Toolbox
Anatomy of Protest
Deconstructing civic mobilisations to understand how movements are born, resist, and transform societies.
June 2026 Manifesto as an act of resistance
What happens when dissidents weaponise the state's own promises against it? From Charter 77 in Czechoslovakia (1977) to contemporary human rights petitions: manifestos create a permanent written record that forces public confrontation. Yet manifestos may face severe repression, remain limited to literate circles, and alone cannot topple regimes without external pressure. The manifesto's strength lies not in immediate victory, but in delegitimising power notably through its own contradictions.
Read the analysis →
April 2026 OCCUPYING PUBLIC SPACE: DURATION AS A FORM OF RESISTANCE
Occupation is a strategy built on time. By staying in a central space, movements create constant visibility and force authorities to respond. From Kyiv to Cairo, sustained occupations developed their own infrastructure, proving that resistance was organized, not momentary. Yet the method has limits. It requires resources, discipline, and a political path forward. Occupation may not always topple power but can still shape a generation and build long-term opposition.
Read the analysis →
March 2026 Senegal: "Y'en a marre" movement
In 2011, amid a major social and political crisis in Senegal, a powerful expression of collective frustration emerged: Y’en a marre (enough is enough). The movement transformed public anger into civic action, mobilising youth, raising awareness and applying citizen pressure to defend democracy and demand accountable governance.
Read the analysis →
February 2026 Egypt: From the Street’s Triumph to failed Transition
Egypt’s 2011 uprising and its aftermath, show how rapid mobilisation successfully toppled Mubarak but weak post-revolution coordination, rushed elections, and polarisation paved the way for the 2013 coup and renewed authoritarianism.
Read the analysis →
January 2026 Solidarność, Poland, August 1980
A workers’ strike in the summer of 1980 helped set in motion a serious challenge to the Soviet empire. One dismissal lit the fuse and Solidarność took shape fast. Discipline, non-violence, and sharp coordination turned a local strike into a nationwide uprising, and one of the first major cracks in the Eastern Bloc.
Read the analysis →
December 2025 Tiananmen Crackdown, June 1989
The Tiananmen protests of 1989, born from strong hopes for democratic reform, united students, workers, and city residents in demands for transparency and civil liberties. They were brutally crushed by the army, and the memory of these events is still harshly repressed in China today.
Read the analysis →
October 2025 Bangladesh: July Revolution
The July Revolution in Bangladesh began after disputed 2024 elections and youth-led protests against unfair civil-service quotas. A decentralized student coalition leveraged social networks and economic blockades to force political change, leading to the fall of Sheikh Hasina’s government and the creation of a transitional administration.
Read the analysis →
October 2025 The Nashville sit-ins
Resistance was redefined and the sit-ins carefully planned. Students were trained by the Nashville Christian Leadership Council in nonviolence and followed a strict peaceful conduct code.
Read the analysis →
September 2025 The general strike in Guinea
"The country was largely shut down for three days, ending only after the government yielded to pressure."
Read the analysis →
September 2025 The Salt March
"Under British colonial rule, India faced heavy taxation and a government monopoly on salt, a vital resource. In 1930, Gandhi launched a 350 km march to protest the salt monopoly, a symbolic act of civil disobedience."
Read the analysis →
September 2025 The Montgomery bus boycott
"The boycott endured through organized shared transport. 381 days of protest resulted in a legal victory with the end of bus segregation."
Read the analysis →