Why Are Worldwide Protests and Riots Trending?

What is going on here? Is it civil unrest, is it something more significant?

Photo by Rosemary Ketchum from Pexels

What a Protest is

The study begins by establishing the essential elements of a protest movement. The definition of a protest movement, it says, is "a loosely linked group of citizens and individuals expressing a collective position that is usually shared by several people."

We should expect to see more and more of these. The study finds that "protest demonstrations and acts of civil disobedience have become commonplace in several countries, including India, the Philippines, China, Russia, and the United States," which it says are the "most likely countries to see a resurgence of protests in the coming years."

• In part, protests seem to be rising out of a lack of trust in governments and authorities.

Analysis | Why is the world protesting so much? A new study claims to have some answers.

Why People Protest

To start with, the protests that take place can be targeted at issues far from the political process in the West.