Noise-making vs. Policy asks

In today’s posts, both Marc Gustafson and Esther Sprague point to the evolution of activism on Darfur from being focused on generating noise (what Gustafson terms “awareness campaigns”) to calling for specific policies (what Gustafson calls “advocacy campaigns”). Certainly when it comes to the SDC I see this transition as a struggle which played out in 2006 – from the mass rallies where SDC “noise” was at its peak, to the initially misguided attempts to get into policy as the corner turned into 2007 with the ill-fated Richardson “hi-speed diplomacy” trip. More on this tomorrow . . .