Prefigurative Community Building (Part 40)
Federated Assemblies & Popular Councils: A Power With Framework for Collective Governance
Why We Need Power With Across Communities
Most governance models in our world concentrate power at the top. Decisions are made by a few, then enforced on the many. That approach breeds alienation. It breeds inequality. It leaves communities fragmented and voiceless. That must change.
Federated assemblies or popular councils offer a different path. These bodies bring together people from different groups (neighborhoods, affinity networks, workplace collectives) to form horizontal decision-making structures. They link what’s local to what’s regional. And they do so without hierarchy. This structure is Power With in action: coordination through consent, not control. It builds shared vision while preserving autonomy. It distributes decision-making power. It scales connection without turning into a Power Over system. We need this now more than ever. In turbulent times, we need governance that stays rooted in relationships.
Here is a clear and detailed guide to starting federated assemblies as Power With coordination. You will find explanations, reasoning, helpful frameworks, two real-world examples, and resources every step of the way.
1. Start Locally: Form Base Units First
Every federation begins with local groups. These can be neighborhood associations, worker co-ops, cultural groups, or mutual aid pods. Each group:
Identifies its own membership and values
Practices consent-based decision making
Builds its own capacity and trust
This ensures each unit has internal accountability. None of them exists just to feed a larger body. They are autonomous. They are real. They belong.
Resource: Seeds for Change Consensus Guide
2. Define Purpose: Why Federate at All?
It is essential to agree on why you need a broader assembly. Maybe local groups face shared challenges: evictions, raids, climate emergencies. Maybe they want coordinated campaigns or regional solidarity. Or maybe they simply want a shared space to dialogue and co-design.
Whatever the goal, it must emerge from the grassroots. Without clear purpose, federations become vague or unaccountable.
3. Design Structures That Respect Autonomy
A federated assembly should not replace local decision-making. Instead, it acts as:
A liaison space, where delegates from local bodies gather
A coordinating hub when collective action is needed
A knowledge sharing network, distributing lessons and insights
Each local group sends delegates based on their own process—rotating, voluntary, term-limited. This prevents power accumulation. Delegates are accountable to their base units. They rotate. They return. They carry feedback, not personal mandates.
4. Set Norms and Agreements
From the start, participants should agree on:
Consent-based or consensus decision-making
Rotating facilitation to ensure no one holds control
Shared advocacy and transparency norms
Conflict resolution practices for peer accountability
These norms keep the assembly from becoming elite or opaque. They reinforce that Fed bodies are not Power Over structures dressed in collective language.
Resource: Sociocracy for All
5. Build Working Circles, Not Cabinets
Refuse to centralize tasks into permanent committees or roles. Instead create:
Facilitator pairs that rotate
Logistics circles for events or communication, limited in scope
Ad hoc working groups that meet and dissolve as needed
Make all decisions visible. Use shared documents, open meetings, and written updates. Let local groups hold assemblies for feedback and input.
6. Connect to Concrete Campaigns and Projects
Concrete work keeps federations alive. Ideas might include:
Coordinating rapid accompaniment
Launching eviction solidarity networks
Claiming public spaces together
Supporting food or housing initiatives
Each campaign is rooted locally but informed by wider alliance. Each success and failure belongs to every group. This keeps federation accountable to real-world impact.
Resource: Creative Interventions Toolkit
7. Communicate across Networks Clearly
Coordination relies on clear communication. Use tools like Signal, Loomio, NextCloud chat, or shared calendars. Each delegate brings local updates. Each group receives bulletins and meeting notes. Everything is transparent and archived.
Regular check-ins identify obstacles early. This keeps assemblies responsive and grounded.
8. Evaluate & Iterate Together
Federation is living. It cannot be fixed in bylaws. Set quarterly or monthly reflections. Ask:
Are delegations accountable and legitimate?
Is decision-making accessible and inclusive?
Are our projects effective and collaborative?
What is friction, and why?
Based on reflections, reiterate agreements, fix process gaps, and ensure disabled, racialized, marginalized participants remain centered.
Resource: Beautiful Trouble – Group Culture Tools
9. Support New Federation Nodes
When a neighboring community or group expresses interest in forming a similar local assembly, the instinct may be to integrate them into an existing structure. Resist this. The goal is not to expand the reach of a central body, but to multiply autonomous nodes that are interlinked through shared values and mutual aid. Instead of recruiting them into your assembly, offer mentorship. Share your process documents, facilitation methods, and decision-making protocols. Explain the mistakes you made, and the lessons you’ve learned. Provide blueprints, not blueprints-with-strings-attached. Support them as peers-in-the-making, not subsidiaries. A true Power With federation grows horizontally, through solidarity and shared capacity, not vertically, through absorption.
To support the replication process, consider offering a publicly accessible toolkit or zine with your collective’s working documents. The aim is to empower others to form strong, rooted assemblies that are aligned but not dependent. A resilient federation is not a franchise, it’s a field of thriving mutuals.
Resources:
Cooperation Jackson Community Production Handbook
Solidarity Economy Principles by the US Solidarity Economy Network
Patterns for Decentralised Organising
Microsolidarity's Community Building Guide
10. Ensure Sustainability and Care
Federations are made of people, not machinery. And people carry histories, vulnerabilities, obligations, and limitations. Burnout is not a personal failure, it is often the result of care deficits baked into our organizing cultures. To create truly sustainable federations, it is essential to embed care into every layer of the structure. This means building in rhythms of rest, practices of emotional processing, and shared expectations that nobody needs to be “always on.” Mutual aid should extend inward, not just outward. Create systems for rotational leadership, buddy systems for accountability, and collective check-ins that normalize stepping back when needed. Ensure access needs are met, whether that's childcare, mobility, neurodivergence support, language accessibility, or trauma-informed facilitation. And recognize that celebration is a vital part of sustainability; marking shared achievements fosters joy and cohesion, making the work worth continuing.
Building sustainable federations doesn’t just mean keeping the work going, it means protecting the people who make the work possible, and fostering cultures where care is not peripheral but central.
Resources:
Catalyst Project’s Collective Care Guide
Healing Justice Practice Spaces
Sins Invalid’s Disability Justice Principles
Sustainable Activism Toolkit by 350.org
Two Living Examples: Federations in Action
1. Federation of Egalitarian Communities (FEC) — U.S.
A voluntary network of egalitarian communes across the U.S. FEC links independent communities through delegate councils. It supports communal living, decision tools, rotating delegates, shared education and security frameworks. Decisions always require consent from base groups.
2. Zapatista Governing Councils — Mexico
In Chiapas, Indigenous Zapatista communities created autonomous municipalities. Local village councils elect delegates to regional bodies. Those bodies send further delegates to statewide councils. Delegates serve with term limits, rotate, and always return as the voices of their base. Their governance structure centers Indigenous land defense and collective liberation.
Read Change the World Without Taking Power by John Holloway
Conclusion: Federating for Freedom and Belonging
We need governance that does not mimic the power-over systems of the old world. Federated assemblies offer a meaningful alternative. They are flexible, distributed, and rooted in real communities. They articulate a shared vision while honoring autonomy.
They are not perfect. They require constant care. They demand trust. But they also embody the world we want. They offer governance not as control but as care. Coordination that uplifts. Solidarity that binds. Autonomy that interconnects.
That is Power With in its highest form.
Yes, amazing!