Across the globe, new types of protest movements are emerging. They arise suddenly, are often organized through social networks and mobile data transfer, and bring large crowds together very quickly. They reflect the disappointment and the growing gap between citizens and the political elite. They are a manifestation of the demands for more democracy and more participation. They force NGOs as well as state actors to rethink their roles and actions. During his fellowship in 2014, Ivan Krastev, Chairman of the Center for Liberal Strategies in Sofia, organized a series of workshops with individuals from protest movements, representatives of NGOs and governmental organizations from Spain, Bulgaria, Russia, the Ukraine and Turkey. The aim of the workshops was to analyze the new forms of protest, their common features and their consequences. The Center for Liberal Strategies has published the workshops’ results in a Policy Paper titled „The Politics of Protest: Between the Venting of Frustration and Transformation of Democracy“.

Krastev_1_.jpg

You could also be interested in

Is there a new window of opportunity in the Eastern Mediterranean crisis?

Maritime disputes between Greece and Turkey, couched in competing narratives of national sovereignties, are nothing new.

Read from an external site

Conspicuous Absence: Israel’s Arab Citizens

The situation in Israel is once again tense. For the Arab public to join protests, it has to feel like a true partner in them.

Read more

Beyond the Right Side of History

Thirty years ago in 1989, Francis Fukuyama published his famous essay “The End of History?” Fyodor Lukyanov is editor of Russia in Global Affairs and chairman of the Council on Foreign and Defence Policy, an independent organization providing...

Read more