All News Feeds | Resistance Studies Initiative

Piers Morgan, here’s why the Trump protests aren’t ‘endless hysteria’ | Wail Qasim

The Guardian | Protest - Wed, 2017-02-01 08:12

Criticising the demonstrations because they don’t target other countries is backwards logic. The UK’s special relationship has reached breaking point

Tens of thousands of people gathered at Downing Street on Monday evening to protest against Donald Trump’s Muslim ban and Theresa May’s decision to cosy up to the new administration. Whitehall was packed with little room to move even before the official start time and the crowd only grew as the evening went on. Protests like that don’t happen very often, let alone with only 48 hours’ notice – such big numbers take not only outrage but a popular desire for action. People feel empowered to do something about Trump – that’s what Piers Morgan didn’t understand when he called the protest “endless hysteria” in an interview with Owen Jones on Good Morning Britain.

Morgan is concerned that while Trump may be wrong to have signed his executive order, protests against him and calls to cancel his state visit are hypocritical when the leaders of Saudi Arabia, Russia and China aren’t met with the same level of popular resistance. It’s true, far fewer people came out on to the streets against the leaders of these nations, but is it really surprising that the British public are more likely to scrutinise the US, given its own self-perception as a western liberal democracy?

Fears for jailed activists as Cameroon cracks down on anglophone minority

The Guardian | Protest - Wed, 2017-02-01 07:35

Agbor Balla and Fontem Neba could face death penalty over protests to promote rights of nation’s English-speaking minority

Two activists jailed for trying to promote anglophone rights in Cameroon will remain in prison after their trial for terrorism was delayed without an official explanation.

Human rights lawyer Felix Agbor Balla and university lecturer Fontem Neba, who were arrested last month, could face the death penalty for organising peaceful protests to promote the rights of the English-speaking minority in the central African country.

Worried for American democracy? Study these activist techniques | Erica Chenoweth

The Guardian | Protest - Wed, 2017-02-01 06:00

The United States has a rich history with effective uses of nonviolent resistance. It’s time to become familiar with it

Many people across the United States are despondent about the new president – and the threat to democracy his rise could represent. But they shouldn’t be. At no time in recorded history have people been more equipped to effectively resist injustice using civil resistance.

Today, those seeking knowledge about the theory and practice of civil resistance can find a wealth of information at their fingertips. In virtually any language, one can find training manuals, strategy-building tools, facilitation guides and documentation about successes and mistakes of past nonviolent campaigns.

Trump's nomination of Gorsuch brings protesters to supreme court – video

The Guardian | Protest - Wed, 2017-02-01 05:37

President Donald Trump’s nomination of Neil Gorsuch to the supreme court provokes a mixture of praise and condemnation in Washington on Tuesday. Standing outside the supreme court, civil liberties campaigners are joined by hundreds of protesters to voice their dissent

Neil Gorsuch nominated by Trump to fill supreme court vacancy

When they go low, going high is not enough – video

The Guardian | Protest - Wed, 2017-02-01 02:00

Michelle Obama’s statement ‘when they go low, we go high’ has become a rallying cry for liberals, says journalist Nesrine Malik. But, she argues, the left is often more concerned with their own good behaviour than what is effective in the face of political danger. She says we must speak out and act against everything that poses a threat to liberal democracy