Gaming Protest

Abstract

This article mobilises critical theory concerning the “gaming” of political systems and investigates how that theory corresponds to the contemporary moment when, supported by the ease of communication and organisation that social media offers, protest has become a ubiquitous part of the debate and performance of political systems - at least, in countries where protest is not violently quashed or outlawed. By proposing that right wing economic elites and political outliers have begun to mobilise protest to disrupt the stability and authority of de jure power while simultaneously consolidating their de facto power, this article makes the case that a “gaming” of protest is increasingly in effect within populist political orthodoxies. Drawing on the Trump administration’s ‘Save America’ rally, which immediately preceded the US Capitol riot of 6 January 2021, this example of gamed protest highlights how the symbolic power of protest can be activated to exacerbate perceived threats to entrenched national narratives such as “the American Dream”, while further elevating the sense that the economic elites who encouraged this protest are somehow disenfranchised. Although operating within siloed spheres and echo chambers, such acts still pose dangerous real world consequences as well as increase disillusionment within political economies.