Mass Protests Research Articles

Bruket av revolutionär historia i rysk protestkonst (2008–2012): ett funktionellt perspektiv

The article addresses uses of revolutionary history in the Russian protest art created during Dmitry Medvedev’s presidency (2008–2012) and reception of these uses. Since the protest art is considered by many as an arena where dissatisfaction with the ruling regime, expressed in the mass protests of the winter 2011–2012, was fueled, the article seeks to define whether the uses of revolutionary history have played a role in consolidation of those dissatisfied with the regime. Focusing on the protest artworks created by collectives Vojna and Pussy Riot, the article answers the question by using and developing Klas-Göran Karlsson’s ideas on functionality of the uses of history. The results show that although many recipients understood the meaning conveyed by the artists, the uses of revolutionary history were most of the time dysfunctional due to the existence of “antirevolutionary consensus” in the Russian society. The article offers new answers to the question as to why the protest art failed to engage the Russian society.

Վրաստանի աշխարհաքաղաքական տեղաշարժը. ներքին և արտաքին գործոններ / Georgia's Geopolitical Shift: Internal and External Factors

In the post-Soviet space, the South Caucasus has always stood out as the most conflict-ridden region. Three powerful neighbors of the region - Russia, Turkey and Iran - constantly monitor developments here, seeking to increase the dose of influence. As a result of the change of power, in 2012, the Georgian Dream party came to power in Georgia, and anti-Russian sentiments in the country began to decline. Despite all the pressure, the Georgian authorities did not join the sanctions imposed by the United States and the European Union against Russia. The «Georgian Dream» party put forward a legislative initiative on foreign agents in 2023, after which it faced mass protests. As a result, the bill was withdrawn, but already in the next year, 2024, the majority of members of parliament again introduced the bill and on May 28th it was adopted. In Georgia, in 2023-2024, domestic political processes are taking place around this law, including the issue of changing the foreign policy vector.

Salafism and dialectics of Muslim identity in Nigeria and the Sahel

ABSTRACT Using examples from West Africa, this paper argues that Salafism has become modular. In interrelated trends, some Salafis have revised their postures towards other Muslims, while some non-Salafis selectively adopt elements of Salafism; both trends lead to forms of ‘post-Salafism’. The paper investigates three facets of these nascent ‘post-Salafi’ trends. First, Salafis have championed the hadith report as the main currency of evidence-giving in religious debate, but have lost ‘market share’ in the interpretation of hadith. Second, intellectuals trained in comparative jurisprudence can stake out an appealing middle ground between Salafism and traditionalism. Third, Salafis’ need for coalition partners in politics and society can blur the boundaries of Salafism, even to the point that some Salafis compromise on anti-Sufism, a core element of Salafism. Discussing Nigeria, Mauritania, and Mali, the paper highlights how local contextual factors have affected the construction of Muslim identity since the 1990s. These factors include democratic openings, exhaustion with Sufi-Salafi polemics, the appeal of Shi‘ism, and mass protests with religious colourations.

Football Belongs to the People: A Social Identity Perspective on Attitudes Toward the European Super League in the English Premier League

The announcement of the European Super League (ESL) led to massive protests in England. While the ESL is officially being reshaped and may resurface, there is a dearth of empirical studies on the motives associated with attitudes toward the ESL. In this research, we explored attitudes toward the ESL among Premier League fans by conducting an online survey 36 hours after the ESL announcement (N = 1,346 fans of Premier League clubs, among which 832 fans of the Big Six clubs involved in the ESL). Fans of the Big Six held more positive attitudes toward the ESL compared to fans of the Other 14 Premier League clubs. However, fans of the Big Six also perceived the ESL as more threatening to their relationship with their team and reported less consumption intentions toward their clubs. From a social identity perspective, team narcissism among fans was positively linked to support for the ESL, primarily through glory hunting—a form of fair-weather fandom. In contrast, secure team identification was negatively related to ESL support. We discuss attractiveness of the ESL for team narcissists and the threat it represents for long-standing fans.

How much does a life cost during public protests? Mirroring the Khartoum 2022 mass protest

How much does a life cost during public protests? Mirroring the Khartoum 2022 mass protest

Exploring the formation of choice-based citizenship: a comparative analysis of Hong Kong natives vis-à-vis Chinese immigrants

ABSTRACT This study explores and compares the formation of choice-based citizenship between locally-born Hong Kong natives and Chinese immigrants. Unlike the conventional ‘duty-bound’ concept of citizenship, choice-based citizenship emphasises the autonomy of citizens to practice the civic virtues they consider important, rather than merely fulfilling conventional civic duties. It is considered a more progressive norm of citizenship. With results from a population survey (N = 1,066), this paper argues that while the formation of choice-based citizenship among Hong Kong natives is primarily driven by generational change, similar to what most Western societies have experienced, Hong Kong’s domestic factors play a significant role in the formation of choice-based citizenship among Chinese immigrants. Among these immigrants, choice-based citizenship is associated with their attitudes towards mass protests and news consumption through online media. Furthermore, the moderation effect presented in this paper reveals indications of the cultivation of choice-based citizenship through exposure to television news. By examining the formation of choice-based citizenship, this paper contributes to the exploration of how political socialisation occurs among migrants moving from a relatively authoritarian country to a host country with a relatively liberal environment and established democratic norms.

Mapping Tokyo Olympics 3.0: archaeologies of the future

ABSTRACT Mapping Tokyo Olympics 3.0 is a collaborative sensory archive of demolition and displacement surrounding the three Tokyo Olympics. Understanding the Olympics as a cyclical `practice of subtraction,' where the city is not only rebuilt but unbuilt, we uncover the intertwined layers of the urban development history of these Games and the imperial (1940), high-growth (1964) and post-growth (2020/2021) periods in which they have occurred. Cancelled due to World War II, the first Tokyo Olympics were a phantom event; the second was held in the wake of massive protests against the US-Japan Security Treaty; and the third was postponed and hobbled by the global pandemic amid lingering fears caused by the Fukushima nuclear disaster. Each iteration of the Games has imposed physical effects on the urban landscape of Tokyo with the displacement of vulnerable and precarious persons as a consequence. Mapping the politics of demolition and displacement with the tools of hybrid spatial-sensory ethnography and using intermedial approaches, Mapping Tokyo Olympics 3.0 is a sensory archive of the lived experience of those displacements. Incorporating local knowledge and collaborative research-creation methodologies, we uncover layers of time, history and materiality to embrace contingencies and envision social futures. The sensory mapping archive becomes an archaeology of the future.

Resistance Across Borders: Belarusian Civic Activism in Exile under (Trans-)National Repression

The mass protests following the rigged 2020 presidential elections in Belarus led to unprecedented repression, resulting in the liquidation of over 1,600 NGOs, the imprisonment of hundreds of activists, and the displacement of thousands. After relocating, these activists continued to mobilize resources and use digital platforms to sustain and expand their support networks across borders. Urban activists played a pivotal role in this transformation, though they acutely felt the challenges of relocation due to their dependence on physical urban spaces and their ties to support networks and governmental bodies. This paper investigates the challenges faced by urban activists, post-relocation, as well as their resource mobilization strategies, utilizing surveys of 47 Belarusian NGOs and conducting 20 in-depth semi-structured interviews with urban development experts. It contributes to the understanding of civic activism in exile, emphasizing the strategic use of resources to reorganize activity and resist transnational repression of authoritarian regimes.

Beliefs, strategic interaction, and Hong Kong’s anti-extradition law movement: A game-theoretic analysis

Given the information and beliefs about the possibility of repression, when will the civil society organize protests against the government? Under what conditions will the government repress popular protests? In this paper, I employ a novel signaling game to model the strategic interaction between the regime and civil society during the 2019 Anti-Extradition Law Movement in Hong Kong. I illustrate how information and beliefs influence whether the civil society mobilizes mass protests. Specifically, I examine how government actions shape the civil society’s beliefs about the government type, which in turn determine the protest turnouts and the government’s decision to repress.

Sexual violence against liberian school girls: White benevolence, anti-black racism, and colonial continuities in post conflict recovery

This article addresses the practices of white benevolence as it (re)produces anti-Black racism in the post-conflict country of Liberia. This is undertaken through an analysis of the ProPublica documentary “Unprotected” which chronicles sexual violence against Liberian girls at the More Than Me Academy, linked to the broader practices of gendered colonialism and racism. More than Me was founded in 2008 by Katie Meyler, a young, white American woman, to save Liberian school girls from sexual exploitation by providing them with educational opportunities; but the school became a hunting ground for sexual gender-based violence for which those in charge claimed ignorance. Katie Meyler and More than Me can be placed in the longer, iterative history of colonialism that unfold(ed) in discourses and practices of white benevolence such that structural forms of anti-Black violence are both obscured and tolerated. Furthermore, the article addresses the social reproductive work undertaken by Liberian women, especially those who were at the forefront of mass protests to end the civil war (1989-2003), and who continue to prioritize education and gender equality, viewed as central to sustainable peace and transitional justice.

Interrogating the Dynamics of Social Movements in Burkina Faso and Nigeria

Two waves of mass protests were remarkable across West Africa in the first two decades of the 21st century. Drawing from the experiences of Burkina Faso and Nigeria, this study situates these mass protests within the temporal theory of social movements and argues that the focus of the protests in each wave shifted from protests against specific neoliberal economic reforms to discontent with governance institutions. However, the underlying driver of the mass protests remained the deteriorating condition of the underclass. The study explains the recurring character of mass protests and why they will remain everyday experiences across West Africa.

“The revolution born out of a swear”: populist humour, carnivalization, and mass protest in Romania

ABSTRACT This article aims to make two contributions. First, at a theoretical level, I briefly outline an embedded narrative approach to populism, which is critical of treating it solely as an ideology or ontologizing it. This alternative approach provides a better understanding of the connection between populism, humour, and insults. Second, at an empirical level, I argue that the 2018 mass protests against the political elite in Romania were unique in that they turned a gendered and violent insult into a guiding political slogan, reiterated across both high and popular culture. Influential intellectuals, such as Gabriel Liiceanu, the most reputed public philosopher in Romania, proclaimed that this was a “swear (înjurătură) that unites us all” inspiring a new anti-communist “revolution”. By examining both the political imagination of the “institutional intellectuals” and popular artefacts (from T-shirts to popular songs), I interpret the Romanian protests and the role of “bad language” and populist humour as an expression of the carnivalization of politics and the intensification of antagonism in post-communist Romania.

“Acting on apartheid in a way that is consonant with the Irish people’s love of freedom”: anti-apartheid activism in Ireland, 1959–1994

ABSTRACT This article seeks to provide a broad overview of anti-apartheid activism in Ireland, in doing so, demonstrating that anti-apartheid activists in Ireland forged a distinct identity grounded in Ireland’s anti-colonial history as well their alignment with the African National Congress (ANC) and South African Communist Party (SACP). Focusing on the Irish Anti-Apartheid Movement (IAAM) it highlands the role played by its most prominent figure, the exiled South African academic and senior ANC/SACP member Kader Asmal. Securing a national profile through the mass protest campaign against the 1969–70 Springbok rugby tour, the IAAM portrayed itself as above domestic politics. Nonetheless, efforts to force the disaffiliation of the Provisional Sinn Féin in the early 1980s proved the impossibility of entirely avoiding entanglement in the domestic political climate. The IAAM was also criticised by the women who led the 1984–87 strike against South African goods at Dunnes’ Stores, who saw it as dependent on middle-class support and reluctant to enter the industrial sphere. Drawing on engagement with the IAAM’s internal archive, the article contributes towards filling a substantial gap in the scholarship of anti-apartheid activism globally, as well the study of left-wing activism and trade unionism in late 20th century Ireland.

Трансформация партийной системы Грузии в начале XXI века

This article consists the detailed overview of the transformations of party system of Georgia at the beginning of the current century, since the time of «Rose Revolution» to present days. It considers the main events of «Rose Revolution» and the results of parliamentary elections in Georgia, between 2003 and 2020. Author also pays attention to the biggest conflicts between the governing party and the opposition, including «Rose Revolution» and the massive protest actions against the policy of the governing party, which have been organized by the oppositional parties. It reveals the political conflict between the governing party and the current president of Georgia, which may affect the party system of Georgia.

Revolution or Order? Buddhist Responses to the 2021 Military Coup in Myanmar

The military coup in Myanmar on February 1, 2021 ended a period of semi-civilian rule (2011–2021), bringing the country once again under direct military rule. Recent research into the religious responses to the coup in its early phases indicate that the mass protests were characterised by global internet culture, inter-religious solidarity, and new visions for a plural and democratic Myanmar. The Buddhist Sangha, it is often claimed, remained silent and mainly supportive of the military. Through a multi-method approach to textual analysis, qualitative interviews, and field work, this article seeks to analyse possible shifts in the ways that Buddhism has contributed to both justification of the military’s action and resistance to it. It is argued that Buddhist support for the coup must be understood not only within an instrumentalist framework, but also through what is referred to in this article as a Buddhist Ideology of Order. In opposition to this, a Buddhist revolutionary movement is identified. It envisions radical societal transformations, including of institutional Buddhism itself. Finally, the data show that pro-revolutionary activities go well beyond established monastic revolutionary networks, indicating broader Sangha engagements in the Myanmar Spring Revolution than has often been assumed.

The Political Economics of Non-democracy

We survey recent theoretical and empirical literature on political economics of non-democracies. Nondemocratic regimes face multiple challenges to their rule, both internal, such as palace coups or breakdown of their support coalition, and external, such as mass protests or revolutions. We analyze strategic decisions made by dictators from the standpoint of maximizing the chances of regime survival in the light of these challenges, and show how it explains multiple common patterns, from hiring political loyalists to positions that require competence, to restricting media freedom at the cost of sacrificing bureaucratic efficiency, to running propaganda campaigns, organizing election fraud, purging opponents and associates, and repressing citizens. (JEL D72, D73, D82, D83, L82, O17)

Oikophobia and the crisis of modern Western civilization

The subject of this article is the phenomenon of oikophobia, which in recent decades has attracted the attention of philosophers, political scientists, sociologists and psychologists who tend to interpret it as the origin of many crisis phenomena affecting the modern Western civilization. The term has been used in political contexts to refer critically to political ideologies that are perceived as responsible for repudiating one's own culture, history, traditions and laud others. The simplest way of defining oikophobia is as the opposite extreme of xenophobia. As xenophobia means the fear or hatred of strangers or foreigners, reversely oikophobia means the fear or hatred of home or one's own society or civilization, oikos being the ancient Greek word for home, house, household. The article reveals the essence and content, characteristic manifestations of oikophobia in its narrow and broad meanings, the historical, cultural and intellectual background and sources of its origin and development. The author identifies signs of oikophobia in a number of key political, philosophical and ideological paradigms and concepts. Based on our findings, we suggest that various manifestations of oikophobia, especially those that may provide the ideological basis for mass protest movements, pose a serious challenge to public policy and government institutions not only in Western countries, but also in Russia. Government bodies and non-governmental organizations involved in the process of policy formulation in the spheres of security, information and education should pay attention to the threats and challenges that government institutions in the USA, Great Britain and a number of other Western countries have already dealt with. In our opinion, one of the most relevant areas of interaction between the Russian government and civil society in the field of countering the manifestations of oikophobia should be formulating general criteria for identifying Russophobia, which could be applied not only in the field of scientific research and educational practices, but also in the field of lawmaking and law enforcement.

Less-lethal weapons: ocular trauma in Chile as psychosocial trauma. Challenges from a human rights and comprehensive perspective.

In October 2019 in Chile, massive protests broke out in the so-called social uprising. The repressive response of the armed forces and Carabineros (Police) resulted in serious and mas-sive violations of human rights, with between 400 and 500 victims of ocular trauma caused mainly by shots from anti-riot shotguns, constituting the largest number of cases in the world linked to a single event. It is proposed to evaluate the different dimensions of the impact of ocular trauma due to state violence, using the concept of psychosocial trauma and a support model that integrates the medical-psychological and social dimensions. Human rights violations of the period are described, focusing on cases of ocular trauma, and state and civil society responses. The requests of a survivors' organisations regarding truth, justice and reparation is presented. A clinical case of ocular trauma treated in our centre is analyzed. Survivors of ocular trauma manifest post-traumatic reactions regardless of the severity of their ocular injuries. The impact on the mental health of survi-vors of ocular trauma due to state violence is a phenomenon where the psychic and psychosocial im-pact of trauma due to socio-political violence intersects with the short- and long-term mental health effects. The impact of sociopolitical trauma must be understood considering both the in-dividual and social subject, considering their cultural, socioeconomic and political reality. Recovery from traumatic psychological injury must be addressed in its medical, sensory rehabilitation, psycho-logical and psychosocial dimensions, including processes of social recognition, search for justice and comprehensive reparation of damage. In contexts of impunity, a model is proposed that integrates rehabilitation with psycho-legal support, promotion of agency and organisation, within the frame-work of commitment to the movement and principles of human rights.

Prison overcrowding and ill-treatment: sentence reduction as a reparation measure. A view from Latin America and Europe.

In recent years mass protest movements have taken to the streets in many countries across the world. Despite strong international and domestic legal protections for the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and other fundamental human rights, entire assemblies are frequently labelled violent and less lethal weapons are used to disperse them. This article examines the weapons often used by police against public assemblies. Focusing on striking weapons (batons), chemical irri-tants, kinetic impact projectiles and stun grenades, the article uses examples from various countries to illustrate how these weapons are being used and the associated human rights and health impacts. Re-sults: Worrying trends identified include the use of dangerous or untested equipment, such as thermal foggers to deploy chemical irritants; the use of inherently abusive weapons, such as whips or sjam-boks; and the increasing use of certain types of munitions, specifically indiscriminate kinetic impact projectiles. The article seeks to support medical and legal professionals becoming more familiar with the weapons being used in the countries they practice in, the effects of those weapons, and clinical aspects in the presentation and care of those exposed.

ENSURING HUMAN RIGHTS IN THE CONTEXT OF IMPLEMENTATION OF ELECTRONIC VOTING IN UKRAINE: PERSPECTIVES AND RISKS

Introduction. The article focuses on the advantages of e-voting and the insufficient study of human rights aspects in this process. Therefore, the purpose of the study is to identify public policy strategies for the successful implementation of e-voting in Ukraine, taking into account international experience and ensuring human rights and freedoms in the electoral process. Summary of the main research results. The main findings of the study point to the relevance of introducing e-voting in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic and other challenges. An e-voting system can ensure compliance with international electoral and human rights standards, such as privacy, accessibility, non-discrimination, information, and verification of votes. The experience of foreign countries, in particular Estonia, confirms the success and benefits of e-voting, the analysis of which is important for other countries, including Ukraine, in implementing their e-voting systems. Switzerland, the United States, Norway, Sweden, India, and Brazil have also used e-voting, with varying degrees of success and challenges related to security and privacy. For example, in Switzerland, e-voting was used experimentally in some cantons but faced significant security issues, while in India, EVMs have become standard in most polling stations, increasing public confidence in the electoral process. However, recent events in Brazil and the United States show that unscrupulous politicians can challenge the operation of any electronic voting system, which can lead to mass protests and unrest. The Council of Europe and the Venice Commission have formulated principles and standards for the use of information and communication technologies in electoral processes, which include security, transparency, and respect for fundamental human rights. Ukraine is actively preparing for the introduction of electronic voting, as evidenced by the large number of draft laws that have been registered in the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine but have not yet been adopted, although this indicates an awareness of the need to use digital technologies to ensure citizens' voting rights. Conclusions. The experience of foreign countries confirms the popularity of e-voting due to the development of information and communication technologies. Ukraine, with its high scientific and technical potential, has prospects for introducing e-voting. However, the successful application requires comprehensive preparation, including software certification, pilot projects, personal data protection, strengthening cybersecurity, and the adoption of a special law on the use of e-voting at various levels and the introduction of e-voting as an alternative method along with traditional voting.