Do peaceful protests work?

Originally proposed as a peaceful protest; the current anti-racist demonstrations across the US have started to turn aggressive, largely in part to the mass deployment of police on the streets, alongside the president’s idea to deploy the US military to bring calm. This event, rivalled by a multitude of historical events this year (take your pick), has sent shock  waves across the globe. Multiple countries are now showing widespread support for the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement, via both peaceful and destructive means.

Often accompanying change is the notion of violence to enforce positive legislative decisions in favour of the oppressed. However, empirical research has found that anti-racist violence leads to an increase in white nationalist support, whilst an increase in white nationalist violence shows no increase in anti-racist support. Alongside this, there have been widespread claims that in a bid to turn peaceful protests violent, more aggressive means of policing have been enforced to provoke a reaction.

To reach the end goal of achieving a change in policy, more recent research has supported the notion of non-violent protests, indicating that these passive approaches offer a higher chance of long-term success. This can be seen in campaigns for climate change (ongoing) and the rise in silent protests in recent years.

The longstanding argument with a peaceful protest is that it may be hard to bring about meaningful change, due to not being heard by the voices of power. Barack Obama recently addressed the situation, highlighting that ‘a new generation of activists’ are needed to ‘shape strategies’ and channel anger into ‘peaceful, sustained, and effective action’. 

But how can peaceful protests be made more effective?

Well, as recent events have shown, the utilisation of celebrities to voice the opinions of the masses has started to gain substantial support. By using their position of power to protest via social media, this could give way to a new wave of virtual protest. This has been supported by #BlackoutTuesday and Instagram users voicing their support for anti-racist organisations, petitions and means of education around the subject.

Accompanying the current generation (and those to follow) is the mass amount of technological power at our fingertips. There is an inherent ability to create change, advocate for policy adjustment and voice our opinions- all from the confines of our own bedroom. At the time of writing, there have been over 18.5 million posts with the hashtag #BlackLivesMatter and over 15 million signatures for the Justice for George Floyd campaign.

Making virtual protests an extension of peaceful demonstrations surely strengthens the ability to promote change and helps to make voices heard. Instead of having multiple separate entities, the virtual landscape allows for the forming of a power-infused community advocating for global change. It is hard to not sound theatrical, but in times like these, the future really is in our hands.