The Civil Courage Expert: How to use the Chaos Model

If people have civil courage, we can change society in the long term and reduce spirals of violence and violations, believes Kristoffer Fredriksson, business developer at the Bilda study association. The study association regularly organizes courses in civil courage based on the so-called “Kaosmodellen”.

– We want to highlight the fact that there are often people who see something happening and it is important that we take a role in these situations, says Kristoffer Fredriksson.

Kristoffer Fredriksson at the student association Bilda gives two new colleagues a crash course in how the Chaos Model can be used to deal with unpleasant situations where other people are subjected to violence, harassment or violations.

In one exercise, a man is drunk and aggressive towards his wife, a passer-by can then choose to confront, divert, reinterpret or support.

Pretend to recognize someone

Kristoffer Fredriksson shows how it can happen when you reinterpret, he walks up to the aggressive man and pretends to recognize him from school, it becomes disarming and the man comes off.

– This was useful, I thought it was only confrontation that mattered, then you are brave. But it was good to see that you can deal with difficult situations in different ways, says Isak Sidestam, who is also practicing.

His colleague agrees:

– It’s easy to think that someone else should step in and do something, and this is very valuable to have with you if you end up in a situation where someone gets hurt, says Johanna Blom.

It is important to set boundaries

When a father was recently shot in Skärholmen after confronting a youth gang and the spiral of violence increases in society, people may be afraid to intervene. But if many dare to enter the more everyday, less violent situations, together we can change society in the long run, says Kristoffer Fredriksson.

– It is rarely the case that the first thing a person does is pick up a gun and shoot someone, this person has probably behaved inappropriately before but not as grossly. By all of us being involved and being clearer about where the boundaries are, we influence the norms and hopefully the behaviors will not escalate in the same way.