Collective action by people in favor of a cause
A
political demonstration
is an action by a mass group or collection of groups of people in favor of a
political
or other cause or people partaking in a
protest
against a cause of concern; it often consists of walking in a mass march formation and either beginning with or meeting at a designated endpoint, or
rally
, in order to hear speakers. It is different from
mass meeting
.
Actions such as blockades and
sit-ins
may also be referred to as demonstrations. Demonstrations can be
nonviolent
or
violent
(usually referred to by participants as "
militant
"), or can begin as nonviolent and turn violent depending on the circumstances. Sometimes
riot police
or other forms of
law enforcement
become involved. In some cases, this may be in order to try to prevent the protest from taking place at all.
[
citation needed
]
In other cases, it may be to prevent clashes between rival groups, or to prevent a demonstration from spreading and turning into a
riot
.
History
[
edit
]
The term has been in use since the mid-19th century, as was the term "
monster
meeting
", which was coined initially with reference to the huge assemblies of protesters inspired by
Daniel O'Connell
(1775?1847) in Ireland.
[1]
Demonstrations are a form of
activism
, usually taking the form of a public gathering of people in a rally or walking in a
march
. Thus, the opinion is
demonstrated
to be significant by gathering in a crowd associated with that opinion.
Demonstrations can promote a viewpoint (either positive or negative) regarding a public issue, especially relating to a perceived
grievance
or
social injustice
. A demonstration is usually considered more successful if more people participate. Research shows that anti-government demonstrations occur more frequently in affluent countries than in poor ones.
[2]
Historian
Eric Hobsbawm
wrote of demonstrations:
Next to sex, the activity combining bodily experience and intense emotion to the highest degree is the participation in a mass demonstration at a time of great public exaltation. Unlike sex, which is essentially individual, it is by its nature collective… like sex it implies some physical action?marching, chanting slogans, singing?through which the merger of the individual in the mass, which is the essence of the collective experience, finds expression.
[3]
Forms
[
edit
]
There are many types of demonstrations, including a variety of elements. These may include:
- Marches, in which a
parade
demonstrate while moving along a set route.
- Rallies, in which people gather to listen to speakers or musicians.
- Picketing
, in which people surround an area (normally an employer).
- Sit-ins
, in which demonstrators occupy an area, sometimes for a stated period but sometimes indefinitely, until they feel their issue has been addressed, or they are otherwise convinced or forced to leave.
- Nudity
, in which they protest naked ? here the antagonist may give in before the demonstration happens to avoid embarrassment.
Demonstrations are sometimes spontaneous gatherings, but are also utilized as a tactical choice by movements. They often form part of a larger campaign of
nonviolent resistance
, often also called
civil resistance
. Demonstrations are generally staged in public, but private demonstrations are certainly possible, especially if the demonstrators wish to influence the opinions of a small or very specific group of people. Demonstrations are usually physical gatherings, but virtual or
online
demonstrations are certainly possible.
Topics of demonstrations often deal with
political
,
economic
, and
social
issues. Particularly with controversial issues, sometimes groups of people opposed to the aims of a demonstration may themselves launch a counter-demonstration with the aim of opposing the demonstrators and presenting their view. Clashes between demonstrators and counter-demonstrators may turn violent.
Government-organized demonstrations
are demonstrations which are organized by a government. The
Islamic Republic of Iran
,
[4]
[5]
the
People's Republic of China
,
[6]
Republic of Cuba
,
[7]
the
Soviet Union
[8]
and
Argentina
,
[9]
among other nations, have had government-organized demonstrations.
Times and locations
[
edit
]
Sometimes the date or location chosen for the demonstration is of historical or cultural significance, such as the
anniversary
of some event that is relevant to the topic of the demonstration.
Locations are also frequently chosen because of some relevance to the issue at hand. For example, if a demonstration is targeted at issues relating to foreign
nation
, the demonstration may take place at a location associated with that nation, such as an
embassy
of the nation in question.
While fixed demonstrations may take place in
pedestrian zones
, larger marches usually take place on roads. It may happen with or without an official authorisation.
Nonviolence or violence
[
edit
]
Protest marches and demonstrations are a common nonviolent tactic. They are thus one tactic available to proponents of strategic
nonviolence
. However, the reasons for avoiding the use of violence may also derive, not from a general doctrine of
nonviolence
or
pacifism
, but from considerations relating to the particular situation that is faced, including its legal, cultural and power-political dimensions: this has been the case in many campaigns of
civil resistance
.
[10]
Some demonstrations and
protests
can turn, at least partially, into
riots
or mob
violence
against objects such as
automobiles
and
businesses
, bystanders and the
police
.
[
citation needed
]
Police and military authorities often use
non-lethal force
or less-lethal weapons, such as
tasers
,
rubber bullets
,
pepper spray
, and
tear gas
against demonstrators in these situations.
[
citation needed
]
Sometimes violent situations are caused by the preemptive or offensive use of these weapons which can provoke, destabilize, or escalate a conflict.
As a known tool to prevent the infiltration by
agents provocateurs
,
[11]
the organizers of large or controversial assemblies may deploy and coordinate
demonstration marshals
, also called stewards.
[12]
[13]
Law by country
[
edit
]
International
[
edit
]
The right to demonstrate peacefully is guaranteed by international conventions, in particular by the articles 21 and 22 of the
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
(
right of peaceful assembly
and
right of association
). Its implementation is monitored by the
United Nations special rapporteur
on the right of peaceful assembly and association. In 2019, its report expressed alarm at the restrictions on the freedom of peaceful assembly:
[14]
The Special Rapporteur has expressed concern regarding laws adopted in many countries that impose harsh restrictions on assemblies, including provisions relating to blanket bans, geographical restrictions, mandatory notifications and authorizations. [...] The need for prior authorization in order to hold peaceful protests [is] contrary to international law [...].
Brazil
[
edit
]
Freedom of assembly
in
Brazil
is granted by art. 5th, item XVI, of the
Constitution of Brazil
(1988).
Egypt
[
edit
]
Russia
[
edit
]
Freedom of assembly
in the
Russian Federation
is granted by Art. 31 of the
Constitution
adopted in 1993:
Citizens of the Russian Federation shall have the right to gather peacefully, without weapons, and to hold meetings, rallies, demonstrations, marches and
pickets
.
[15]
Demonstrations and protests are further regulated by the Federal Law of the Russian Federation No.54-FZ "
On Meetings, Rallies, Demonstrations, Marches and Pickets
". If the assembly in public is expected to involve more than one participant, its organisers are obliged to notify executive or local self-government authorities of the upcoming event few days in advance in writing. However, legislation does not foresee an authorisation procedure, hence the authorities have no right to prohibit an assembly or change its place unless it threatens the security of participants or is planned to take place near hazardous facilities, important
railways
,
viaducts
,
pipelines
,
high voltage electric power lines
,
prisons
,
courts
, presidential residences or in the border control zone. The right to gather can also be restricted in close proximity of cultural and historical monuments.
Singapore
[
edit
]
Public demonstrations in
Singapore
are not common, in part because cause-related events require a licence from the authorities. Such laws include the Public Entertainment and Meetings Act and the Public Order Act.
Ukraine
[
edit
]
United Kingdom
[
edit
]
Under the
Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005
and the
Terrorism Act 2006
, there are areas designated as 'protected sites' where people are not allowed to go. Previously, these were military bases and nuclear power stations, but the law changed in 2007 to include other, generally political areas, such as
Downing Street
, the
Palace of Westminster
, and the headquarters of
MI5
and
MI6
. Previously,
trespassers
to these areas could not be arrested if they had not committed another crime and agreed to be escorted out, but this will change
[
when?
]
following amendments to the law.
[16]
Human rights
groups fear the powers could hinder peaceful protest.
Nick Clegg
, the then
Liberal Democrat
home affairs spokesman, said: "I am not aware of vast troops of trespassers wanting to invade MI5 or MI6, still less running the gauntlet of security checks in
Whitehall
and Westminster to make a point. It's a sledgehammer to crack a nut."
Liberty
, the
civil liberties
pressure group, said the measure was "excessive".
[17]
One of the biggest demonstration in the UK was the people vote march, on 19 October 2019, with around 1 million demonstrators related to the
Brexit
.
In 2021, the
Supreme Court of the United Kingdom
ruled that blocking roads can be a lawful way to demonstrate.
[18]
United States
[
edit
]
The
First Amendment of the United States Constitution
specifically allows the
freedom of assembly
as part of a measure to facilitate the redress of such grievances. "Amendment I: Congress shall make no law ... abridging ... the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."
[19]
A growing trend in the
United States
has been the implementation of "
free speech zones
", or fenced-in areas which are often far-removed from the event which is being protested; critics of free-speech zones argue that they go against the First Amendment of the
United States Constitution
by their very nature, and that they lessen the impact the demonstration might otherwise have had. In many areas it is required to get permission from the government to hold a demonstration.
[20]
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
Oxford English Dictionary
- ^
Shishkina, Alisa; Bilyuga, Stanislav; Korotayev, Andrey (2017).
"GDP Per Capita and Protest Activity: A Quantitative Reanalysis"
.
Cross-Cultural Research
.
52
(4): 106939711773232.
ISSN
1069-3971
.
- ^
Eric Hobsbawm (2003).
Interesting Times: A Twentieth-Century Life
. Random House Digital, Inc. p. 73.
ISBN
9780307426413
.
- ^
Analysis: Iran Sends Terror-Group Supporters To Arafat's Funeral Procession
Archived
2004-11-14 at the
Wayback Machine
"...state-organized rallies..."
- ^
"Why Washington and Tehran are headed for a showdown"
Archived
2020-10-28 at the
Wayback Machine
The Hedge Fund Journal
16 April 2006.
- ^
Global News, No. GL99-072
Archived
2021-04-23 at the
Wayback Machine
China News Digest
, 3 June 1989.
- ^
Cubans ponder life without Fidel
Archived
2007-03-12 at the
Wayback Machine
The Washington Times
2 August 2006.
- ^
"Democracy in the Former Soviet Union: 1991?2004"
Archived
September 27, 2007, at the
Wayback Machine
Power and Interest News Report
28 December 2004
- ^
Nicolas Pizzi (2012-07-29).
"Militancia todo terreno: Sacan a presos de la carcel para actos del kirchnerismo"
[All-terrain militants: Prisoners are taken out of jail to take part in Kirchnerist demonstrations] (in Spanish). Clarin
. Retrieved
July 29,
2012
.
- ^
Adam Roberts
and
Timothy Garton Ash
(eds.),
Civil Resistance and Power Politics: The Experience of Non-violent Action from Gandhi to the Present
, Oxford University Press, 2009, especially at pp. 14?20.
[1]
Includes chapters by specialists on the various movements.
- ^
Stratfor (2004)
Radical, Anarchist Groups Pose Their Own Threat
Archived
2012-03-07 at the
Wayback Machine
published by
Stratfor
, June 4, 2004 quote:
Another common tactic is to infiltrate legitimate demonstrations in the attempt to stir widespread violence and rioting, seen most recently in a spring anti-Iraq war gathering in Vancouver, Canada. This has become so commonplace that sources within activist organizations have told STRATFOR they police their own demonstrations to prevent infiltration by fringe groups.
- ^
Belyaeva et al. (2007)
Guidelines on Freedom of Peaceful Assembly
Archived
2021-03-23 at the
Wayback Machine
, published by OSCE's
Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights
. Alternative
version
Archived
2010-06-25 at the
Wayback Machine
, Sections § 7?8, 156?162
- ^
Bryan, Dominic
The Anthropology of Ritual: Monitoring and Stewarding Demonstrations in Northern Ireland
Archived
2016-03-03 at the
Wayback Machine
,
Anthropology in Action
, Volume 13, Numbers 1?2, January 2006, pp.22?31(10)
- ^
"Report of the Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association (Clement Nyaletsossi Voule)"
.
undocs.org
. 11 September 2019. p. 13
. Retrieved
16 November
2020
.
- ^
"Chapter 2 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation"
. Archived from
the original
on 2010-03-04
. Retrieved
2012-07-17
.
- ^
Morris, Steven, "
New powers against trespassers at key sites
Archived
2021-03-31 at the
Wayback Machine
",
The Guardian
, 24 March 2007. Retrieved on 23 June 2007.
- ^
Brown, Colin, "
No-go Britain: Royal Family and ministers protected from protesters by new laws
Archived
2007-06-06 at the
Wayback Machine
",
The Independent
, 4 June 2007. Retrieved on 23 June 2007.
- ^
Lizzie Dearden (25 June 2021).
"Supreme Court backs protesters and rules blocking roads can be 'lawful' way to demonstrate"
.
The Independent
. Retrieved
28 June
2021
.
- ^
"America's Founding Documents"
. 30 October 2015.
- ^
Kellie Pantekoek, Esq. (12 October 2023).
'Protest Laws by State'
.
FindLaw
.
External links
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]
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