World Protests

By Kate Foley

The world is in a state of uproar. Marches, protests and riots throughout the world have always been around, but emerging technology is making citizens more globally aware than ever before. The reasons for conflict are many. Citizens are moving to overthrow their leaders, students are protesting university budget cuts and new political parties are rising to preach their values. Whatever the reason, these movements are making statements in big ways. And many are using a common tool to bring like-minded people together — social networks.

“Most of these revolutions are being completely fueled by people using social media,” says Joe B. Vaughn, Jr., author of the revolution manual The Suburban Manifesto – How To Get City Hall To Do Exactly What You Want.
International uprisings are all beginning on the same forums: Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, to name a few. Individuals are unsatisfied, so they look to the web — the quickest and easiest source for answers. There, they can find millions of others who share their views, and together they form a movement to make a change. The following countries used social media to their political advantage.

Tunisia

Tunisian President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali was overthrown by his country just weeks before Egypt’s President, Hosni Mubarak. It began on December 17, 2010. Mohamed Bouazizi, a desperate, unemployed young man in the town of Sidi Bouzid set himself on fire when he was banned from selling vegetables on the street. This radical act shocked the country, and many citizens used Facebook, Twitter, or video clips on YouTube to spread the word. Within days, protestors had risen en masse to call for Ben Ali’s resignation. Tunisia is known as a country with cheap labor and little individual freedom. The increasing frustration from unemployed graduates and suppressed citizens reached a breaking point, and Bouazizi’s demonstration was the spark they needed to stage a coup. Ignoring curfews and rioting in the face of a brutal police force, the people revolted until Ben Ali fled the country a month later in January. The government has yet to replace Ben Ali.
Photo courtesy of Nasser Nouri

Egypt

From January 25 to February 11, 2011, protestors flooded Egypt’s streets with signs and voices. Some also brought bats, guns and fire. Their target: President Hosni Mubarak. Mubarak, a former military general, was appointed as vice president in 1975 and took over after former president Anwar Sadat’s assassination in 1981. For 30 years, he presided over a relatively stable country. He was re-elected four times without opposition (the government restricted opposing candidates). During that time, Egypt was kept under constant emergency law, which denied citizens rights like freedom of assembly or speech. This tyranny lasted until January 25, a day opposing forces declared the “Day of Rage”. Word of the declaration quickly spread across social media platforms. Protests erupted in Cairo and Alexandria, and Mubarak stepped down 18 days later. The state has appointed a panel of Egyptian military officials to determine who will be their next leader. This transitional government has promised elections by the end of the year.
Photo by Ian Weller

Libya

Muammar Gaddafi has ruled Libya with staunch militarism for over 40 years. His reign has resulted in the death of thousands of his people by his own troops. But when uprisings in neighboring countries Tunisia and Egypt began getting global recognition, the Libyan people realized they had the power to overthrow their dictator as well. Demonstrators overran Benghazi on February 21, and Gaddafi responded by sending troops with snipers to gun them down. The following weeks produced almost daily accounts of uprisings, military barbarism and eventually international aide. Finally, on March 24 and 25, the U.S.—with support from rest of the U.N.—launched 16 Tomahawk missiles at Libyan troops. The bombing led to a declaration of a military ‘no-fly’ zone, an act meant to protect Libyan civilians from further military coups. President Barack Obama announced in a speech on March 28 that NATO has taken over the efforts to oust Gaddafi and keep civilians safe.
Photo courtesy of Crethi Plethi

Italy

Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi is the richest man in his country. The source of his fortune is the private media industry. So, when citizens object to his leadership — his decision to make sharp funding cuts to universities and his recent implication in a sex scandal involving a minor, they cannot count on the Italian media to make their objections public. “What we’re seeing globally is that if the normal political processes are inadequate in addressing people’s grievances, people feel obliged to take to the streets and demand grievances,” says Dr. Stephen Zunes, politics professor and Chairman of Middle Eastern Studies at the University of San Francisco. In Italy’s case, Zunes says, the people aren’t being heard due to Berlusconi’s monopoly on public and most private media outlets. Instead, international news sources like CNN and BBC are picking up the coverage.
Photo courtesy of Andrea Baldassarri

England

The streets of London swarmed with enraged students after the government announced tuitions would skyrocket, while they simultaneously cut £130 billion ($210 billion) from education spending. Nearly 52,000 people marched on Parliament after the announcement on November 10, 2010, and even more congregated throughout the city. Students barricaded streets, smashed windows, hurled bottles and attacked police. The riots lasted until about 10 p.m., with 35 arrests and 14 injuries. In a country where higher education is subsidized by the government, these kinds of financial decisions make a huge difference on who can and cannot afford to pay university tuition. More demonstrations took place on January 29 in London and Manchester, but this time they were much more civil. With no perceived end to the protests, students continue to stand up for their education.
Photo courtesy of Sean Wallis

Greece

Faced with bankruptcy in early 2010, Greece borrowed €110 billion ($150 billion) from its European neighbors and the International Monetary Fund to keep itself afloat until 2013. When its economic revenue declined over 9 percent this January, the government decided to curb the plummeting numbers with pension and salary cuts. As a result, both taxes and the retirement age for workers increased. On February 23, protests began as a civil strike, where workers all over the country walked out on their jobs for 24 hours in protest to the Socialist regime. This caused a suspension of nearly all public transit, domestic flights and ferry services in the country. The situation escalated in Athens when young rioters began throwing Molotov cocktails and firecrackers at law enforcement, who in turn fired stun grenades and tear gas into the crowd. “When it escalates into screaming or even violence, you’ve already lost the discussion,” says Joe B. Vaughn, Jr., author of the revolution manual The Suburban Manifesto - How To Get City Hall To Do Exactly What You Want. Other protesters throughout the city blocked roads, lit fires in trashcans and ransacked shops.
Photo courtesy of Piazza del Popolo

Thailand

In March 2010, insurrections in Bangkok marked the beginning of the deadliest situation in Thailand in the past 20 years. ‘Red Shirt’ protestors, also known as the United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD), are a political group made up of mostly rural poor who oppose current Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva's regime. Vejjajiva was elected in 2008, forcing out democratic leader and Red Shirt’s pundit Thaksin Shinawatra. In an attempt to reinstate Shinawatra, an estimated 86,000 Red Shirt demonstrators created chaos in the capital city’s streets. The most notable act by counter-protestors occurred on May 13, 2010 with the assassination of rebel military general and Red Shirt advocate Khattiya Sawasdipol. The general was shot in the head by a sniper while being interviewed by New York Times reporter Thomas Fuller.
Photo courtesy of Bernd Mechsner

France

When President Nicolas Sarkozy announced his plan to increase the retirement age last fall, protests began with workers’ strikes at oil refineries. This caused a fuel shortage throughout the country. Labor unions reported over 2 million citizens, while 2.5 million more joined the strikers in their demonstration. Tempers rose. Riots formed in the streets of Paris and Lyon, where police used tear gas and rubber bullets to control protesters.
Photo courtesy of Marcovdz

United States

The conservative group known as the Tea Party created a movement in the U.S. last year. This faction of the Republican party took root during President Barack Obama’s term in office. The Tea Party, which consistently runs for the GOP vote, targets immigration reform, gun control laws and gay marriage rights. “What they were able to do was accurately and succinctly point to an issue that most people didn’t understand very well,” says Joe B. Vaughn, Jr., author of the revolution manual The Suburban Manifesto - How To Get City Hall To Do Exactly What You Want. They built a slate of candidates to represent those views.”
Photo courtesy of David Lytle