it's the freedom to innovate.
- For marginalized groups, it's equal protection.
One same value, many faces--one regular pulse, one unified, powerful message.
4. Deliver Through Trusted Messengers
A message is only as strong as its messenger. Work with respected voices across society--community leaders, workers, startups, businesses, journalists, teachers--people directly affected by the issues. Let them speak in their own words, all reinforcing the same shared values.
5. Align Messengers to Audiences
Who delivers your message is as important as the message itself. Mirror speakers--trusted, relatable voices--help audiences connect. Combine digital reach with grassroots presence: while social media amplifies fast, personal connections on the ground build real trust and long-term engagement. One-size-fits-all won't work here; the message should always be adapted to each audience.
6. Maintain the Drumbeat
Keep the message alive across all spaces--online, offline, formal, informal. Reach beyond core activists: engage artists, businesses, families, everyday citizens. Repetition builds memory; consistency builds trust. Make your message part of daily life so that it feels universal and unstoppable. Your message should become cultural background music--something people can't unhear because it sounds like home.
Tips
A. Build Long-Term Communication Strategies
Don't think it's only about winning elections or campaigns. Offer people meaningful takeaways that help them navigate reality, counter misinformation, and feel empowered. Authoritarians shape public perception 24/7; in response, embed your message into broader social conversations for lasting impact. Build communities of engagement, not just moments of mobilization.
B. Walk the Talk and Show You Can Deliver
Authenticity matters. Show you can deliver by working alongside affected communities, local leaders, academics, and diverse voices. Pilot solutions, acknowledge struggles, and offer real, practical actions. People trust movements that prove they can turn shared values into meaningful and visible change.
C. Avoid the Trap of Talking to the Room
If your message only makes sense to the already-convinced, it's not universal. Pressure-test it with people outside your bubble--affected communities, academia, skeptics, everyday citizens. Even without big research budgets, you can take in evidence-based inputs. Use public data, social listening, or informal feedback to refine the message until it resonates meaningfully across divides. Also, as a quick kitchen-table test, try your message with someone in your life who usually votes differently--it's a simple yet powerful way to check for resonance and clarity.
Who's done it well?
Thailand: Future Forward Party
Universal Values to Build Resilience Against Repression
Despite Thailand's multi-party electoral system and regular elections, the military junta has consistently undermined its democratic progress. It interrupted the democratic process through coups in 2006 and 2014. Additionally, institutions like the courts have been used to dissolve political parties, exacerbating the ongoing power struggle between royalist, military-backed establishment parties and political forces aligned with former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.
However, reformist movements have emerged, beginning with the Future Forward Party (2018-2020) and later the Move Forward Party (MFP, 2020-2024). In the 2023 national elections, the MFP ran on a positive reform agenda aimed at democratizing Thai society through the "3Ds": Demilitarize, Demonopolize, Decentralize. Their commitment to amending Thailand's strict lese-majeste laws and reducing military influence resonated strongly with both younger and older generations.
The MFP's campaign emphasized the creation of a "full democracy" with a people-driven Constitution and transparent governance, broadening its appeal across various demographics. Their hopeful message, which prioritized social welfare, economic equality, and inclusive growth, particularly resonated with younger voters, who saw the MFP as a vehicle for meaningful reform.
This comprehensive reform agenda, combined with their narrative and public communication, fostered a sense of collective hope, portraying a vision of Thai society that centered on fairness, social welfare, and inclusion. The MFP's success lay in its ability to transform widespread frustration into positive action. By emphasizing hope over division, the party tapped into a growing desire among the Thai population for progressive leadership that promised a more prosperous and equitable future for all.
Despite the MFP winning the most seats in the 2023 elections, the royalist-military establishment blocked the MFP's bid for the prime ministership and later dissolved the party, banning many of its leaders from participating in future elections. For the third time, the movement was forced to regroup and rebuild. The progressive momentum has now been channeled into a new party, the People's Party, which continues the fight for a people-centered Constitution and participatory democracy in Thailand.
With a new name and legal structure, the anti-authoritarian political movement remains undeterred, pursuing the same mission: enacting a people-centric Constitution and advancing participatory democracy in Thailand.
"The MFP's campaign broke away from the fear-based narratives traditionally used by other political parties. Rather than focusing on threats posed by opposition forces, the MFP emphasized the potential for positive change: empowering local communities, promoting social equality, and transforming Thailand's energy and education sectors."
Chile: Broad Front
Uniting a Nation Around Dignity
In the wake of Chile's 2019 social uprising, demands for systemic change exploded across the country. Amid authoritarian nostalgia and deep polarization, the progressive coalition led by Frente Amplio ("Broad Front") entered the 2021 election with a challenge: could they transform social protest into a national majority?
Their candidate, Gabriel Boric--a young former student leader--faced off against far-right hardliner Jose Antonio Kast, who invoked Pinochet's legacy and campaigned on fear, order, and tradition. Rather than engaging on Kast's terms, Boric's team stayed disciplined around a universal values-driven message: "la dignidad del pueblo" ("the dignity of the people").
This wasn't an abstract idea; it was a unifying moral vision that linked the demands from the streets to everyday struggles--fair wages, access to healthcare, LGBTQ+ rights, environmental protection, and democratic renewal. In the second round, the campaign reinforced this universal message with the slogan "Para vivir mejor" ("To live better")--offering dignity, hope, and clarity in place of fear and polarization.
The message was carried by thousands, not just the candidate. Youth activists created viral content on TikTok and Instagram. Feminist networks mobilized door-to-door, reclaiming care work as something political. Musicians, muralists, and meme-makers wove the message into Chile's cultural life. Furthermore, the campaign did not take the bait of Kast's reactionary politics--it instead re-centered the conversation on people's hopes and needs.
Without abandoning values, Boric built a broad coalition across the left and center. His message remained consistent, and his posture signaled universality, unity, and stability. This balancing act turned a protest movement into a political majority.
The result was historic. Voter turnout was record high, with youth participation playing a decisive role. Boric won with 55.8% of the vote--the highest total in Chilean democratic history--and became the country's youngest president.
"Only in the collective construction of a more dignified society can we build a better life for all."
Learn more
D-Hub Resources
- D-Hub. 2024. Stories of Hope. The Fight for Democracy Chronicles, special volume.
Other Resources
- Harvard International Review. 2024. A New Vision for Thailand: Interview with Pita Limjaroenrat.
- Laohabut, Thareerat & Duncan McCargo. 2024. Thailand's Movement Party: The Evolution of the Move Forward Party.
- The Diplomat. 2024. Thai Progressives Have Written a New Script For Political Opposition.
- The Nation. 2023. Pita promises a 'better future' for Thailand with Move Forward.
Download the Volume Today
Take your copy with you and learn how to fight back against authoritarians