Iran is eroding. Across Iran today, the very foundations of the Islamic Republic are being openly challenged. Millions of Iranians have flooded the streets demanding not reform, but the toppling of the Islamic Republic. These protestors are spurred by economic grievances, societal repression, and violent response to peaceful protest. Sounds familiar? It should. These protesters, […]
Tag: protests
Will Backlash Over Pro-Palestine Protests Spark Change on College Campuses?
Immediately after Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israel on October 7, 2023—starting a regional war that continues today—college campuses across the US erupted in protest. Massive demonstrations were held at Columbia, UCLA, American University, and many other colleges. Most were in support of Palestine, calling for the US to stop giving aid to Israel […]
Starbucks Union Busting and The Labor Movement
From an outsider’s perspective, Starbucks is the same corporate coffee giant that has dominated the market since its first store in Seattle opened in 1971. When Howard Schultz joined the company ten years later, he championed the story of community, quality coffee, and a workplace built on fairness. Now, as a multi-billion dollar industry titan, […]
A Bookend to 20 Years of Turmoil? What Thailand’s New Government Means for the Country
After four months of political limbo, yet another dramatic episode of Thai politics drew to a close. The general elections in May offered a scathing rebuke of the military-backed government. The progressive Move Forward Party (MFP), led by Pita Limjaorenrat, pulled a huge upset that headed 151 out of 500 seats in the lower House […]
The Devolution of Democracy: A Systematic Decimation of Israel’s Judiciary
“Ambition must be made to counteract ambition. The interest of the man must be connected with the constitutional rights of the place. It may be a reflection on human nature, that such devices should be necessary to control the abuses of government,” wrote James Madison in Federalist No. 51. Madison understood that an absence of […]
Democracy Pretzel
In January of 2023, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his right-wing coalition proposed a series of judicial reforms that would essentially deprive the Israeli Supreme Court of its veto power. Notably, Netanyahu’s move to undermine the authority of the judiciary comes as he is awaiting trial for corruption. The Supreme Court is viewed by […]
In Sudan, Pro-Democracy Protesters Won’t Compromise Again
As the world was rocked by the tremors of Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, people across the globe were awed by reports of thousands of ordinary Russian citizens protesting against their autocratic leader’s war. That they incurred considerable risk in doing so was quickly evident as protestors were arrested and beaten by police officers, and media […]
Return of The Troubles? Violence in Northern Ireland Threatens Peace Between Unionists and Republicans
On March 29, several hundred young people primarily identifying as Loyalist, or Irish people with close ties to Great Britain, took to the streets of Belfast, torching vehicles and throwing bricks, fireworks and gasoline bombs at riot police attempting to restore peace. The violence did not end there. Until April 9, the day of Prince […]
Trauma Such as This in Peacetime: The Story of the 2020 Belarusian Protests
“I saw bruises that covered their entire bodies…I was particularly struck by a bruise on the face of one of the patients. It had the shape of a boot sole. The patient had been kicked in the face….I never could have imagined that I would see trauma such as this in peacetime.” These are the […]
Imprisonment of controversial dissenter sparks protests across Russia
Russian politician and activist Alexei Navalny returned to Moscow on January 17, after five months spent recovering in a German hospital from a near fatal poisoning, which he blames on Vladimir Putin. Navalny was immediately arrested upon his return, as the government threatened would happen, and has since been sentenced to a penal colony for […]
Can India Live Up to its International Role as The World’s Largest Democracy?
Following the passage of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) of 2019, India thrust itself into the global spotlight. The legislation quickly gained notoriety for fast-tracking citizenship status for all undocumented immigrants who aren’t Muslim. Riots, protests and uproar ensued. While the world turned its attention to the protests from the liberal Indian community, people paid […]
Violent protests continue in Peru over government corruption
On November 9th, 2020, the President of Peru, Martín Vizcarra, was ousted from office by the Peruvian Congress. Vizcarra was popular and supported by the majority of constituents due to his pledge to dismantle corruption by government officials. In his place, Congress appointed a little-known politician named Manuel Merino. Both the appointment and his Cabinet […]
BLM Protests Challenge France’s Colorblindness
Justice Pour Adama As Assa Traoré, a French anti-racism activist of Malian descent, followed the murder of George Floyd in late May 2020 and the subsequent Black Lives Matter protests that erupted across the United States, she saw in it the opportunity to seek justice for her brother and awaken a colorblind France to the […]
The Uneasy Stability of Lebanon
On August 4th, 2020, a large fire broke out in a warehouse next to the huge grain silos in the port of Beirut, Lebanon. Later, at 18:00, there was an explosion followed by a series of smaller explosions, akin to fireworks. Approximately thirty seconds later, a massive explosion that resembled a mushroom cloud wreaked havoc […]
Are Protests Powerful? (It Depends)
Black Lives Matters protesters in Missouri stand together along a highway, with locked arms, chanting and holding signs that read “black lives matter” and “say their names.” But they are surrounded. From above, the buzzing of helicopters compete with the cries of the crowd. On the ground, S.W.A.T. officers appear and the police threaten arrest […]
Front Lines: The Weak Defence for ‘Human Shields’
Picture this: a young man, branded with a nondescript sign on his chest, being paraded through villages and neighbourhoods as he only just manages to stay on the jeep that he has been so carelessly tied to. The use of civilians as ‘human shields’ in times of conflict and war is not novel or particular […]
Trump on Immigration – A Preview of the New Administration
Keeping with his campaign promise to restrict immigration from the Arab world, President Trump on January 27th began his program of “extreme vetting” with an executive order barring the acceptance of new refugees and restricting all travel to the United States by citizens of several Middle Eastern countries. The order quickly drew widespread criticism, with […]
To Discuss or to Protest? That is the Question
Berkeley’s campus atmosphere is ripe with tension from protests. Numerous campus events have been interrupted by the likes of By Any Means Necessary (BAMN) and Black Lives Matter (BLM) activists who seek to convey their platforms through upheaval and disruption. While their message is certainly conveyed, it comes at the cost of an educational dialogue, […]
December Berkeley Protests: Where Do We Go From Here?
Traditionally, the start of Dead Week in Berkeley may be known more for competition among students for coveted study spaces in Main Stacks than for large-scale protest, but the weekend of December 6th proved to be an exception. That Saturday night, the first cries of “No justice! No peace! No racist police!” began to ring […]