During the second half of the twentieth century a broad spectrum of social movements emerged challenging the power of established institutions and claiming a new legitimacy for political protests. Women’s and civil rights, anti-war, peace, environment, labor and trade union, gay and lesbian, and human and animal rights movements all developed as formidable forces for change reviving and strengthening the potential strength of political unrest (Della Porta and Diani, 2009; Tilly, 2012).
These movements reshaped the political agenda and brought a new sense of urgency to reforms and a new sense of legitimacy for dissent. They reawakened the potential power of political unrest, allowing people to unite around shared concerns and to form a collective identity that could sustain them in face of state repression.
However, the conditions that fuel political unrest vary widely across countries and over time. For example, the food riots in Uganda can be framed as a challenge to President Museveni’s authority, but they also reflected growing economic and social injustice, rising prices of staple foods, high unemployment especially among young people, rising inflation and static wages.
In addition, racial and ideological divisions can fuel unrest and give rise to movements like white nationalism in the US or religious extremism in India. These movements feed off of widespread discontent and are often sparked by incidents of violence or discrimination that can spread rapidly on the internet. They can lead to large public demonstrations and exacerbate the effects of global instability.