Theoretical Tools

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The Collective Tools Project provides a toolbox that facilitates, supports, and improves cooperation in groups and collectives.

On this page, you will find theoretical tools: texts we have written based on our research on collective practices, as well as a bibliography and a glossary. This material complements the practical tools and helps to better understand the challenges of collective dynamics and take a step back from our practices.

Brave Space

  • Repair the bond
  • Dissolve the bond
  • Form a bond
  • Maintain the bond

The brave space concept, which could be translated as "supportive space", is an alternative to dominant public spaces and safe spaces. It promotes openness and engagement with difficult topics in a respectful and growth-oriented environment.

Facilitator

  • Repair the bond
  • Dissolve the bond
  • Form a bond
  • Maintain the bond

The facilitator tends to be of utmost importance in a meeting, discussion, or work session. Here, you will find valuable guidance to fulfil this role as effectively as possible.

Facts, opinions, feelings

  • Repair the bond
  • Dissolve the bond

This article explores the tendency we all have to express ourselves in the form of opinions, losing sight of the precise facts or the feelings that underlie them.

Four Forms of Power (According to Starhawk)

  • Repair the bond
  • Dissolve the bond

This article is a summary of the four forms of power defined by Starhawk: power-over, power-from-within, collective power, and power-with.

How to Communicate

  • Dissolve the bond
  • Form a bond
  • Maintain the bond
  • Repair the bond

How to do justice

  • Dissolve the bond
  • Repair the bond

For restorative justice to work, both parties must participate voluntarily; those responsible for the harm must acknowledge and accept their responsibility.

Imago

  • Dissolve the bond

Making social myths visible within a group (according to Gérard Bouchard)

  • Form a bond
  • Maintain the bond

For what reasons do conflicts sometimes arise without any obvious cause? Perhaps because disappointments occur due to unspoken levels of expectation and hope. This article aims to explore such misunderstandings.

Mediation: Advantages and Disadvantages

  • Repair the bond
  • Dissolve the bond

In the event of a conflict within a collective, we tend to act autonomously, without external help. This article weighs the pros and cons of using mediation.

Neurodiversity and neurodivergence

  • Form a bond
  • Maintain the bond

 In any human group, there will inevitably be a diversity of cognitive functioning, partly due to the neurodivergence of its members. Taking neurodiversity into account within a collective may require specific adjustments, such as adapting lighting, adjusting the duration and frequency of breaks, or modifying communication and interaction methods. This article introduces the various forms of neurodivergence and the key issues surrounding neurodiversity.

Nonviolent communication (according to Marshall B. Rosenberg)

  • Dissolve the bond
  • Form a bond
  • Maintain the bond
  • Repair the bond

Nonviolent Communication is a technique that "transforms potential conflicts into peaceful dialogues" (Marshall B. Rosenberg, Nonviolent Communication: A Language of Life, Jouvence Editions, 2016). We explain here how it works and the criticism that can be made of it.

Power

  • Repair the bond
  • Dissolve the bond

The question of power is central to collectives, especially when aiming to establish horizontal dynamics (without hierarchy). Power is neither inherently good nor bad; it is essential to discuss it when working collectively and throughout the life of the group. Different categorizations of power by La Caravelle and Starhawk are presented here.

The Illusion of Horizontalism (According to Jo Freeman)

  • Repair the bond
  • Form a bond
  • Maintain the bond

Jo Freeman, in The Tyranny of Structurelessness, demonstrates that no group is truly without structure: when structures are not named, power dynamics become opaque and uncontrollable. Acknowledging and making roles explicit allows them to be questioned, adjusted, and prevents hidden hierarchies. Rather than striving for an illusory horizontalism, the goal should be to build evolving structures that adapt to the skills and needs of the collective.

Verticality/Horizontality

  • Repair the bond
  • Dissolve the bond

The Advantages and Disadvantages of Acting Horizontally or Vertically in a Group.

Brave Space

  • Repair the bond
  • Dissolve the bond
  • Form a bond
  • Maintain the bond

The brave space concept, which could be translated as "supportive space", is an alternative to dominant public spaces and safe spaces. It promotes openness and engagement with difficult topics in a respectful and growth-oriented environment.

Facts, opinions, feelings

  • Repair the bond
  • Dissolve the bond

This article explores the tendency we all have to express ourselves in the form of opinions, losing sight of the precise facts or the feelings that underlie them.

How to Communicate

  • Dissolve the bond
  • Form a bond
  • Maintain the bond
  • Repair the bond

Imago

  • Dissolve the bond

Mediation: Advantages and Disadvantages

  • Repair the bond
  • Dissolve the bond

In the event of a conflict within a collective, we tend to act autonomously, without external help. This article weighs the pros and cons of using mediation.

Nonviolent communication (according to Marshall B. Rosenberg)

  • Dissolve the bond
  • Form a bond
  • Maintain the bond
  • Repair the bond

Nonviolent Communication is a technique that "transforms potential conflicts into peaceful dialogues" (Marshall B. Rosenberg, Nonviolent Communication: A Language of Life, Jouvence Editions, 2016). We explain here how it works and the criticism that can be made of it.

The Illusion of Horizontalism (According to Jo Freeman)

  • Repair the bond
  • Form a bond
  • Maintain the bond

Jo Freeman, in The Tyranny of Structurelessness, demonstrates that no group is truly without structure: when structures are not named, power dynamics become opaque and uncontrollable. Acknowledging and making roles explicit allows them to be questioned, adjusted, and prevents hidden hierarchies. Rather than striving for an illusory horizontalism, the goal should be to build evolving structures that adapt to the skills and needs of the collective.

Facilitator

  • Repair the bond
  • Dissolve the bond
  • Form a bond
  • Maintain the bond

The facilitator tends to be of utmost importance in a meeting, discussion, or work session. Here, you will find valuable guidance to fulfil this role as effectively as possible.

Four Forms of Power (According to Starhawk)

  • Repair the bond
  • Dissolve the bond

This article is a summary of the four forms of power defined by Starhawk: power-over, power-from-within, collective power, and power-with.

How to do justice

  • Dissolve the bond
  • Repair the bond

For restorative justice to work, both parties must participate voluntarily; those responsible for the harm must acknowledge and accept their responsibility.

Making social myths visible within a group (according to Gérard Bouchard)

  • Form a bond
  • Maintain the bond

For what reasons do conflicts sometimes arise without any obvious cause? Perhaps because disappointments occur due to unspoken levels of expectation and hope. This article aims to explore such misunderstandings.

Neurodiversity and neurodivergence

  • Form a bond
  • Maintain the bond

 In any human group, there will inevitably be a diversity of cognitive functioning, partly due to the neurodivergence of its members. Taking neurodiversity into account within a collective may require specific adjustments, such as adapting lighting, adjusting the duration and frequency of breaks, or modifying communication and interaction methods. This article introduces the various forms of neurodivergence and the key issues surrounding neurodiversity.

Power

  • Repair the bond
  • Dissolve the bond

The question of power is central to collectives, especially when aiming to establish horizontal dynamics (without hierarchy). Power is neither inherently good nor bad; it is essential to discuss it when working collectively and throughout the life of the group. Different categorizations of power by La Caravelle and Starhawk are presented here.

Verticality/Horizontality

  • Repair the bond
  • Dissolve the bond

The Advantages and Disadvantages of Acting Horizontally or Vertically in a Group.

Brave Space

  • Repair the bond
  • Dissolve the bond
  • Form a bond
  • Maintain the bond

The brave space concept, which could be translated as "supportive space", is an alternative to dominant public spaces and safe spaces. It promotes openness and engagement with difficult topics in a respectful and growth-oriented environment.

Four Forms of Power (According to Starhawk)

  • Repair the bond
  • Dissolve the bond

This article is a summary of the four forms of power defined by Starhawk: power-over, power-from-within, collective power, and power-with.

Imago

  • Dissolve the bond

Neurodiversity and neurodivergence

  • Form a bond
  • Maintain the bond

 In any human group, there will inevitably be a diversity of cognitive functioning, partly due to the neurodivergence of its members. Taking neurodiversity into account within a collective may require specific adjustments, such as adapting lighting, adjusting the duration and frequency of breaks, or modifying communication and interaction methods. This article introduces the various forms of neurodivergence and the key issues surrounding neurodiversity.

The Illusion of Horizontalism (According to Jo Freeman)

  • Repair the bond
  • Form a bond
  • Maintain the bond

Jo Freeman, in The Tyranny of Structurelessness, demonstrates that no group is truly without structure: when structures are not named, power dynamics become opaque and uncontrollable. Acknowledging and making roles explicit allows them to be questioned, adjusted, and prevents hidden hierarchies. Rather than striving for an illusory horizontalism, the goal should be to build evolving structures that adapt to the skills and needs of the collective.