Street Demonstrations Research Articles

Colonial Containment? Repression of Pro-Independence Street Demonstrations in Algiers, Casablanca and Paris, 1945–1962

This article draws on three examples of the violent repression of pro-independence nationalist street demonstrations: Casablanca, 7–8 December 1952; Algiers, 10–13 December 1960; Paris, 17 October 1961. Changes in the urban landscape due to migration, urban planning and housing policy brought the threat perceptions of the colonial authorities to centre upon certain poor districts and their inhabitants, in the context of strengthening pro-independence nationalism. These developments help explain where and how this lethal repression took place, as well as its key objectives (containment, punishment, deterrence). The late colonial authorities experienced great difficulties in spatially containing pro-independence demonstrations and urban mobility more widely.

Entrenched Catalonia: A Secessionist Venture Trapped on an Ethno-Political Draw

A lengthily prepared secessionist attempt culminated, in Catalonia, on Autumn of 2017. A Declaration of Independence was approved by the Regional Parliament, the 27th October, and followed by a suspension of the Autonomy Rule, dictated by Central Government, after due permission by Spanish Senate in accordance with the Constitution. This resulted in the destitution of the Regional Government and the dissolution of the Autonomous Parliament. The secessionist movement had demonstrated great force not only by mobilizing huge amounts of followers repeatedly but on elections and challenges perceived as victories against the State. A rise of influence, however, showed by unionist forces both at street demonstrations and on the last Regional election (21th. Dec. 2017), has created a situation that appears as an entrenched draw, within a deeply divided society. I discuss here social and economic profiles that distinguish two big segments of Catalan citizenry, in relation to their options in favor of or against secession. Those profiles that can be traced to a recognizable ethno-cultural frontier based on family origins and habitual language may also contribute to enhance current tensions.

Making a Scene: The Diceman’s Queer Performance Activism and Irish Public Culture

This essay explores two key interventions in the twentieth-century urban history of Irish LGBTQ+ protest. Over the past five decades, there has been a transformation in attitudes to / representations of sexual identities in Ireland. Ever since 1983, when a broad-based protest march moved through Dublin in response to the gaybashing and murder of Declan Flynn in Fairview Park, street demonstrations, guerrilla theatre, and public performance have been used by Irish queer activists to protest the pathologising of sexualities and impact of biopower on all of our lives. Focusing on the street theatre of “The Diceman” [Thom McGinty], this essay captures the public staging of Irish queer resistance in 1980s/90s Dublin. Drawing on Judith Butler’s theory of performance activism (and its roots in Hannah Arendt’s work), it explores the The Diceman’s key role in creating a public identity for Irish LBGTQ+ people in the period before the decriminalization of (male) homosexuality in 1993. Extending the analysis to queer Irish migrants in New York in the same period, the essay argues that performance activism was crucial to the emergence of queer political action in the Irish public sphere.

Local Politics in Indonesia, 1999-2010: A Literature Review

This paper attempts to map out the existing literature on the post-1999 political landscape at the local level. This literature review is made up by five key questions: (1) How is localising of power in Indonesia understood?; (2) How does power operate at local levels?; (3) What are the forces that shape Indonesian local politics?; (4) What are the prominent manifestations in Indonesian local politics?; (5) What are alternative political forces that possibly represent the setting up of the street demonstrations?; (6) What is the type of democratic governance format explored in the existing literature?

Freedom of Speech in Islam and its Connection with Street Demonstrations

Freedom of expression is a right that belongs to every individual in expressing their views. In Islam, every Muslim was given the freedom and rights to defend their rights. Most of the Muslim community considers demonstration is one of the methods of free speech. The question is whether the street demonstrations is a way of expression in line with the guidelines of freedom of expression in Islam? Therefore, this study attempts to examine the extent to which freedom of expression is the cause of street demonstrations. In order to achieve a satisfying results these two objectives were set. First, identifying the concept of freedom of expression from the perspective of Islam. Second, to analyze the relationship between street demonstrations with freedom of expression from the perspective of Islam. The literature review is analyzed using content analysis based on the data collected. Finally, these preliminary findings found Islam allows freedom of expression as long as it does not violate the Islamic laws. Initial results also showed that there are several ways to speak up or to express oneself. One way is to do a demonstration. However, the demonstration is the last step of the speech and demonstrations must be done safely.

Relações sociopolíticas brasileiras: análise gramsciana de elementos contextuais nacionais

Resumo O presente artigo tem por objetivo compor um quadro contextual nacional, por meio da utilização do referencial teórico gramsciano, para interpretação do contexto sociopolítico brasileiro no que tange às relações democráticas. O recorte temporal é delimitado a partir do segundo quartel do século 20, marcado pelo período de redemocratização do país, até 2013, marcado pelas mobilizações em massa/protestos de rua. Trata-se de uma pesquisa bibliográfica sobre elementos contextuais das relações sociopolíticas brasileiras.

Protecting Business from Politics: Explaining Variation in Nationalist Protests in China

Why do Chinese leaders, despite valuing economic ties to Japan, take actions – such as permitting anti-Japanese street demonstrations – that risk antagonizing the Japanese business community? In order to adequately explain the puzzling divergence of economic interests and political behavior, I propose a subnational approach. I argue that leaders of Chinese cities that are economically dependent on Japan are more likely to take measures to protect the local business environment, and thus are more likely to repress or contain anti-Japanese street demonstrations. I test this argument by analyzing the variation in city government responses to anti-Japanese protests in two pairs of comparative case studies featuring Dalian and Qingdao, and Shanghai and Guangzhou. A key implication of my argument is that the expectation that certain subnational actors will preserve economic relations with Japan may give rise to a moral hazard problem in which leaders at the national level engage in riskier international behavior.

Are There Women Out There?

Are There Women Out There?

Ritual Demonstrations versus Reactive Protests: Participation Across Mobilizing Contexts in Mexico City

AbstractUsing an innovative survey of protest participants and nonparticipants from five major street demonstrations in Mexico City in 2011 and 2012, this study tests the assumption that influences on protest participation vary across different types of events; namely, ritual demonstrations and reactive protests. The comparison is based on two assumptions: that these are two of the dominant forms of protest in contemporary Latin America, and that specifying the context for different types of social movement participation provides a better understanding of the individual mobilization process for groups seeking to defend their rights or gain new benefits. The comparative analyses reveal some crucial differences. Political interest and previous political experience are more influential in the decision to take part in reactive demonstrations. For ritual demonstrations, the decision to participate tends to be driven more by personal and organizational connections.

South Korea After Impeachment

After months of street demonstrations involving tens of millions, South Korean President Park Geun Hye was impeached in March of 2017. Some observers wonder if Korea’s young democracy has succumbed to populist forces, lapsing into deinstitutionalization. By analyzing these events in the larger context of Korea’s political history, we contend that they were not an attack on democratic institutions, but rather a movement to redress their violation by Korea’s political elite. We further argue that protest-led reform is a familiar pattern in Korean politics and that what took place indicates not a crisis of democracy, but a step forward.

“Winter yours” – everyday life in the first months of martial law on the example of Tri-City (Poland)

In the morning of 13 December 1981 Poles were informed of the martial law declared on Poland by Gen. Wojciech Jaruzelski. The move was accompanied by mass arrests of Solidarity leaders and political dissidents; and militia and army troops in tanks and armoured military vehicles appeared on the streets of every major city. The restrictions imposed on the country included, among others, curfew between 10 pm and 6 am; telephone lines were disconnected, and mail was subject to censorship. Streets were patrolled by soldiers, classes in schools and at universities were suspended, travel between towns required permission, and many other restrictions on civil liberties were imposed. Only two national-wide papers were issued, which in the Tri-City region were merged into one „tri-daily” published by the party comrades selected by the Voivodeship Committee of the party. All public administration, state services, mines, power plants and most of the key companies were placed under military management. All this, combined with an economic and political crisis of the state, had a dramatic impact on the everyday life of people, who rebelled against martial law by organising strikes and street demonstrations. The article describes the everyday struggle of people in the harsh reality during the first months after the introduction of martial law in Poland on the example of Gdańsk, Gdynia and Sopot, which together make up the “Tri-City” (Trójmiasto) conurbation.

The Egyptian Muslim Sisterhood between Violence, Activism and Leadership

On 25 January 2015, the fourth anniversary of the uprising that toppled Hosny Mubarak and brought the Muslim Brotherhood (MB) into power, Egyptian security forces arrested Aya Alaa Hosny in front of the Journalists Union in central Cairo. Aya is one of the spokeswomen and leader of the Women against the Coup, one of the most active women-only movements established by the Muslim Sisterhood following the Egyptian coup d’état in 2013. Since then, thousands of Islamist women and sympathisers have joined the Sisters in street demonstrations, human rights advocacy and anti-regime protests, notwithstanding the high risk associated with political activism in a context of retrenched authoritarianism. This article offers a gendered analysis of the Egyptian MB by examining the activism of the Muslim Sisterhood, its female wing, post July 2013. Contrary to mainstream academic literature on Islamist women’s activism, which considers Islamist movements’ conservative gender ideology and sexual division of labour as an impediment to female political leadership, this study argues that Islamist informal networks can be conducive to female leadership under ‘negative’ political circumstances. As the case of the Muslim Sisterhood demonstrates, the repression of Islamists following the coup favoured the emergence of women’s leadership, firstly within women-only movements and subsequently, as the very survival of the MB became increasingly compromised, in the MB movement as a whole.

Which party members participate in direct political action? A cross-national analysis

As a reaction to the erosion of political parties, citizens increasingly engage in participation independently from parties (such as boycotts, petitions and street demonstrations). Looking beyond the often-stated contradiction between party membership and these forms of non-institutionalized participation, we tried to determine whether party members participate in non-institutionalized participation as a complement or an alternative to their party membership activities. Based on the relative deprivation and civic voluntarism model, three party variables were selected: activity rate in the party, government status and ideological orientation of the party. The results of our analysis conducted on party members in 22 European countries show that the government status and the ideological position of a party have the largest effects on the propensity to participate in direct action. Activity rate does not have a significant effect, except a positive one for street demonstrations. In sum, direct action is not an alternative for dissatisfied party members, but rather a complement.

What Strikes the Responsive Chord? The Effects of Framing Qualities on Frame Resonance among Protest Participants*

This study analyzes the extent to which collective action frames with certain qualities resonate with protesters. It goes beyond previous research on frame resonance by directly examining the frames that demonstrators use to motivate their participation and by comparing them with the frames of social movement organizations. The data consist of protest surveys from more than 5,000 participants in twenty-nine street demonstrations on various issues in three countries—Belgium, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom. Results show that frames that appeal to people's everyday experiences resonate more than abstract or technical frames do. Also, resonance is higher when blame for the issue is put on a specific person or organization than when intangible forces or causes are held responsible. A comparison of two Dutch student demonstrations illustrates the results. These events were similar in most aspects but differed in framing and the extent to which protesters aligned with the organizers' frames.

Beyond the Jornadas de Junho: from the street demonstrations to the voice of the multitude – reflections on political exercises in public spaces in the era of networks

The month of June 2013 has entered the annals of recent Brazilian history, due to the street protests throughout the country’s major cities, which showcased facets of the country’s reality to a world already focused on Brazil, as it prepared to host the 2014 World Cup. The aim of this article is to summarize the manifestations, which took place in public spaces, contextualize them into recent Brazilian events, and demonstrate how they appeared as a consequence of the increasing loss of political voice in contemporary society due to globalization. This same phenomenon would seem to present its own possible solutions to the very problems it has created, such as those indicated by Milton Santos (2000), Hardt and Negri (2005), mostly through networked actions and the concept of “multitude”. However, having moved on a few years from the Jornadas de Junho, the particular dissensions and lack of clarity surrounding the demands reveal a horizon on which political participation is still vacillating and confused.

Memory, body, and the online researcher: Following Russian street demonstrations via social media

ABSTRACTThe Moscow street demonstrations of 2011–12 were the largest public gatherings in Russia since the collapse of the Soviet Union. They were also the largest‐ever gathering of Russians on social media. While using the Internet to follow such large‐scale social movements remotely, researchers experience social media as a context in which anthropology happens. They may think about “being there” in new ways that shift their focus to their own processes of memory making and sense of bodily presence. Experiencing and remembering social media in the body challenges the distinctions we might otherwise make between virtual and physical encounters. [body memory, protest, social media, digital anthropology, online research, Moscow, Russia]Московские уличные демонстрации 2011–12 стали наиболее многочисленными в России со времен распада Советского Союза. Они также объединили наибольшее число россиян в социальных сетях. Используя Интернет для изучения крупномасштабных социальных движений в удаленном доступе, исследователи одновременно рассматривают онлайн пространство социальных сетей как новое поле антропологии. Новые способы «присутствия» побуждают исследователей обратиться к своему собственному процессу производства памяти и собственному чувству телесности. Особые опыт и память телесности в социальных средствах коммуникации заставляют нас пересмотреть границы виртуального и физического опыта. [память тела, протест, социальные медиа, цифровая антропология, онлайн исследования, Москва, Россия;]

Brazil’s Neoconservative Offensive

In mid-2013, increased bus fares in Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro sparked street demonstrations that included a diverse group of participants and brought a broad range of demands to the political ta...

Social Movements in Times of Austerity: Bringing Capitalism Back into Protest Analysis. By Donatella Della Porta. Malden, Mass.: Polity Press, 2015. Pp. viii+249.

<i>Social Movements in Times of Austerity: Bringing Capitalism Back into Protest Analysis</i>. By Donatella Della Porta. Malden, Mass.: Polity Press, 2015. Pp. viii+249.

Does Civic Participation Stimulate Political Activity?

Activists are the engines of social movements. What spurs their activism? This article scrutinizes the role of civic participation in stimulating political action. We examine how the type of voluntary organization, scope of involvement and intensity of activity relate to political activity. Contrary to existing studies that collapse noninstitutional political activities into a single measure, we differentiate collective activities from individualized activities, enabling us to investigate how the type, intensity and scope of civic participation differentially stimulate political activities. Our sample included 14,787 participants in 71 street demonstrations. We show that membership and interest in activist organizations stimulates political activity, especially for those actively involved and especially for collective noninstitutionalized activities, while membership in leisure organizations only stimulates individualized political activities, but not collective activities. We therefore conclude that civic participation is a multifaceted phenomenon associated with various political activities in different ways.

Real-time micro-modelling of a million pedestrians

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to develop a first-principles model for the simulation of pedestrian flows and crowd dynamics capable of computing the movement of a million pedestrians in real-time in order to assess the potential safety hazards and operational performance at events where many individuals are gathered. Examples of such situations are sport and music events, cinemas and theatres, museums, conference centres, places of pilgrimage and worship, street demonstrations, emergency evacuation during natural disasters. Design/methodology/approach – The model is based on a series of forces, such as: will forces (the desire to reach a place at a certain time), pedestrian collision avoidance forces, obstacle/wall avoidance forces; pedestrian contact forces, and obstacle/wall contact forces. In order to allow for general geometries a so-called background triangulation is used to carry all geographic information. At any given time the location of any given pedestrian is updated on this mesh. The model has been validated qualitatively and quantitavely on repeated occasions. The code has been ported to shared and distributed memory parallel machines. Findings – The results obtained show that the stated aim of computing the movement of a million pedestrians in real-time has been achieved. This is an important milestone, as it enables faster-than-real-time simulations of large crowds (stadiums, airports, train and bus stations, concerts) as well as evacuation simulations for whole cities. Research limitations/implications – All models are wrong, but some are useful. The same applies to any modelling of pedestrians. Pedestrians are not machines, so stochastic runs will be required in the future in order to obtain statistically relevant ensembles. Practical implications – This opens the way to link real-time data gathering of crowds (i.e. via cameras) with predictive calculations done faster than real-time, so that security personnel can be alerted to potential future problems during large-scale events. Social implications – This will allow much better predictions for large-scale events, improving security and comfort. Originality/value – This is the first time such speeds have been achieved for a micro-modelling code for pedestrians.