Revolutions
The primary function of social movements is to empower populations that suffer from oppression. In most cases, social movements are informal and include large masses of people with a similar goal. A social movement does not have to be regulated. However, people may be forced by political situations to come together and move towards a particular purpose. Social movements are always associated with revolutions. Some of the recent revolutions are the Euromaidan revolution of 2013 and the Puerto Rican corruption protest of 2019. The Euromaidan revolution and the Puerto Rican protests used most of the 198 methods of nonviolent revolutions although violence set in at later stages of the protests.
Euromaidan Revolution
Ukraine was in a state of crisis for a long time with the citizens losing trust in the government. The crisis came to a climax in the final months of 2013 when the country witnessed historic protests against the then government. President Yanukovych was blamed for deliberately delaying the signing of a European Union agreement. Besides, Yanukovych was attempting to protect the relationship between Ukraine and Russia at the expense of the Ukrainians. In the wake of November 21, 2013, protests started with the most participants being young students. The attempts by the government to use force worsened the situation because the protests had already attracted national attention.
The initial stages of the protests employed the method of student strikes according to the 198 Methods of Nonviolent Action (Sharp, 1973). Young students from the colleges led the way and were later joined by the citizens who were waiting for a way forward. The growth of the student numbers on the streets signaled the seriousness of the matter. Moreover, the general public was quick in offering support to the young revolutionists by joining the protests. The use of party banners was not included in the initial stages, but the involvement of the general public was sure to introduce banners.
Party banners were displayed widely in the streets. Besides, the revolution did not show a sign of ending before a solution. Most banners had the information that the Ukrainians wanted Yanukovych to leave the office. The Ukrainian parliament acted quickly to vote out the president in his absence leading to calmness. Generally, the Euromaidan revolution was a social revolution because the protestors were politically driven towards a similar goal.
Puerto Rico Corruption Protests
The year 2019 has been a busy year for the Puerto Ricans. Amid allegations against the Puerto Rico governor, the Puerto Ricans have been continually protesting and calling for the resignation of their governor. Although the protests are primarily caused by the corruption allegations coming from the actions taken by the state government after the Hurricane Maria, the leakage of communications from the governor’s office marked the start of the protests. According to a publication that went public, Governor Ricardo Rossello used insults in most of his communications with high-profile officers in his office.
The protests have employed some methods as outlined in the 198 methods of nonviolent revolutions, with violence only coming up when the police use excessive force (Sharp, 1973). First, the use of banners to pass the information has been prevalent in the protests. Where protestors lack banners, paintings have been made on bodies asking for the resignation of Ricardo Rossello. Also, protest assemblies have been widely held amid the use of force by the police to disperse the crowds. Generally, the Puerto Rico protests qualify to be a social movement due to the reasons behind the protests. The political influence, as well as a common goal of dealing with corruption by the protestors, makes the protests a social movement.
In sum, the 198 methods of nonviolent movements are applied in several revolutions across the world. For example, the Euromaidan revolution and the Puerto Rican protests used most of the 198 methods of nonviolent revolutions, although violence set in at later stages of the protests. Generally, social movements are led by individuals with similar goals.
References
Sharp, G. (1973). 198 methods of nonviolent action. The politics of nonviolent action, 2.