You Say You Want a Revolution
What traits make a protest movement successful?
“The riot is the language of the unheard” — Martin Luther King
2019 was the year of civil unrest. The world witnessed over 150 major protests in a wave of “people power” not seen globally since the 1960’s. From Hong Kong, to Lebanon to Chile to Indonesia to India. Some of these revolutions toppled governments, others were stomped brutally into the ground and some are still open-ended questions as millions take to the streets.
What traits did the successful movements share? Are there common strategies that made them more likely to achieve their goals?
There are.
It seems that when it comes to starting a revolution, the chances a movement will be successful are increased exponentially with five identifiable tactics.
Non-Violence
Non-violence as a strategy is far more likely to succeed than an armed rebellion. To define the term, this refers to protests in which the movement as whole is inclusive and does not mean a militarized or terroristic approach that requires picking up weapons. Virtually all protests around the world experience some violence and property destruction, such as Ecuador and Chile in 2019, but for…
