Characteristics of the Current Wave of Protests Diversity | CSE MAINS BOOSTER
Characteristics of the Current Wave of Protests
Diversity of places: Unlike the last major global wave of protests that was associated with the spread of
democracy in the 1980s and 1990s, protests are increasing now in every region of the world and in every
type of political context.
Local triggers: The current wave of protests is triggered primarily by economic concerns or political
decisions, not by transnational issues like globalization that animated some previous protests.
Absence of coherent policy messages: They are designed to be a kind of mass theater that triggers bigger waves of disruption. They seek a different way of doing politics, rather than simply offering a standard series of policy recommendations.
Organisationally minimalistic: Modern protest is organisationally minimalistic, even ‘leaderless’, heavily dependent on social media and wary of any alliance with ‘old’ forms of civic and political organisation.
Blame the Foreigners: In recent protests leaders often blame foreigners for the protests. This emphasis on a foreign role in protests highlights the difficulty that many leaders have in accepting that their own citizens are turning against them.
Many protests are not long-term
campaigns but short-lived revolts.
Conclusion
The world started 21st century with expectations that the political
character of this century would be
largely democratic, as countries
throughout the developing and post-
Communist worlds worked steadily to fulfill the widespread democratic
aspirations.
But recent rise in global
protest highlighted tremendous
global political uncertainty. Today’s wave of protests is complex. So, a more granular understanding of
protests’ aims, forms and impacts is needed.
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