The protest wave of 2019: Is democracy on the rise?

In 2019, political unrest unfolded at an unprecedented global scale, with mass protests taking place in over 20 countries. Among those most publicized included protests in Sudan, Chile, India, Iran, Iraq, and Lebanon. These movements, and the profound sense of political frustration across the globe, are cause for inquiry into the defining features of this wave of political protests and their implications for the future.

From an extradition bill in Hong Kong to electoral transparency in Bolivia to public transit fares in Chile, the proximal causes of the protests that unfolded in 2019 appear to vary immensely. Beneath the surface, however, the protests have strikingly similar structural causes, sharing roots of economic inequality, government corruption, and repression at the hands of ruling elites. Moreover, the protests of 2019 share another common thread that is has become a defining feature of political participation over the last decade: the use of social media.

The proliferation of communication technology and social media over the last decade has significantly lowered barriers to organizing and engaging in protest movements and has made it easier for groups to attract international media attention. Sudanese protests in June 2019 were largely organized through the use of platforms such as Whatsapp, Facebook, and Twitter. Footage from these protests shows nearly everyone in the crowd taking photo or video footage of the events on a smartphone – illustrating the newfound power of communication technology in political movements as thousands of participants now act as social media journalists. Video recordings of the protests quickly went viral, and were used by internationally acclaimed news outlets, such as the BBC, to provide updates on the situation.

In 2019, social media was also used in innovative ways that suggest protests are becoming more globally connected than ever before. A video taken in Hong Kong showing a group of protestors effectively diffusing tear gas cannister made its way to Chile, where it was shared over 100,000 times. Similarly, protestors from Sudan shared with Lebanese protestors a simple recipe of yeast and water that can be used to treat tear gas. Songs and slogans are also being shared across national borders as a demonstration of support for protests taking place abroad. Chilean songs were sung at protests in Colombia and Lebanon as a demonstration of solidarity for the plight of other protestors across the globe. These trends indicate that protestors are using social media not only to attract attention, but also to learn from and engage with one another.  

There are two important takeaways from the use of communication technology in the 2019 protests. First, social media may be enabling or even enhancing democratic participation by providing a platform for citizens to organize and engage in collective action. Moreover, social media may play a role in increasing the frequency of political protests through an encouragement effect, where protest movements in one country inspire the emergence of others because of their global publicity. Second, the use of technology to organize and mobilize political protests can also give the illusion of a “leaderless” movement. Many observers claim that this phenomenon is making it more difficult for governments to effectively quell opposition, as it is harder to identify and target individual leaders or organizers. Nevertheless, the protests in Sudan illustrate the ability of governments to use technology as a means of shutting down political protests – by cutting off Internet access entirely.

The wave of protests in 2019 can also be used to draw conclusions about the broader implications of rising political unrest. One optimistic perspective is that the protests of 2019 illustrate the strength of liberalism and support for democratic principles. Liberty has often been characterized as a dynamic process reflecting constant struggle and bargaining between citizens and the state. Perhaps by taking to the streets in greater numbers than ever before to express frustration with their governments, the protest movements of 2019 illustrate the vitality of liberalism, and its enduring importance in the global political landscape. 

However, there is a second, less optimistic interpretation of the 2019 protests suggests that they illustrate a deterioration of democracy. Over the last decade, the Economist Intelligence Unit reports that while political participation has significantly increased across the globe, indices on democracy have declined, along with the level of trust citizens place in democratic institutions. This trend is supported by the fact that many of the 2019 protests were met with violent opposition on the behalf of state police forces.  In the most violent cases, state authorities were responsible for the deaths of an estimated 320 protestors in Iraq, 304 protestors in Iran, and over 108 protestors in Sudan in 2019. Consistently, governments are meeting the demands for reform with violent opposition and further repression of human rights.

Taken together, these narratives shed light on the political currents carrying us forward into the next decade. On one hand, the proliferation of social media is reducing the barriers to participation in political protests and making it easier for citizens to attract attention to their plight. However, we are learning that increasing political participation may not be casually linked with democratic rights and freedoms. Currently, there is a gap in the feedback loop between citizens and governments, giving rise to distortions in accountability, structural inequalities, and exploitation. Peaceful protests and freedom of speech need not only be protected, but to have the power to create meaningful change. As the world enters a new decade, it is important to consider the depth of our political values in the context of prevailing institutions.