USAID-Funded “Revolution Consultants” Are Training Activists Inside the United States
The regime-change tactics being taught inside America
USAID-funded “revolution consultants” training protesters how to topple governments and advance left-wing social causes are embedded across U.S. universities and training American activists how to carry out the same operations in the U.S.
The Center for Applied Nonviolent Action and Strategies (CANVAS), headquartered in Serbia, openly markets its expertise in “building and running successful non-violent movements.” They aim to “engage with students as much as with activists.”
CANVAS received funding from USAID, which has historically used these same protest tactics to topple regime across the world. The money came through the Civil Society Engagement Program in Georgia, a five-year program that started on November 1, 2021. The program is worth $17 million.
What makes CANVAS extraordinary is not merely that it receives USAID support but that the same USAID-funded training model has been embedded inside American universities and U.S.-based activist programs.
From its own materials, CANVAS states:
“From CANVAS’ headquarters in Belgrade, Serbia, we operate a network of international trainers and consultants with expertise in building and running successful non-violent movements.”
And:
“These revolutionary ‘know-hows’ are available for free download on this website. Additionally, our trainers regularly teach courses on nonviolent strategy at a variety of educational institutions worldwide.”
That includes the United States.
According to its own published metrics, CANVAS claims:
52 countries in which it has been active
16,048 activists successfully trained
126 “successful campaigns” inspired by CANVAS
While operating from Belgrade, CANVAS has deliberately embedded itself inside American higher education. Documented collaborations include work alongside:
Harvard University
New York University
Tufts University
Colorado College
Grinnell College
The most striking case is Colorado College, where CANVAS has worked in cooperation since 2006, including a dedicated CANVAS block inside the Department of Political Science. Beyond that, CANVAS has:
Developed Strategic Nonviolent Action coursework with the University of Essex
Taught Introduction to Peace and Conflict Studies at Grinnell College
Designed Waging Non-Violent Conflict: Organizing for Social Change at NYU, formally adopted in 2021
This is not occasional guest lecturing. It is curriculum-level integration of a doctrine explicitly built to apply pressure, destabilize authority, and force political change.
The CANVAS model does not stop at lectures or theory. In the United States, it has been translated into hands-on activist tooling housed inside elite universities.
https://nataliegwinters.substack.com/p/exc-usaid-funded-revolution-consultants