What appear as organic 'color revolutions' are often the result of a highly developed, academic playbook. This field, known as 'democratization studies' or 'civil resistance,' is taught at major universities and provides a systematic, step-by-step guide for orchestrating political change from the bottom up.
The National Endowment for Democracy (NED) was established in 1983 to overtly perform functions that had become too scandalous for the CIA to do covertly. Its founder admitted it was created to fund foreign groups that would be compromised if their funding was traced directly to the CIA.
Non-governmental organizations, originally for relief and charity, were co-opted by intelligence agencies for statecraft. Their philanthropic cover provides deniability for covert operations like running supplies, money, and guns, making them effective fronts for what the speaker terms 'the dirtiest deeds.'
The modern concentration of media power isn't a recent phenomenon. It was formalized during WWII when the Pentagon centralized control over radio, print, and Hollywood for propaganda purposes. This government-media relationship persisted and expanded through Cold War intelligence operations like Project Mockingbird.
Modern multinationals avoid the high cost and risk of securing foreign markets themselves. Instead, they 'draft' behind the U.S. government, which uses its diplomatic and military power to create favorable conditions. This effectively socializes geopolitical risk for corporations while they privatize the profits.
Soft power is being deployed through culture. U.S. agencies have funded cultural products, like rap music in Bangladesh, with lyrics explicitly 'designed to get people in the streets.' These anthems are used to mobilize disaffected youth and create social division as part of a larger political destabilization strategy.
The academic theory behind 'people-powered' civil resistance has military origins. Seminal research by figures like Gene Sharp was directly funded with $50 million from the Pentagon's psychological operations unit to develop methods for bottom-up, state-sponsored coups under the guise of grassroots movements.
Sophisticated investors like George Soros operate a triangular model for profit. A hedge fund makes financial bets, an affiliated NGO (like Open Society) creates bottom-up social pressure, and government lobbying ensures top-down policy alignment. This coordinated effort shapes markets to guarantee the hedge fund's returns.