View source for Protest

{{short description|Public expression of objection, typically political}}
{{other uses|Protest (disambiguation)}}
{{distinguish|Political demonstration|Protist}}
{{pp-move}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2018}}
[[File:Demonstration against Ahmadinejad in Rio.jpg|thumb|Demonstration against the president of Iran, [[Mahmoud Ahmadinejad]], during the [[United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development|Rio+20]] conference in Brazil, June 2012]]
[[File:September2019jakartademo2.jpg|thumb|Demonstration in front of the [[MPR/DPR/DPD building]] in [[Jakarta]] during the [[2019 Indonesian protests and riots]]]]
{{Revolution sidebar}}

A '''protest''' (also called a '''demonstration''', '''remonstration''', or '''remonstrance''') is a public act of objection, disapproval or dissent against political advantage.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/protest|title=Definition of PROTEST|website=www.merriam-webster.com|language=en|access-date=2020-03-04}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.macmillandictionary.com/dictionary/british/protest_1|title=PROTEST (noun) definition and synonyms|website=Macmillan Dictionary|language=en|access-date=2020-03-04}}</ref> Protests can be thought of as acts of [[cooperation]] in which numerous people cooperate by attending, and share the potential costs and risks of doing so.<ref name="Larson">{{cite journal |last1=Larson |first1=Jennifer M. |title=Networks of Conflict and Cooperation |journal=Annual Review of Political Science |date=11 May 2021 |volume=24 |issue=1 |pages=89–107 |doi=10.1146/annurev-polisci-041719-102523 |doi-access=free }}</ref> Protests can take many different forms, from individual statements to mass [[political demonstration]]s. Protesters may organize a protest as a way of publicly making their opinions heard in an attempt to influence [[public opinion]] or government policy, or they may undertake [[direct action]] in an attempt to enact desired changes themselves.<ref>St. John Barned-Smith, "How We Rage: This Is Not Your Parents' Protest," ''Current'' (Winter 2007): 17–25.</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Engler |first=Mark |last2=Engler |first2=Paul |date=2024-08-19 |title=Why Protests Work, Even When Not Everybody Likes Them |url=https://commonslibrary.org/why-protests-work-even-when-not-everybody-likes-them/ |access-date=2024-09-13 |website=The Commons Social Change Library |language=en-AU}}</ref> When protests are part of a systematic and peaceful [[Nonviolence|nonviolent]] campaign to achieve a particular objective, and involve the use of pressure as well as persuasion, they go beyond mere protest and may be better described as [[civil resistance]] or [[nonviolent resistance]].<ref name=CivilResistance>{{cite book|first=Adam|last=Roberts|author-link=Adam Roberts (scholar)|editor-first=Timothy Garton|editor-last=Ash|editor-link=Timothy Garton Ash|title=Civil Resistance and Power Politics: The Experience of Non-violent Action from Gandhi to the Present|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2009|isbn=978-0-19-955201-6|pages=2–3}}</ref>

Various forms of self-expression and protest are sometimes restricted by governmental policy (such as the requirement of [[protest permit]]s),<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Controlling+public+protest%3a+First+Amendment+implications.-a016473804|title=Controlling Public Protest: First Amendment Implications|access-date=16 December 2009|author=Daniel L. Schofield, S.J.D.|date=November 1994|publisher=in the [[Federal Bureau of Investigation|FBI]]'s [[FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin|Law Enforcement Bulletin]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Mejia-Canales |first=David |last2=Human Rights Law Centre |date=2024-08-26 |title=Protest in Peril: Our Shrinking Democracy |url=https://commonslibrary.org/protest-in-peril-our-shrinking-democracy/ |access-date=2024-09-13 |website=The Commons Social Change Library |language=en-AU}}</ref> economic circumstances, religious orthodoxy, social structures, or media monopoly. One state reaction to protests is the use of [[riot police]]. Observers have noted an increased [[Militarization of police|militarization]] of [[protest policing]] in many countries, with police deploying [[Vehicle armour|armored vehicles]] and snipers against protesters. When such restrictions occur, protests may assume the form of open [[civil disobedience]], more subtle forms of resistance against the restrictions, or may spill over into other areas such as culture and emigration.

A protest itself may at times be the subject of a [[counter-protest]]. In such cases, counter-protesters demonstrate their support for the person, policy, action, etc. that is the subject of the original protest. Protesters and counter-protesters can sometimes violently clash. One study found that nonviolent activism during the [[civil rights movement]] in the United States tended to produce favorable media coverage and changes in public opinion focusing on the issues organizers were raising, but violent protests tended to generate unfavorable media coverage that generated public desire to restore law and order.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.omarwasow.com/Protests_on_Voting.pdf |title=Agenda Seeding: How 1960s Black Protests Moved Elites, Public Opinion and Voting |author=[[Omar Wasow]] |access-date=2021-01-12}}</ref>

==Historical examples==
[[File:Marche sel.jpg|thumb|Gandhi leading his followers on the famous [[Salt March]] to abolish the [[History of the salt tax in British India|British Salt Laws]]]]
[[File:4bahrain22011.jpg|thumb|Protesters in the middle of the road in downtown Manama, Bahrain (2011)]]
[[File:London Palestine Protest Equestrian Statue Whitehall.jpg|thumb|Protest in London over the [[Gaza war]], October 2023]]
[[File:고 이한열 추모 군중.jpg|thumb|Crowds gather at the state funeral of [[Lee Han-yeol]] in Seoul, 9 July 1987]]
Unaddressed protests may grow and widen into [[civil resistance]], dissent, activism, riots, [[insurgency]], revolts, and political or social revolution. Some examples of protests include:
[[File:Vicent-van-Volkmer-Bienen-Aktivist-Demo-29.08.2020 Berlin Covid-19 Pandemie.jpg|thumb|Protester with a "Free The Bee" placard during the COVID-19 protests in Berlin on 29 August 2020, near the [[Brandenburg Gate]]]]
* Northern Europe in the early 16th century ([[Protestantism|Protestant]] [[Reformation]])
* North America in the 1770s ([[American Revolution]])
* [[Pennsylvania Mutiny of 1783]], an anti-government protest by several hundred soldiers of the [[Continental Army]] 
* France in 1789 ([[French Revolution]])
* Haiti in 1803 ([[Haitian Revolution]]), the first successful black revolution against slavery
* The [[Haymarket affair]] in 1886, a violent labor protest led by the [[Anarchism in the United States|Anarchist Movement]]
* [[New York shirtwaist strike of 1909]]
* [[Mohandas Gandhi|Mohandas Gandhi's]] 1930 [[Salt March]] to protest the [[History of the British salt tax in India|colonial salt tax in India]]
* 1963 [[Birmingham Campaign|Birmingham Children's Crusade]], part of the [[civil rights movement]].
* 1963 [[March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom]], a key moment in the Civil rights movement
* [[Selma to Montgomery marches]] of 1965, part of the Civil Rights Movement
* [[List of protests against the Vietnam War|Protests against the Vietnam War]]
* [[Mexico 68]]
* The [[Takeover of Vanha]] in [[Helsinki]], [[Finland]], in 1968
* The [[Stonewall riots]] in 1969, protesting the treatment of homosexuals in New York City
* The [[People Power Revolution]] in the [[Philippines]]
* 1976 Thai military personnel, police and right wing nationalistic milita [[6 October 1976 massacre|shooting at peaceful protesters]] the Thammasat University of Thailand.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://secretsiam.news/p/october-6|title = 6ตุลา}}</ref> 
* The [[Solidarity (Polish trade union)]] Movement's protests against Soviet Communism in Poland from 1980 to 1989
* [[June Democratic Struggle]], South Korean pro-democracy movement in 1987
* The [[Tiananmen Square protests of 1989]]
* The [[Alexanderplatz]] demonstrations on 4–9 November 1989, which culminated in the [[Fall of the Berlin Wall]]
* The many [[AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power|ACT-UP]] [[AIDS]] protests of the late 1980s and early 1990s
*Japanese Canadians Protest of their [[Internment of Japanese Canadians#Protest|Dispossession]]
* The [[Seattle]] [[WTO Ministerial Conference of 1999 protest activity]] against the [[World Trade Organization]]
* [[Anti-globalization Protests in Prague|Anti-globalization protests in Prague]] in 2000
* [[S11 (protest)|S11- Anti World Economic Forum]] protests in Melbourne, 2000<ref>{{Cite web |last=Irwin |first=Jamie |date=2021-08-13 |title=S11: Australians Blockade World Economic Forum |url=https://commonslibrary.org/australians-blockade-world-economic-forum-2000/ |access-date=2025-03-05 |website=The Commons Social Change Library |language=en-AU}}</ref>
* Anti-globalization protests in [[Genoa]] from 18 to 22 July 2001
* [[February 15, 2003 anti-war protest|15 February 2003 Iraq War Protest]]
* [[Anti-nuclear protests]]
* [[2007 Bersih rally]]
* [[2010 Thai political protests]]
* [[2011 Iranian protests]]
* [[Arab Spring]] protests
* [[Impact of the Arab Spring]]
* [[Occupy protest|Occupy Wall Street protests]]
* [[Bersih]] Malaysia protests
* [[Gezi Park protests]] in 2013 in Turkey
* [[June 2013 Egyptian protests]]
* [[Euromaidan]] protests in [[Ukraine]], November 2013 – February 2014
* [[Black Lives Matter]]-led protests on 13 July 2013
* [[Sunflower Student Movement]]
* [[Add the Words]] gay and transgender rights protests in Idaho in 2014
* [[2014 Hong Kong protests|2014 Hong Kong Umbrella Movement]]
* [[2016 South Korean protests]]
* [[2017 Jallikattu protests]]
* [[2017–2019 Romanian protests]] 
* [[Dakota Access Pipeline protests]]
* 2018 [[Tommy Robinson]] protests 
* 2018 [[Sadiq Khan]] [[Protests against Donald Trump|protests]]
* [[March for Our Lives]] protests
* [[2018 Armenian Velvet Revolution]]
* [[2018–2019 Sudanese protests]]
* [[2018–2020 Serbian protests]]
* [[2019 Venezuelan protests]]
* [[2019 Indonesian protests and riots|2019 Indonesian protests]]
* [[2019 Bolivian protests]]
* [[2019–20 Hong Kong protests]]
* [[Citizenship Amendment Act protests]]
* [[2019–20 Lebanese protests]]
* [[2019–2021 Iraqi protests]]
* [[George Floyd protests]]
* [[2020–21 Belarusian protests]]
* [[Protests over responses to the COVID-19 pandemic]].  
* [[COVID-19 protests and riots in Serbia]]
* [[2020 Thai protests]]
* [[2020–2021 Indian farmers' protest]]
* [[2020–2021 United States election protests]]
* [[Mahsa Amini protests]]
* [[Protests against the Russian invasion of Ukraine]]
* [[Peruvian protests (2022–2023)]]
* [[Gaza war protests]]
* [[2024 Columbia University pro-Palestinian campus occupation]]
* [[July Revolution (Bangladesh)]]
* [[2024–present Serbian anti-corruption protests]]

==Forms==
{{see also|Repertoire of contention}}
A protest can take many forms.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Baldwin|first1=Brent|last2=Kruszewski|first2=Jackie|title=Why They Keep Fighting: Richmond Protesters Explain Their Resistance to Trump's America|url=http://www.styleweekly.com/richmond/why-they-keep-fighting-richmond-protesters-explain-their-resistance-to-trumps-america/Content?oid=2846422|website=Style Weekly|date=28 March 2017 |access-date=29 March 2017}}</ref><ref name="Pinckney">{{cite web |last1=Pinckney |date=March 25, 2020 |first1=Jonathan |last2=Rivers |first2=Miranda |title=Nonviolent Action in the Time of Coronavirus |url=https://www.usip.org/publications/2020/03/nonviolent-action-time-coronavirus |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200326202201/https://www.usip.org/publications/2020/03/nonviolent-action-time-coronavirus |url-status=dead |archive-date=26 March 2020 |website=U.S. Institute of Peace |access-date=23 September 2021}}</ref>
Willingness to participate is influenced by individuals' ties within [[social network]]s. Social connections can affect both the spread of factual information about a protest and [[social pressure]]s on participants.<ref name="Larson"/> 
Willing to participate will also vary depending on the type of protest. 
Likelihood that someone will respond to a protest is also affected by group identification, and by the types of tactics involved.<ref name="Bugden">{{cite journal |last1=Bugden |first1=Dylan |title=Does Climate Protest Work? Partisanship, Protest, and Sentiment Pools |journal=Socius: Sociological Research for a Dynamic World |date=January 2020 |volume=6 |pages=237802312092594 |doi=10.1177/2378023120925949 |doi-access=free }}</ref>
[[File:Protest over TET, SSC education scam in West Bengal 01.jpg|thumb|TET passed candidates who are protesting over SSC scam in [[West Bengal]], beneath the statue of [[Mahatma Gandhi]] in [[Kolkata]] Maidan.]]
The Dynamics of Collective Action project and the [[Global Nonviolent Action Database]]<ref>[http://nvdatabase.swarthmore.edu/ Global Nonviolent Action Database]</ref> are two of the leading data collection efforts attempting to capture information about protest events. The Dynamics of Collective Action project considers the repertoire of protest tactics (and their definitions) to include:<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.stanford.edu/group/collectiveaction/cgi-bin/drupal/node/3|title=Dynamics of Collective Action Project|publisher=Stanford University}}</ref>
* '''Rally''' or '''Demonstration''': Demonstration, rally, or similar protest, without reference to marching or walking in a [[Picketing|picket line]] or standing in a [[vigil]]. Reference to speeches, speakers, singing, or preaching, often verified by the presence of [[Public address system|PA sound equipment]] and sometimes by a platform or stage.  Ordinarily will include worship services, speeches, briefings.
* '''March''': Reference to moving from one location to another; to distinguish from rotating or walking in a circle with picket signs (which is a picket).
* '''Vigil''': Most vigils have banners, placards, or leaflets so that people passing by, despite silence from participants, can be informed about the purpose of the vigil.
* '''Picket''': The modal activity{{Clarify|reason=modal activity?|date=July 2020}} is picketing; there may be references to a picket line, informational picketing, or holding signs; "carrying signs and walking around in a circle". Holding signs, placards, or banners is not the defining criteria; rather, it is holding or carrying those items and walking a circular route, a phrase sometimes surprisingly found in the permit application.
* '''Civil Disobedience''': Explicit protest that involves deliberately breaking laws deemed unjust in order to protest them; crossing barricades, prohibited use of segregated facilities (such as [[Lunch counter protests|lunch-counters]] or restrooms), voter registration drives (to earn non-eligible people the right to vote), or tying up phone lines.
* '''Ceremony''': These celebrate or protest status transitions ranging from birth and death dates of individuals, organizations or nations; seasons; re-enlistment or commissioning of military personnel; or to anniversaries of any of the above. These are sometimes referenced by presenting flowers or wreaths commemorating, dedicating, or celebrating status transitions or their anniversary; e.g., an annual [[merchant marine]] memorial service, celebrating [[Hanukkah]] or Easter, or celebrating the birthday of [[Martin Luther King Jr.]]
* '''[[Dramaturgical action|Dramaturgical]] Demonstration'''
* '''Motorcade''': Vehicular procession (electoral campaigns or other issues)
* '''Information distribution''': Tabling/petition gathering, lobbying, letter-writing campaigns, or [[teach-in]]s.
* '''Symbolic Display''': e.g., a [[Menorah (Hanukkah)|menorah]] or [[Nativity scene|creche scene]], graffiti, [[cross burning]], sign, or standing display.
* '''Attack''' by collective group (not-one-on-one [[assault]], crime, rape): Motivation for attack is the "other group's identity",{{Quote without source|date=July 2020}} as in [[Gay bashing|gay-bashing]] or [[lynching]]. Can also include verbal attacks or threats. (See [[hate crime]])
* '''Riot, melee, mob violence''': Large-scale (50+),{{Clarify|reason=50+ participants?|date=July 2020}} use of violence by instigators against persons, property, police, or buildings separately or in combination, lasting several hours.{{Vague|date=July 2020}}
* '''Strike, slow down, sick-ins, and employee work protest of any kind''': Regular air strike{{Definition needed|date=July 2020}} through failure of negotiations or wildcat air strike. (Make note if a [[Wildcat strike action|wildcat strike]].)
* '''Boycott''': Organized refusal to buy or use a product or service. Examples: [[rent strike]]s, [[Montgomery bus boycott]]s
* '''Press Conference''': Only if specifically named as such in report, and must be the predominant activity form. Could involve disclosure of information to "educate the public" or influence various decision-makers.
* '''Organization formation announcement''' or '''meeting announcement''': Meeting or press conference to announce the formation of a new organization.
* '''Conflict, attack or clash (no instigator)''': This includes any boundary conflict in which no instigator can be identified, i.e. Black/white conflicts, abortion/anti-abortion conflicts.
*'''Prayer Walk:''' A prayer walk is an activity that consists of walking and praying at the same time. {{Citation needed span|text=It is done not for the physical benefit but for the spiritual exercise, either publicly functioning as a demonstration or rally.|date=July 2020}}
* '''Lawsuit''': Legal maneuver by social movement organization or group.
*'''[[Peopleless protest|Peopleless Protest]]:''' Simultaneous online and offline protests involving physical representations of protesters in public spaces that are subsequently assembled online. Developed in Europe during the [[COVID-19 pandemic]].  Holographic projections of protesters were used in Spain to highlight the use of anti-protest laws in 2015.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Flesher Fominaya |first=Cristina |last2=Wood |first2=Lesley |date=2021-11-10 |title=Creative activism: Hologram protest |url=https://commonslibrary.org/creative-activism-hologram-protest/ |access-date=2024-09-13 |website=The Commons Social Change Library |language=en-AU}}</ref>

[[File:CommunistLiberty.webm|thumb|[[Union communiste libertaire|UCL]], [[anarchist]] protest in France, on 16 October during the [[COVID-19 pandemic]]]]
The [[Global Nonviolent Action Database]] uses Gene Sharp's classification of 198 methods of nonviolent action. There is considerable overlap with the Dynamics of Collective Action repertoire, although the GNA repertoire includes more specific tactics. Together, the two projects help define tactics available to protesters and document instances of their use.

==Typology==
[[File:Manifestació 27 d'agost.jpg|thumb|right|200px|March next to the [[Benito Juárez Hemicycle]], 27 August 1968, [[Mexico City]]]]
[[File:We Stand with Ukraine 2022 Helsinki - Finland (51905533738).jpg|thumb|right|200px|[[Street protester]]s with signs demonstrating in [[Helsinki|Helsinki, Finland]], after [[2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine|Russia invaded Ukraine]] in February 2022]]
Thomas Ratliff and Lori Hall<ref>{{Cite journal|title=Practicing the Art of Dissent: Toward a Typology of Protest Activity in the United States|last=Ratliff|first=Thomas|year=2014|journal=Humanity & Society|volume=38|issue=3|pages=268–294|doi=10.1177/0160597614537796|s2cid=147285566}}</ref> have devised a typology of six broad activity categories of the protest activities described in the Dynamics of Collective Action project.
* '''Literal, symbolic, aesthetic and sensory''' – Artistic, dramaturgical, and symbolic displays (street theater, dancing, etc.) including use of images, objects, graphic art, musical performances, or vocal/auditory exhibitions (speech-making, chanting, etc.).<ref>Tom Bieling (Ed.): Design (&) Activism – Perspectives on Design as Activism and Activism as Design. Mimesis, Milano, 2019, {{ISBN|978-88-6977-241-2}}.</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=McIntyre |first=Iain |date=2019-09-02 |title=Creative activism 101: An antidote for despair |url=https://commonslibrary.org/creative-activism-101-an-antidote-for-despair/ |access-date=2024-09-13 |website=The Commons Social Change Library |language=en-AU}}</ref> May also include tactile exchanges of information (petitions, leaflets, etc.) and the destruction of objects of symbolic or political value. Highly visible and most diverse category of activity; impacts on society (police response, media focus, impact on potential allies, etc.) often are underestimated.{{By whom|date=July 2020}}
* '''Solemnity and the sacred''' – Vigils, prayer, or rallies, in the form of religious service, [[candlelight vigil]]s, cross or coffin bearing etc. All directly related to the [[Durkheimian]] "[[sacred]]", or some form of religious or spiritual practice, belief, or ideology. Events where sacred activity is the primary focus are rarely responded to by police with force or presence. Solemnity usually provides a distinct quietness or stillness, changing the energy, description, and interpretation of such events.
* '''Institutional and conventional''' – Institutionalized activity or activity highly dependent on formal political processes and social institutions (press conferences, lawsuits, lobbying, etc.). Often conflated with non-confrontational and nonviolent activities in research as the ''other'' or reference category. More ''acceptable'' because it operates, to some degree, within the system. Historically contentious issue in regard to the practice of protest due to this integration within the system.
* '''Movement in space''' – Marches or parades (processional activities) from one spatio-temporal location to another, with beginning or ending places sometimes chosen for symbolic reasons. Picket lines often used in labor strikes but can be used by non-labor actors but the key differences between picket and processionals are the distance of movement. Events that take the form of a procession are logistically much more difficult to police (even if it is for the safety of protesters). Marches are some of the largest events in this period.
* '''Civil disobedience''' – Withholding obligations, [[sit-in]]s, blockades, [[shop-in]]s, occupations, bannering, "camping", etc., are all specific activities which constitute the tactical form of civil disobedience. In some way, these activities directly or technically break the law. Usually given most attention by researchers, media, and authorities. Often conflated with violence and threats because of direct action and confrontational nature, but should serve as a distinct category of action (both in the context of tactical and strategic planning and in the control of activity).{{Citation needed|date=July 2020}}
* '''Collective violence and threats''' – Collective violence such as pushing, shoving, hitting, punching, damaging property, throwing objects, verbal threats, etc., is usually committed by a relative few out of many protesters (even tens of thousands). It is rare in occurrence and rarely condoned by the public or onlookers (particularly the media). Usually met with equivalent or overwhelming force in response by authorities.

Some forms of [[direct action]] listed in this article are also [[Demonstration (people)|public demonstrations]] or rallies:
* [[Demonstration (people)|Protest march]], a historically and geographically common form of [[nonviolent]] action by groups of people.
* [[Picketing (protest)|Picketing]], a form of protest in which people congregate outside a place of work or location where an event is taking place. Often, this is done in an attempt to dissuade others from going in ("crossing the picket line"), but it can also be done to draw public attention to a cause.
* [[Street protester]]s demonstrate in areas with high visibility, often employing handmade [[wikt:placard|placards]] such as [[sandwich board]]s or picket signs in order to maximize exposure and interaction with the public.
* [[Lockdown]]s and [[Lock-on (protest tactic)|lock-on]]s are a way to stop movement of an object like a structure or tree, and to thwart the removal of actual protesters from the location. Users employ various chains, locks and even the [[sleeping dragon (manoeuver)|sleeping dragon]] for impairment of those trying to remove them with a matrix of composted materials.
* [[Die-in]]s are a form of protest where participants simulate being dead (with varying degrees of realism). In the simplest form of a die-in, protesters simply lie down on the ground and pretend to be dead, sometimes covering themselves with signs or banners. Much of the effectiveness depends on the posture of the protesters, for when not properly executed, the protest might look more like a "sleep-in". For added realism, simulated wounds are sometimes painted on the bodies, or bandages, usually made to appear bloody, are used.
* [[Protest song]] is a song which protests perceived problems in society. Every major movement in Western history has been accompanied by its own collection of protest songs, from slave [[abolitionism in the United States|emancipation]] to women's [[suffrage]], the [[labor movement]], [[civil rights]], the anti-war movement, the [[feminist]] movement, the environmental movement.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Paine |first=Andy |date=2019-09-03 |title=Listen and Watch to 40 years of Australian Blockading Songs |url=https://commonslibrary.org/listen-and-watch-40-years-of-australian-blockading-songs/ |access-date=2024-09-13 |website=The Commons Social Change Library |language=en-AU}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Wade |first=Valeri |last2=McIntyre |first2=Iain |author-link2=Iain McIntyre |last3=Jakubai |first3=Mikal |last4=Koehler |first4=Bart |last5=Rand |first5=Joanne |date=2018-12-23 |title=Treesitters and troubadours |url=https://www.3cr.org.au/earthmatters/episode-201812231100/treesitters-and-troubadours |access-date=2024-09-13 |website=3CR Community Radio |language=en}}</ref> Over time, the songs have come to protest more abstract, moral issues, such as [[injustice]], [[racial discrimination]], the morality of war in general (as opposed to purely protesting individual wars), [[globalization]], inflation, [[social inequalities]], and [[incarceration]].
* [[Radical cheerleading]]. The idea is to ironically re-appropriate the aesthetics of [[cheerleading]], for example by changing the [[chant]]s to promote feminism and left-wing causes. Many radical cheerleaders (some of whom are male, [[transgender]] or non-gender identified) are in appearance far from the stereotypical image of a cheerleader.
* <!-- -Copied from Critical Mass Wikipedia page April 2009- -->[[Critical Mass (cycling)|Critical Mass]] bike rides have been perceived as protest activities. A 2006 ''[[The New Yorker|New Yorker]]'' article described Critical Mass' activity in New York City as "monthly political-protest rides", and characterized Critical Mass as a part of a [[social movement]];<ref>{{cite news|title=Holy Rollers|first=Ben|last=Mcgrath|date=13 November 2006|url=http://www.newyorker.com/printables/fact/061113fa_fact}}</ref> the U.K. [[e-zine]] [[Urban75]], which advertises as well as publishes photographs of the Critical Mass event in London, describes this as "the monthly protest by cyclists reclaiming the streets of London".<ref>{{cite web|title=Critical Mass London|publisher=[[Urban75]]|year=2006|url=http://www.urban75.org/photos/critical}}</ref> However, Critical Mass participants have insisted that these events should be viewed as "celebrations" and spontaneous gatherings, not as protests or organized demonstrations.<ref>{{cite web|title=Pittsburgh Critical Mass|url=http://pghcriticalmass.org/|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090928023011/http://www.pghcriticalmass.org/|archive-date=28 September 2009}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Critical Mass: Over 260 Arrested in First Major Protest of RNC|date=30 August 2004|publisher=Democracy Now!|url=http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=04/08/30/1453256|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071114174744/http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=04%2F08%2F30%2F1453256|archive-date=14 November 2007 }}</ref> This stance allows Critical Mass to argue a legal position that its events can occur without advance notification of local police.<ref>{{cite news|title=Critical crackdown|first=Matt|last=Seaton|work=The Guardian|url=https://www.theguardian.com/g2/story/0,3604,1600570,00.html|location=London|date=26 October 2005|access-date=22 May 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=[*BCM*] Hong Kong Critical Mass News|first=Adam|last=Rosi-Kessel|date=24 August 2004|url=http://www.bostoncriticalmass.org/pipermail/bostoncriticalmass/2004-August/000146.html}}</ref>
* [[Toyi-toyi]] is a Southern African dance originally from Zimbabwe that became famous for its use in political protests in the apartheid-era South Africa. See [[Protest in South Africa]].

===Written demonstration===
Written evidence of political or economic power, or democratic justification may also be a way of protesting.
* [[Petition]]s
* [[Letter (message)|Letters]] (to show political power by the volume of letters): Used by some letter writing campaigns, especially those with a [[form letter]] that supporters are given to sign

===Civil disobedience demonstrations===
[[File:NYC Mike Brown-Ferguson protest Broadway 3.JPG|thumb|A protester [[photobombing]] a news reporter during a protest in New York City]]

Any protest could be [[civil disobedience]] if a "ruling authority" says so, but the following are ''usually'' civil disobedience demonstrations:
* [[Public nudity]] or [[topfree]] (to protest indecency laws or as a [[publicity stunt]] for another protest such as a war protest) or [[animal mistreatment]] (e.g. [[PETA]]'s campaign against fur). See also [[Nudity and protest]].
* [[Sit-in]]
* [[Photobombing]] – disrupting an event being broadcast live
* [[Raasta roko]] – people blocking auto traffic with their bodies
* [[Silent protest]]
* [[Lebenslaute]]

===As a residence===
* [[Peace camp]]
* Formation of a [[tent city]]
* [[Camp for Climate Action]]

===Destructive===
[[File:M2109 Iraq War Protest (Black Bloc Element).jpg|thumb|[[Black bloc]] members spray graffiti during an [[Protests against the Iraq War#March 21, 2009|Iraq War Protest]] in [[Washington, D.C.]]<ref>[https://www.flickr.com/photos/7563356@N08/3377938160/ https://www.flickr.com] Image of black bloc members during an Iraq War protest in Washington, D.C., 21 March 2009</ref>]]
*[[Hatchetation]]
* [[Vandalism]] – Smashing windows or spraying [[graffiti]] is used as a form of riot, and is sometimes employed by [[black bloc]] groups.
* [[Riot]] – Protests or attempts to end protests sometimes lead to rioting.
* [[Looting]]{{citation needed|date=June 2020}} – stealing goods from establishments or businesses (takes place during riots)
* [[Self-immolation]]
* [[Suicide]]
* [[Hunger strike]]
* [[Bombing]]{{citation needed|date=June 2020}}

===Non-destructive===
* [[Silent protest]]<ref>{{cite web|first=D.|last=Parvaz|url=http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2011/02/2011220125132363934.html|title=Iran's Silent Protests|website=Al Jazeera|date=21 February 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111220153714/http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2011/02/2011220125132363934.html|archive-date=20 December 2011|url-status=dead}}</ref> – protests or parades in which participants are nonviolent and usually silent in an attempt to avoid violent confrontation with military or police forces. This tactic was effectively used during the [[Arab Spring]] in cities such as [[Tehran]] and [[Cairo]].

===Direct action===
* [[Civil resistance]]<ref name=CivilResistance/>
* [[Nonviolent resistance]]
* [[Occupation (protest)|Occupation]]
* [[Public shaming]]

===Against a government===
[[File:Washington, D.C. license plate, 2013.jpg|thumb|The [[District of Columbia]] issues [[License Plates|license plates]] protesting the "[[taxation without representation]]" that occurs due to its [[District of Columbia voting rights|special status]].]]
* [[Tax resistance]]
* [[Conscientious objector]]{{Citation needed|date=October 2019}}
* [[Flag desecration]]

===Anti-war movements===
* [[Port Militarization Resistance]] – protests which attempt to prevent military cargo shipments

===Against a planning application or development===
* [[NIMBY]] ("not in my backyard") – protest by residents of an area against a development in the area they see as undesirable

===By government employees===
[[File:Gov Walker Protests1 JR.jpg|thumb|Protest inside the [[Wisconsin State Capitol]]]]
* [[Bully pulpit]]
* [[Judicial activism]]
* [[Filibuster]]

===Job action===
{{Main|Industrial action}}
* [[Strike action]]
* [[Walkout]]
* [[Work-to-rule]]

===In sports===
*[[U.S. national anthem kneeling protests]]

===By management===
* [[Lockout (industry)|Lockout]]

===By tenants===
* [[Rent strike]]

===By consumers===
* [[Boycott]]
* [[Consumer Court]]

===Information===
* Informative [[Letter (message)|letters]], letter writing campaigns, letters to the editor
* [[Teach-in]]
* [[Zine]]
* [[Soapbox|Soap-box]]ing

===Civil disobedience to censorship===
* [[Samizdat]] (distributing censored materials)
* Protest graffiti

===By Internet and social networking===
{{Main article|Internet activism}}
[[File:Day 3 Occupy Wall Street 2011 Shankbone 13.JPG|thumb|[[Occupy Wall Street]] protesters in [[Zuccotti Park]] using the Internet to get their message out over social networking as events happen, September 2011]]Blogging and social networking have become effective tools to register protest and grievances. Protests can express views or news, and use viral networking to reach out to thousands of people. With protests on the rise from the [[US election 2016|U.S. election season of 2016]] going into 2017, protesters became aware that using their [[social media]] during a protest could make them an easier target for [[government surveillance]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.wired.com/2017/01/use-social-media-protest-without-big-brother-snooping/|title=How to Use Social Media at a Protest Without Big Brother Snooping|last=Newman|first=Lily Hay|newspaper=WIRED|access-date=9 February 2017}}</ref>

===Literature, art and culture===
* [[Culture jamming]]

===Against religious or ideological institutions===
* [[Recusancy]]
* [[Book burning]]

== Protest policing ==
{{Excerpt|Protest policing}}
In the UK, in a four day period in 2023, policing data showed that 67 protests occurred, requiring 622 police officers to attend. The estimated financial cost of this was £140,346. Protests impact the communities they occur within and policing these costs a considerable amount.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Police attend 67 protests in four days |url=https://news.npcc.police.uk/releases/police-attend-67-protests-in-four-days-as-chiefs-warn-they-will-come-after-anyone-intent-on-criminality |access-date=2025-09-01 |website=National Police Chiefs' Council (NPCC) |language=en-GB}}</ref>

==Economic effects against companies==
[[File:Rally Against Asset Sales, Palmerston North, 14 July 2012 07.JPG|thumb|Protest march in [[Palmerston North]], [[New Zealand]]]]
[[File:Occupy the Dáil - We are the 99 per cent.jpg|thumb|Protesters outside the [[Oireachtas]] in [[Dublin]], [[Republic of Ireland]]]]

A study of 342 US protests covered by ''[[The New York Times]]'' newspaper from 1962 to 1990 showed that such public activities usually affected the company's [[publicly traded]] [[stock]] price. The most intriguing aspect of the study's findings revealed that the amount of media coverage the event received was of the most importance to this study. Stock prices fell an average of one-tenth of a percent for every paragraph printed about the event.<ref>{{cite news|last=Welling|first=Angie|date=13 November 2007|title=Coverage of protests hurts firms, Cornell-Y. study says|work=[[Deseret Morning News]]|page=E3}}</ref>

==See also==
{{div col|colwidth=20em}}
* ''[[Activist Wisdom]]'', a book about protesters in Australia
* [[Anti-globalization movement]]
* [[Fare strike]]
* [[First Amendment to the United States Constitution]] 
* [[Coup d'état]]
* [[Revolution]]
* [[Riot]]
* [[People power]]
* [[Two Minutes Hate]]              
* [[Struggle session]]
* [[Emmanuel Goldstein]]
* [[Mass mobilization]]
* [[Papal bull#Burning|Burning of the Papal Bull by Martin Luther]], during [[Protestant reformation]] and the [[Counter-Reformation]] of the [[Catholic Church]] in [[Western Europe|Western]] and [[Central Europe]], [[Mainland Europe]], [[Europe]]              
* [[1992 Los Angeles riots]]
* [[Gandhigiri]]
* "[[I Protest]]"
* [[List of uprisings led by women]]
* [[Protest art]]
* [[Public Library Advocacy]]
* [[Right to protest]]
* [[Satyagraha]]
* [[Social criticism]]
* [[Tactical frivolity]]
{{div col end}}

==References==
{{Commons category|Protests}}

{{Wiktionary|protest}}
{{reflist}}

{{Media manipulation}}
{{Media culture}}
{{Portal bar|Society|Politics}}

{{Authority control|additional=Q120644836<!-- while [[Protest movement]] remains a redirect -->}}

[[Category:Protests| ]]
[[Category:Activism by type]]
[[Category:Civil disobedience]]
[[Category:Articles containing video clips]]