Protesting: Violence is a real threat to protests and their causes

Over the past couple of years public protests have become extremely common. On the one hand this has been positive, with people getting involved in trying to change their world for the better; from the Arab Spring that has spread across the Middle East, to Camila Vallejo and other students campaigning in Chile. However, there are also some matters about the increasing protests that are troubling.

The first of these troubling matters is the violence that has 'infiltrated' protests. Both in the protests of 2010 in the UK and this year's protests in Brazil - not to mention the 'unrest' in Greece or across the Middle East - violence has found its way into massive public demonstrations that began as peaceful protests against authorities and their policies.

Whatever the source of the violence - whether instigated by extremist groups, agents provocateurs, or in self defence - its presence during protests is dangerous. It is dangerous to the protester's cause, threatening to undermine a movement's purposes by damaging its image; and it is dangerous to the protesters themselves, particular those newer and younger, to be exposed to those kinds of methods.

The second troubling matter is that protesters are getting demonstrably younger. News coverage of protests has shown a high level of involvement from students and young people in protests around the world. In itself, protesters getting younger isn't something to worry about. Young people getting out, getting active, and getting involved with the running of the world they live in, is an undeniable positive.

But there are reasons to be concerned with growing youth involvement with protest movements. One of the most serious is the increasing incidence around the world of youth unemployment (Observer, 2013). In a world where employment has been made central and absolutely essential to our lives, large scale unemployment could, through general disaffection, encourage disconnect amongst young people from the legitimate political structures.

In both cases, these concerns are well expressed by MP and former leader of the Liberal Democrats, Mr Charles Kennedy:

'The danger in all of this is that if sufficient people conclude that there is nothing in the conventional political process for them then they may opt for more simplistic and extreme options on offer. I remain an optimist. But across the mainstream political spectrum there is a candid recognition of the danger.' (2006)

If, especially, young people cannot be convinced that the traditional political structures are worthwhile to engage with, then the work must begin to reform the system to better serve those people. The alternative is the wholesale mistrust and rejection of the political process, the beginnings of which can be seen in the massive turnouts at protests while elections turnouts remain low. People are already finding alternative modes of expression in protests, in social movements like Occupy, and with populist politic groups. If the political system is not to entirely lose legitimacy, then it must begin the process of earning back the people's trust.

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References:
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+ The Observer's 'A crisis of legitimacy could strike Britain too'; 23 June 2013.

+ Charles Kennedy's 'How we lost people's trust'; in The Guardian; 4 August 2006.