Streets on fire: how a decade of protest shaped the world

"The last decade has been a combustible one. Across the globe, millions of protesters have marched, sat down, sat in, camped out, occupied, filled jail cells, rioted, looted, chanted, petitioned, lobbied and hashtagged. These protests have toppled despots and overthrown governments, transformed geopolitics, led to the death or transformation of old political parties, and the birth and ascendancy of new ones.

These demonstrations were largely led by progressives, liberals and leftists, often supporting the demands of the poor, the young, students, workers, minorities, the indigenous, women, trade unionists and migrants. In most cases, however, they cleared more space for the left than it could hold, either electorally or politically. Caffeinated through social media, these movements had a tendency to burn brightly only to fade, making space for whatever came next. They involved mostly the same people, shifting from one protest to the next – campaigning first about war, then inequality, then racism, then sexism – which lent the culture of protest an itinerant quality.

The right was on the march, too. From Africa to South America, people mobilised against migrants, wealth redistribution and alleged corruption. Although at times equally chaotic, and less impressive in terms of numbers or strategy, the right has proved itself capable of building a more permanent presence. Fascism has reasserted itself as a mainstream ideology in Europe; in the US, neo-Nazis have marched by torchlight and killed in daylight; in Bolivia they staged a coup.

It is in the nature of protests that, for the most part, they highlight problems they are not equipped to resolve. This decade was no different. We have witnessed some of the largest and most widespread leftwing protests in history, and we end the decade with the most rightwing governments in living memory. "

read moer in athe article by Gary Younge​

Streets on fire: how a decade of protest shaped the world | Culture | The Guardian