Emergent Strategy: Shaping Change, Changing Worlds

adrienne maree brown explains her motivations for writing the book. As someone with extensive experience as a facilitator in social justice movements, brown seeks to offer a more collaborative alternative to the divisive approaches commonly found in social justice work. This introduction, as well as the book’s chapters, is subdivided into sections with italicized titles.

“A few words on what this book is and is not”

brown draws inspiration from nature, its systems, and processes. To mend human relationships, she advocates for mimicking nature’s core elements: “the most ancient systems and patterns” (4). Those committed to social change should look to nature as a rich source of wisdom and study the ways it can inspire more harmonious relationships.

“The Beginning of My Obsession”

Proposing a new framework for social justice work was born out of brown’s own experience with leadership. Instead of models that inspire individualism and oppressive hierarchies, the author champions collaboration and highlights the need for strong relationships among group members.

“What is Emergent Strategy?”

Here, brown defines the two main terms after which the book is named: “emergence” and “strategy.” The former refers to the way numerous, small interactions come together to form intricate, larger systems. The latter refers to the precise methods humans can use to create a fairer and more equitable world through small, everyday interactions with each other.