Protest & Mobilsation
The science of protests: how to shape public opinion and swing votes https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-024-02082-5 Helen Pearson
Pdf download link: https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-024-02082-5.pdf
non-violent protests are more effective at achieving goals than are violent ones.... effectiveness of non-violent revolutionary campaigns is waning over time — in part, they say, because governments are learning how to suppress uprisings.
But there is evidence that these types of protest can have an impact. Social Change Lab asked around 2,000 people — before, during and after disruptive protests in the United Kingdom by Just Stop Oil and Extinction Rebellion in April 20228. The protesters blockaded oil depots and glued themselves to government buildings and oil-company offices. Most people who were surveyed opposed the actions, but continued to support climate policies and Just Stop Oil’s goals to stop new fossil-fuel projects. This counters the view that disruptive action can sour public opinion on an issue.
it’s important.. to recognize that protesters are often expressing anger, grief and frustration as well as trying to drive change. “Sometimes, people have deep feelings that need a platform and a means of expression,”
“Non-violence is effective. But what’s especially effective is non-violence met by repression,”
Leaflet by Leaflet, a Few Aging Activists Fight India’s Tide of Bigotry https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/28/world/asia/india-activists.html
As politicians stoke religious hatred online, these veterans of social causes deliver their messages in person: “Talk to each other. Don’t let anyone divide you.”
As Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his deputies have vilified the country’s minorities in a yearslong campaign that has escalated during the current national election, the small band of aging activists has built bridges and preached harmony between religious groups... More than three dozen human rights defenders, poets, journalists and opposition politicians face charges, including under antiterrorism laws, for criticizing Mr. Modi’s divisive policies, according to rights groups..... “Despite a crackdown, they are refusing to cow down, leading them to hold placards, distributing fliers, to revive a message that once was taken for granted.”
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The space for activism may completely vanish, Ms. Verma said, as his party becomes increasingly intolerant of any scrutiny.
For now, she said, activists “are, sadly, just giving proof of our existence: that we may be demoralized, but we are still alive. Otherwise, hatred has seeped so deep it will take decades to rebuild trust.”