Popular Mobilization Research Articles

Interrupting circulations: the politics of infrastructure in contemporary mobilisations for Palestine

An unprecedented popular mobilisation for Palestine has in recent months engaged with the transnational infrastructures that enable and sustain the settler-colonial occupation and genocidal onslaught in Palestine. A series of mobilisations has taken flows of energy, armaments and capital as their terrain of struggle. Solidarity activists have targeted arms factories, military tankers, coal mines and oil companies in attempts to disrupt the production and circulation of key commodities that make Israel’s settler-colonial occupation possible. The authors argue that attention to the infrastructural politics of these disruptions is crucial for several reasons. Firstly, beyond symbolic actions, resolutions or condemnations, these disruptions take solidarity as a material practice, and offer a diagnostic tool to reveal the transnational, historical and material underpinnings of Israeli settler-colonialism. Second, the authors argue that locating ‘circuits’ of struggle, and centring the histories of indigenous anti-colonial resistance that inform contemporary tactics of intervention and interruption, opens up possibilities for a radical internationalist politics of solidarity, with Palestine at its heart.

The Fragility of Democracy: Political Conflict in South Asia

The complex interplay between political conflict and democratic fragility in South Asia is the focus of this research paper. The study examines South Asia to understand how conflict catalyzes and hinders democratic progress. The research delves deep into the root causes of conflict, including socio-economic disparities, ethnic and religious tensions, and institutional weaknesses. It analyzes how conflict can trigger democratic reforms through popular mobilization and erode governance and institutions. The study highlights the fragility of democratic systems in the face of deep-rooted conflicts and the challenges of balancing competing interests. It underscores the need for South Asian nations to address underlying grievances to strengthen democratic institutions and foster inclusive dialogue to navigate conflict constructively and secure a stable democratic future. The research employs a qualitative approach, relying on a comprehensive literature review and case study analysis to draw insights into the multifaceted relationship between political conflict and democratic development in the selected region.

Securitization of the 2017 Kurdistan independence referendum

The Kurdish right to self-determination within Iraq has consistently been framed as a security issue by successive Iraqi governments. This paper applies securitization theory to analyze the Iraqi Government’s response to the Kurdistan Region’s unilateral independence referendum held on September 25, 2017. The referendum, which resulted in a strong vote in favor of independence, was viewed as a serious threat to Iraq’s unity by Iraqi Arab political and military forces, as well as Turkmen groups. In response, the Iraqi Government chose to take military action. On October 16, 2017, the Iraqi military, along with Popular Mobilization Forces (PM), launched an attack on Kurdish Peshmerga forces in the disputed territories, taking control of them. While many studies have explored various aspects of the Kurdistan referendum, including its timing, motivations, and consequences, there has been limited focus on how the Iraqi federal government’s securitization of the referendum facilitated military interventions in the contested territories. This article explores how Iraqi leaders’ rhetoric and securitizing language framed the referendum as an existential threat.

ICT Use and Entrepreneurial Mobilization of Chinese Grassroots Activists In and Beyond Cyberspace

While prevailing scholarship commonly asserts that information and communication technologies (ICTs) significantly facilitate mass mobilization, a growing body of literature questions the mobilization potential of technologies alone. This literature proposes that ICTs might redirect offline participation by promoting low-risk and low-cost online collective actions, especially in the absence of linkage between offline and online tactics. In the context of these debates, this article explores the nuanced synergies between the online and offline mobilization strategies of individual activists and their underlying motives. It does so through an in-depth ethnographic case study of popular protest mobilization in a Chinese locality. Through an integration of the traditional entrepreneurial mobilization model with the concept of mediatization, this study delves into the intricate mobilization strategies and underlying motives of activists. The findings reveal that through a strategic convergence of offline and online tactics, including extension, amalgamation, and substitution, activists adeptly choreographed and presented protest repertoires, thereby fostering the development of mass mobilization. The research posits that the efficacy of ICTs in mobilization is contingent upon activists’ adeptness in leveraging the norms and practices of ICTs to pursue collective objectives suited to social contexts, thus circumventing the pitfalls of “clicktivism.”

Eco-Political Conflict and Communal Environmentalism in the Struggle of Atenco Against the Construction of a New International Airport in Mexico City

This essay explores, from an eco-political perspective, the popular mobilization led by peasants in the municipality of Atenco against Mexico City’s new international airport. It provides a case study of the dramatic worldwide changes brought about by the construction of mega-infrastructure, the intimate link between peasant communities’ social and cultural values, the lake and agricultural land put at risk by the airport construction project, and the subsequent struggle in defense of the lake and land affected by this project. Finally, it narrates the experience of the #YoPrefieroElLago (Hashtag I prefer the lake) campaign, which, amidst the presidential transition in Mexico, resulted in the airport’s cancellation, a victory for the People’s Front in Defense of Land.

Waves of Popular Contention and Democracy in Denmark, 1700–2000

AbstractContrary to the dominant narrative of the historical formation of democracy in Denmark, which emphasises a smooth and gradual linear transition to democracy and modernity, this paper accentuates a discontinuous and contentious road towards democratisation. Based on quantitative and qualitative sources, this article identifies four major waves of popular mobilisation that paved the way for the introduction and expansion of political rights. The first wave of popular protest began in the 1830s and culminated in 1848 with the fall of absolutism and the transition to constitutional monarchy. The next protest wave from 1885 to 1887 arose from the so‐called ‘constitutional struggle’ and mobilised hundreds of thousands of ordinary Danes and contributed to the nationalisation and parliamentarisation of the political system. The third wave unfolded around the end of the Second World War, while the hitherto last wave of popular struggle erupted in 1968 with the youth rebellion. The analysis shows that ‘democracy’ was the central issue of contention in all four protest waves and supports the main thesis that periods of intense interaction between popular protest and the state have had a decisive formative influence on the genesis and further development of Danish democracy.

THE POSITION OF THE TWO IRAQI KURDISH PARTIES (PDK, PUK) ON THE SINJAR AGREEMENT 2020

On October 10, 2020, the Sinjar agreement was signed to restore stability and normalise the situation between the federal government in Baghdad and the Kurdistan Regional Government-Iraq after a disagreement and conflict between the two parties on how to manage the district in terms of administration and security. Following the deteriorating situation that the Sinjar district has become after its liberation from the terrorist organisation ISIS in 2016, the agreement the territory. This study aims to indicate the official position of both Kurdish parties on the aforementioned agreement. The analysis also assumes that there is a difference in their positions on the deal based on several reasons. However, this agreement dates back to the situation in the district before the occupation of ISIS and the returning of the Kurdish influence to the region. However, the position of the two Kurdish parties was different regarding the agreement. The Kurdish Democratic Party (KDP) was more interested in the agreement and its implementation compared to the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), and this comes because the performance of the agreement will restore the influence of the KDP to the district exclusively and will remove the impact of the allies of the PUK from the militias of the Kurdistan Workers Party PKK and the Popular Mobilization Forces PMF from it.

El culte als 'homes de lletres' i els seus usos a la Catalunya del Vuit-cents: els casos de Jaume Balmes i Antoni de Capmany

This paper analyses the main displays of posthumous cults of commemoration for the figures of Jaume Balmes and Antoni de Capmany that took place in Catalonia between approximately 1848 and 1891. Inscribing these tribute initiatives in the wider scholarship on the political uses of death and the public celebration of great men, we identify them as turning points in the cultural practice of public commemorations dedicated to writers, artists and intellectuals. Balmes and Capmany were erected as collective reference points by a significant segment of the Catalan ruling classes who were in some way attached to the liberal regime. In doing so, they sought to provide themselves with prestigious cohesive symbols for a society they wished to distance both from reactionary positions and from revolutionary popular mobilisation. Through the symbolic figures of Balmes and Capmany, the promoters of these commemorative cults were able to shore up their own reputation and claim a leading role within the Spanish nation for the local and regional areas in which they were active.

People, Pamphlets and Popular Mobilisation in the Aragonese Rebellion of 1591

In 1591, Philip II faced a revolt from his Aragonese subjects. A good number of nobles, priests and citizens were involved in the rebellion, but artisans, farmers and other members of the people also played a role in it. The article focuses on this important conflict, emphasising the relevance of popular intervention and how it was mobilised by the pamphlets which the leaders of the movement commissioned and spread by diverse means in order to gain the support of the less privileged ranks of Aragonese society. In this sense, the Aragonese Rebellion of 1591 offers a good example of popular mobilisation and of the limits of popular agency within a political conflict during the Early Modern Age.

The Cultural Life of Democracy: Notes on Popular Sovereignty, Culture and Arts in Sri Lanka’s Aragalaya

This paper explores the emergence of a demotic style of politics alongside demotic forms of cultural and esthetic expression during Sri Lanka’s 2022 political struggle dubbed the aragalaya (struggle). It argues that the aragalaya opened up a discursive space to reimagine democratic politics in Sri Lanka and the role of aesthetics and culture in such popular-democratic political mobilization. However, the paper also argues that such popular political mobilization and its attendant cultural expression needs to be considered cautiously because its potential is politically and culturally ambiguous. By tracing a critical genealogy of the notion of the “people” in Sri Lankan political history and extending this genealogy to how the “people” was reimagined as an agential collective during the aragalaya and by looking at aesthetic and cultural practices that were foregrounded during the aragalaya—particularly the music of Ajith Kumarasiri—the paper argues that the demotic understanding of the people and the demotic cultural forms that gained prominence within the aragalaya offer a counterpoint to the deeply corrupt and exclusionary mainstream political culture of the country. A central concept used to frame this argument is the analytical and methodological heuristic of the “cultural life of democracy.”

The paradox of global capitalism in crisis and global popular free mobilisation: The merger of the tourist and the temporary resident

Instability is inherent in global capitalism, impacting all countries, particularly those directly reliant on this economic framework. The USA shapes tourism metrics in dependent nations and influences inbound tourism spending. Using logarithmic models and power tests, the study delineated four dynamic fields (Cn) supporting the thesis of the fusion of tourism and temporary residency. This study demonstrates that tourism and migration correlate with political, economic, and social instability, as evidenced by high statistical correlations. Variance increases during instability, leading to more residency petitions per tourist entry. This pattern is repeated during three major crises: the 2008–2009 financial crisis, the 2011–2013 conflicts in the Middle East and Africa, and the 2016–2017 regional political turmoil and Venezuelan migration. Economic classification tests confirm the association between instability, armed conflict, and heightened tourism and residency tendencies. Tourism income rises steadily, and residency averages increase, especially during periods of regional instability. The study highlights the tight link between tourism and migration with political, economic, and social instability. The statistical analysis reveals significant correlations, showing higher residency pressure during unstable periods. The applied tests confirm that countries in turmoil exhibit heightened tourism and migration tendencies.

Citizen awakening? Exploring legal consciousness in a context of mass political mobilization

AbstractUnder what conditions will people be inclined to seek remedy when facing rights violations? While some socio-legal scholars have found structural position and/or the ideological macro-context to be the key factors shaping individuals’ legal consciousness, often inhibiting their pursuit of remedies, others contend that social experiences and political interventions, including participation in social movements, affect people’s willingness to demand redress. What happens, then, when a diffuse popular mobilization challenges a state’s fundamental normative framework and demands justice and rights for long-excluded sectors of the population? This article offers empirical and theoretical insights to these debates based on results from a nationally representative survey conducted in Chile at the height of such a mass political mobilization. In this context of widespread citizen engagement and collective claim-making, we find that participation in the protests and self-perceived knowledge of where to turn are statistically related to individuals’ professed willingness to pursue a formal remedy across two hypothetical rights violation scenarios. These findings suggest that participation in protests might have an empowerment effect on those who take part, even among disadvantaged groups, opening new avenues for research at the intersection of socio-legal and political participation studies.

Activism in the era of democratic backsliding: explaining the efficacy of the clean-air campaigns in Poland

ABSTRACT Recent scholarship on popular mobilization and activism in Central and East Europe suggests a shift from institutionalized civil society organizations towards grassroots mobilization. Whilst the emergence of such citizen-led activism across the region can be traced back to the anti-neoliberal urban movements that arose in the 2010s in the immediate post EU-accession period, the so-called “illiberal turn” and the legal restrictions placed on formal civil society organizations by radical right and conservative politicians have arguably exacerbated the shift and momentum. In Poland, the reaction of political elites to air pollution activism and the apparent responsiveness of policymakers is particularly puzzling given the “green conservatism” bordering on “environmental nativism” of the Law and Justice government (2015-2023). Building on semi-structured interviews conducted with 30 policymakers and activists involved in the clean air campaign in Poland, we contend that their success in terms of increased public awareness and positive government response is a consequence of the concurrence of (i) a particular (health) framing of air pollution, (ii) the devolution of power and responsibility for managing air quality to regional government, (iii) the circulation of new information and data, and (iv) the emergence of new actors and activist strategies.

Introduction to the special issue: Authoritarianism and religion in South Asia: Trends and twists

AbstractReligious sentiments have become a potent tool for political elites, altering national identities and citizenship criteria. This manipulation, driven by majoritarian ideologies, has marginalized religious minorities, leading to discrimination, violence, and legal persecution against them. Hindu, Islamic, and Buddhist nationalisms seem to collectively erode secular democracy in South Asia. Moreover, right‐wing populist leaders, notably Modi in India and the Rajapaksas in Sri Lanka, have merged religious nationalism with authoritarian political orientations posing a challenge to democratic foundations and impacting significantly on the dynamics of state and societal relations. This is the context in which this World Affairs 2024 special issue delves into the relationship(s) between religion, politics, and authoritarianism in the South Asian region. It examines the evolving “religion‐politics” nexus or “complex” to explicate the relationship between religion and authoritarianism, particularly with respect to authoritarian governments mobilizing religion as a readily available resource for popular political mobilization, legitimization, and power consolidation. India's BJP employs Hindutva ideology to marginalize minorities, Bangladesh's regime uses Islam for political legitimacy, and Sri Lanka's Sinhala‐Buddhist nationalism fosters exclusionary policies. By fostering social and cultural polarization, this fusion of authoritarianism with religious nationalism poses a serious challenge to the secular state. The articles in this special issue explore these themes comprehensively, delving into the ideological foundations of political decisions and their consequences for marginalized communities. By shedding light on this multifaceted interplay, the collection offers valuable insights into South Asia's sociopolitical landscape, serving as a vital resource for scholars, policy makers, and global observers seeking to understand the region's complex dynamics.

Why Malawi's Democracy Endures

Abstract: While other African states experienced democratic erosion, Malawi has defied the odds and weathered attacks on its democracy, including those initiated by its powerful presidents. As a "hard place" for democracy—a poor country with a long authoritarian past and politically relevant ethnic divisions—what explains the resilience of Malawi's democracy? The courts and civil society served as countervailing forces against democratic backsliding. Through legal challenges and popular mobilizations, they have countered attempts by presidents to consolidate power and extend their terms. Unfortunately for Malawians, these countervailing forces were likely facilitated by other negative conditions, namely economic distress and presidential unpopularity. Malawi's experience, complemented by Zambia's recent pivot away from authoritarianization, provides some optimism for those concerned about democratic backsliding in Africa by demonstrating the potential for resilience even in challenging contexts.

Politicians and Popular Mobilization Against Brazil's Military Dictatorship - Until the Storm Passes: Politicians, Democracy, and the Demise of Brazil's Military Dictatorship. By Bryan Pitts. Oakland: University of California Press, 2023. Pp, 268. $24.95 paper.

Politicians and Popular Mobilization Against Brazil's Military Dictatorship - Until the Storm Passes: Politicians, Democracy, and the Demise of Brazil's Military Dictatorship. By Bryan Pitts. Oakland: University of California Press, 2023. Pp, 268. $24.95 paper.

Collective (Non-)Memory of the Iran-Iraq War and Sectarian Thinking among Veterans-Turned-Shi'i Militia Fighters

This article redefines sectarianism as sectarian thinking via an ethnography of Shi'i militia fighters in Iraq and their relationships with the past. I explain this redefinition by tracing memories and histories that motivated Iraqi Shi'i veterans of the IranIraq War to join the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF). Accordingly, I argue that everyday sectarian thinking in Iraq is less ideologically grounded than commonly presumed and rather feeds on memories, histories, and socialization in violence. I highlight how acts of non-remembrance and a lack of engagement with memories of the Iran-Iraq War fuel sectarian thinking and justify sectarian inhumanities.

A Delicate Balance: Iraq’s Security Culture Between Iran and the United States

Iraq’s leaders are working to modernise its national-security institutions, and to manage the challenges arising from multiple subnational armed groups. The main groups, the Kurdish Peshmerga and the largely Shia Popular Mobilisation Units, or Hashd, are linked to the armed forces, but enjoy considerable autonomy. Iraq also has militias linked to region-wide resistance forces with ties to Iran. The Gaza war has triggered dozens of lethal encounters between these groups and the 2,500 US troops in Iraq, leading Baghdad to renegotiate the terms of security cooperation with Washington. Even if US and NATO forces leave Iraq, the Iraqi government will work to balance its relations with Tehran and Washington. Iraq therefore has a role to play in determining how the region finds a new equilibrium after the Gaza war. Iraq’s emerging security culture also provides an important case study of a country in transition from authoritarian rule.

Conciliating Subaltern and Liminal Geopolitics: Reggio Emilia’s City Diplomacy and the Geographies of Lusophone Africa’s Decolonisation

ABSTRACT This paper discusses the story of a generous popular mobilisation that made possible a peculiar experience of transnational cooperation since the early 1970s. That is, the campaigns in solidarity with Mozambican anticolonial resistance that made the small town of Reggio Emilia (Italy) a key place in the processes of Lusophone Africa decolonisation, to the point that an often-told anecdote reports that many Mozambican people sympathetic with anti-colonialist organisation Frelimo believed that Reggio Emilia was the ‘capital’ of Italy. Indeed, it was mostly from the Emilian town that concrete aid arrived from Italy to Frelimo’s clandestine guerrilla bases between Tanzania and Northern Mozambique. Based on the exceptional archives surviving in Reggio, which abundantly document the Reggio-Africa solidarity experience showing that it was not limited to Mozambique, and on original interviews with surviving protagonists, this paper extends and connects for the first time literature on city diplomacy with scholarship on critical, subaltern and liminal geopolitics of decolonisation. I especially argue for giving more consideration to a ‘radical city diplomacy’, which provides examples for constructing geopolitical challenges form below to the state and the territorial models that have dominated mainstream geopolitics hitherto.

Protesting power-sharing: citizenship acts and eventful protest in divided societies

ABSTRACT This article examines waves of citizen protest against the ethnic citizenship regime of consociational power-sharing. It seeks to contribute to research on power-sharing by bringing together the literature on “acts of citizenship” and “eventful protest” to show how protest waves in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Iraq and Lebanon seek to contest, destabilize, reimagine, and enact new forms of inclusive citizenship in ethnically divided societies. While research suggests that popular mobilization has destabilizing effects on power-sharing, this paper indicates that protest forms offer important forms of democratic participation and renewal for consociational systems. Towards this, the article illuminates four interweaving citizenship frames developed in protests: Citizens (Demos) versus Elites (Ethnos); Trans-sectarian; Inclusionary; and Inclusionary. The article draws on interviews, media and policy data to explore the voice of protestors.