Editing Protest (section)

{{short description|Public expression of objection, typically political}}
{{other uses|Protest (disambiguation)}}
{{distinguish|Political demonstration|Protist}}
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{{Multiple issues|{{cleanup reorganize|date=July 2020}}
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{{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]]]]
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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>