World Protests A Study of Key Protest Issues in The 21St Century 1St Edition Isabel Ortiz All Chapter

World Protests: A Study Of Key Protest
Issues In The 21st Century 1st Edition

Isabel Ortiz
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World Protests
A Study of Key Protest
Issues in the 21st Century
Sara Burke
Mohamed Berrada
Hernán Saenz Cortés
World Protests
Isabel Ortiz · Sara Burke · Mohamed Berrada ·
World Protests
A Study of Key Protest Issues in the 21st Century
Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung New York; Initiative for

Policy Dialogue/Global Social Justice
Isabel Ortiz Sara Burke
Global Social Justice, Initiative Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung
for Policy Dialogue New York, NY, USA
New York, NY, USA
Mohamed Berrada OXFAM
Economic Consultancy Brussels, Belgium
Casablanca, Morocco
ISBN 978-3-030-88512-0 ISBN 978-3-030-88513-7 (eBook)

https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-88513-7
JEL Classification: D74, D63, D7, F6, K38, I3, J5, J83, P16
© The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s) 2022. This book is an open access
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Acknowledgements
Thanks to José Antonio Ocampo (Professor of Professional Practice and

Co-President of the Initiative for Policy Dialogue, Columbia University),
to Michèle Auga (Executive Director Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung New York
Office 2013–2015) and Michael Bröning (Executive Director Friedrich-
Ebert-Stiftung New York Office 2020–present), as well as to Anya
Schiffrin (Director of Journalism Programs, Initiative for Policy Dialogue,
Columbia University) for their overall support and guidance. Additional
thanks to Vicente Rubio, Cai Yiping, and Anna-Maria Heisig for their
contribution of independent research in 2014–2015, which helped to
deepen our database on protests. Authors would also like to thank the
following people for participating in 2013–2015 policy dialogues on the
implications of the research for national governments and international
organizations: Krisztina Bombera, Pamela Brown, Nessa Ní Chasaide,
Adham Aboul Einein, Pablo González, Amy Goodman, Chris Grove,
Patrick Heller, Evan Henshaw-Plath, Naomi Hossain, Amin Husein,
Ahmed Abou Hussein, Akshay Khanna, Wim Kok, Alnoor Ladha, Kalev
Leetaru, Bruno Martorano, Clem McCartney, Lucia Nader, Paul O’Con-
nell, Theodora Oikonomides, Jack Linchuan Qiu, Eduardo Romanos,
Rodrigo Serrano, Nermeen Shaikh, Marina Sitrin, Nelini Stamp, Frances
Stuart, Cassam Uteem, Sebastian Vielmas, Marcos Wasem, Justin Wedes,
Amira Yahyaoui, Raúl Zambrano and Kenneth Zinn. Finally, special
v
vi ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
thanks to all the anonymous reviewers and to Donatella della Porta

for their suggestions. Also to Michael Levitin, who—in the summer of
2020—posed many interesting questions about the 2006–2013 study
while completing his book Generation Occupy.
Contents
1 Introduction 1
1 Background 1
2 Methodology 4
3 Organization of the Book 7
References 10
2 An Analysis of World Protests 2006–2020 13
1 The World Awakens: Protests Increase 2006–2020 13
2 Main Grievances/Demands 15
3 Grievances/Demands on Failure of Political
Representation and Political Systems 20
3.1 Real Democracy 21
3.2 Corruption 24
3.3 Justice 24
3.4 Sovereignty and Patriotic Issues 25
3.5 Transparency and Accountability 25
3.6 A “Deep Government”/Oligarchy 26
3.7 Anti-war Protests/Anti Military-Industrial
Complex 26
3.8 Citizen Surveillance 26
3.9 Anti-socialism and Anti-communism 27
4 Grievances/Demands on Economic
Justice/Anti-austerity 27
4.1 Jobs, Higher Wages and Labor Conditions 31
vii
viii CONTENTS
4.2 Reform of Public Services 31

4.3 Corporate
Influence/Deregulation/Privatization 31
4.4 Inequality 32
4.5 Tax/Fiscal Justice 32
4.6 Low Living Standards 33
4.7 Agrarian/Land Reform 33
4.8 Fuel and Energy Prices 34
4.9 Pension Reforms 34
4.10 Housing 35
4.11 Food Prices 35
5 Grievances/Demands on Civil Rights 36
5.1 Ethnic/Indigenous/Racial Justice 37
5.2 Right to the Commons 40
5.3 Deny Rights to Groups 40
5.4 Freedom of Assembly/Speech/Press 41
5.5 Women’s/Girls’ Rights 41
5.6 Labor Rights 42
5.7 LGBT/Sexual Rights 42
5.8 Immigrants’ Rights 42
5.9 Personal Freedoms 42
5.10 Prisoners’ Rights 43
5.11 Religious Rights 43
6 Grievances/Demands for Global Justice 43
6.1 Environment/Climate Justice 47
6.2 Anti-international Financial Institutions 47
6.3 Anti-imperialism 48
6.4 Anti-free Trade 48
6.5 Global Commons 49
6.6 Anti-G20 49
7 Who Protests? 49
7.1 Main Groups Leading Protests 2006–2020:
From NGOs and Trade Unions to Hackers 49
7.2 Greater Grassroots Participation 50
8 Number of Demonstrators 52
8.1 Some of the Largest Protests in History 52
8.2 Protests and Civic Space 56
9 Methods of Protest 57
9.1 Marches and Protest Assemblies/Rallies 59
CONTENTS ix
9.2 Blockades, Occupations and Civil

Disobedience/Direct Action 59
9.3 Strikes and Walkouts 59
9.4 Vandalism/Looting 60
9.5 Internet Activism and Whistleblowing/Leaks 61
9.6 Pot-Banging/Noisemaking, Street Music,
Educational Events 61
9.7 Boycotts and Legal/Paralegal Methods 62
9.8 Hunger Strikes and Self-Inflicted Violence 62
10 Who Do Protesters Oppose? 63
10.1 Governments 63
10.2 Political/Economic System 63
10.3 Corporations/Employers 64
10.4 Elites 65
10.5 Political Parties 65
10.6 Military/Police 65
10.7 The European Union and European Central
Bank (ECB) 65
10.8 The International Monetary Fund (IMF)
and the World Bank 66
10.9 Financial Sector 66
10.10 The United States of America 67
11 What Do Protests Achieve? 67
12 Violence, Repression, and Surveillance 72
12.1 Limited but Increasing Protestors’ Violence 72
12.2 Increasing Repression and Surveillance
of Protestors: Arrests, Injuries, and Deaths 74
References 79
3 Selected Key Issues in World Protests 83
1 Rising Populism and Radical Right Protests 83
1.1 From Left-Wing to Far-Right Populist Protests 83
1.2 Weaponizing Protests 87
2 Inequality 89
2.1 Inequality and Protests 89
2.2 Protests and the Perception That Governments
Serve a Few 93
3 Protesting Against Corruption 94
4 Fighting for Women’s Rights 97
x CONTENTS
5 From the Arab Spring to the Latin America Spring:

Ignored Economic Demands Lead to Political Dissent 99
6 Protests, Human Rights and Development Policies:
What Governments Can Do 102
References 108
4 Conclusions 111
Reference 117
Annexes 119
Main References 175
Index 179
About the Authors
Isabel Ortiz is director of the Global Social Justice Program at Joseph

Stiglitz’s Initiative for Policy Dialogue, based at Columbia University,
New York. Earlier she was director at the International Labor Organi-
zation (ILO Geneva, 2013–2019) and at UNICEF (New York, 2009–
2012); senior official at the United Nations Department of Economic and
Social Affairs (UN New York, 2005–2009) and at the Asian Development
Bank (ADB Manila, 1995–2003), where she was a founding member of
the ADB Poverty Reduction Unit. In 1993–1995 she was a researcher at
the Department of International Economics of the High-Level Council
of Scientific Research (CSIC Madrid) and a lecturer at Madrid and Sala-
manca Universities in Spain. In 1992–1993 she worked at the European
Commission in Brussels and in 1991 at the UN Economic Commission
for Latin America (ECLAC Buenos Aires). Isabel Ortiz has worked in
more than 50 countries in all world regions, providing advisory services to
governments and engaging in high level initiatives at the United Nations,
G20, BRICS, African Union and UNASUR, among others. Additionally,
she actively supports policy advocacy work of civil society organizations.
She has a M.Sc. and a Ph.D. from the London School of Economics, and
has written more than 80 publications translated in several languages.
Sara Burke is a senior expert on the global economy and international

financial institutions at the German think tank, Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung.
Based in the New York office since 2008, she provides policy analysis
xi
xii ABOUT THE AUTHORS
and advice on economic policy frameworks and the multilateral system,

as well as on their social and political impacts. Prior to that, in 2003
she founded and co-edited Gloves Off, a webzine with an economic
lens, linking current and historical events. She has published a number
of papers on economic and social rights. She has an M.A. from Stanford
University and a B.A. from Reed College.
Mohamed Berrada is an economics consultant and entrepreneur. Besides

starting and managing a gym in Casablanca, his main research focuses on
the long-term impact of colonialism on development. He is a Fulbright
scholar and Ph.D. candidate at the New School for Social Research, New
York. He has worked on research projects relating to protest movements,
inequality, colonialism, and economic development.
Hernán Saenz Cortés is an International Relations Ph.D. from Univer-

sidad Autónoma de Barcelona, with ample experience both in research
and policy analysis. His main research interests are power relations and
its impact on governance, development and finance with a focus on
Latin America. He has worked for different NGOs, think tanks and
Private Foundations. From 2009 to 2013 he was the Policy and Advo-
cacy Manager at the UBUNTU-World Forum of Civil Society Networks
in Barcelona. In 2014, he worked as consultant for different organi-
zations such as the Overseas Development Institute (ODI, London),
and became Senior Policy Analyst on Tax Justice and Financing at
EURODAD (Brussels, 2014–2017). From 2017, he works as a Senior
Researcher on Inequality and Tax and as Advocacy Coordinator on
European Union—Latin America relations at Oxfam.
Acronyms
COVID-19 Corona-Virus Disease of 2019

CSO Civil Society Organization
ECB European Central Bank
FEMEN Radical Feminist Group (Ukrainian: Femen)
FES Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung/Foundation
G20 Group of 20
GMO Genetically Modified Organism
IFIs International Financial Institutions
IMF International Monetary Fund
LGBT Lesbian/Gay/Bisexual/Transgendered people
NAFTA North American Free Trade Agreement
NATO North Atlantic Treaty Organization
NGO Non-Governmental Organization
OECD Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development
PEA Protest Event Analysis
PEGIDA Patriotic Europeans Against the Islamization of the Occident
(German: Patriotische Europäer gegen die Islamisierung des Abend-
landes )
TTIP Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership
TTP Trans-Pacific Partnership
UN United Nations
UNASUR Union of South American Nations (Spanish: Unión de Naciones
Suramericanas )
UNFCCC United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
VAT Value Added Tax
WSF World Social Forum
xiii
List of Figures
Chapter 1
Fig. 1 List and map of countries covered in the study, 2006–2020
(Source Authors’ analysis of world protests in media sources
2006–2020, see: https://worldprotests.org/ [Covered
countries are darkened]) 5
Chapter 2
Fig. 1 Number of protests by grievance/demand topics,
2006–2020 (Source Authors’ analysis of world protests
in media sources 2006–2020, see: https://worldprotests.
org/) 17
Fig. 2 Number of protests by main grievance/demand from year
2006 to 2020 (Source Authors’ analysis of world protests
org/) 19
Fig. 3 Protests failures of political representation/political systems
by income group 2006–2020 (Source Authors’ analysis
of world protests in media sources 2006–2020, see:
https://worldprotests.org/) 20
Fig. 4 Map of protests on failure of political representation
and political systems, 2006–2020 (Source https://
worldprotests.org/) 23
xv
xvi LIST OF FIGURES
Fig. 5 Grievances/demands arising from the failure of political

representation/systems by year, 2006–2020 (Source
Authors’ analysis of world protests in media sources
2006–2020, see: https://worldprotests.org/) 23
Fig. 6 Protests for economic justice/against austerity by income
group, 2006–2020 (Source Authors’ analysis of world
protests in media sources 2006–2020, see: https://
Fig. 7 Map of protests on economic justice and anti-austerity,
2006–2020 (Source https://worldprotests.org/) 30
Fig. 8 Grievances/demands on economic justice/against austerity
by year, 2006–2020 (Source Authors’ analysis of world
protests in media sources 2006–2020, see: https://
Fig. 9 Protest for civil rights by country income group,
org/) 36
Fig. 10 Map of protests on civil rights, 2006–2020 (Source
Fig. 11 Grievances/demands on civil rights by Year, 2006–2020
Fig. 12 Protest for global justice by country income group,
org/) 44
Fig. 13 Map of protests on global justice, 2006–2020 (Source
Fig. 14 Grievances/demands on global justice by year, 2006–2020
Fig. 15 Main groups leading protests by region, 2006–2020
Fig. 16 Number of protests and civic space (Legend: CIVICUS
Rank is 1: Open freer society; 2: Narrowed; 3: Obstructed;
4: Repressed; 5: Closed (Source Authors’ analysis of world
protests in media sources 2006–2020 and CIVICUS 2020b) 57
Fig. 17 Methods of protests 2006–2020 (Source Authors’ analysis
of world protests in media sources 2006–2020, see:
LIST OF FIGURES xvii
Fig. 18 Main targets of world protests, 2006–2020 (Source

Fig. 19 Number of protests and achievements by year, 2006–2020
Fig. 20 Achievements by targeted opponent, 2006–2020 (Source
Fig. 21 Riots and violent protests, 2006–2020 (Source Authors’
analysis of world protests in media sources 2006–2020, see:
Fig. 22 Reported repression of protests, 2006–2020 (Source
Chapter 3
Fig. 1 Radical right protests: demands/grievances correlated
with the denying of rights, 2006–2020 (Source Authors’
analysis of world protests in media sources 2006–2020, see:
Fig. 2 Inequality and protests in high-income countries (Source
2006–2020 and Solt, 2020) 90
Fig. 3 Inequality and protests in middle-income countries,
in media sources 2006–2020 and Solt, 2020) 91
Fig. 4 Inequality and protests in low-income countries,
in media sources 2006–2020 and Solt, 2020) 91
Fig. 5 Protests in countries with increasing inequality, 2006–2020
2006–2020 and Solt, 2020) 92
Fig. 6 Protests in countries with decreasing inequality, 2006–2020
2006–2020 and Solt, 2020) 93
Fig. 7 Protests and the perception that governments serve the few
2006–2020 and Alliance of Democracies & Dalia Research,
2020) 94
xviii LIST OF FIGURES
Fig. 8 Protests against corruption, 5-year periods, 2006–2020

2006–2020 see: https://worldprotests.org/) 95
Fig. 9 Protests against corruption per region, 2006–2020 (Source
2006–2020 see: https://worldprotests.org/) 95
Fig. 10 Map of protests against corruption and for real democracy,
2006–2020 (Source https://worldprotests.org/) 97
Fig. 11 Protests for women rights, 2006–2020 (Source Authors’
analysis of world protests in media sources 2006–2020 see:
Fig. 12 Main grievances per region 2006–2020 101
List of Tables
Chapter 2
Table 1 Number of protests in 2006–2020 14
Table 2 Number of protests by country income groups,
2006–2020 15
Table 3 Number of protests by region, 2006–2020 16
Table 4 Protests against the failure of political
representation/political systems by region, 2006–2020 22
Table 5 Protests for economic justice/against austerity by country
region, 2006–2020 29
Table 6 Protests for civil rights by region, 2006–2020 38
Table 7 Protests for global justice by region, 2006–2020 45
Table 8 Main groups leading protests 2006–2020 50
Table 9 Largest protests 2006–2020. Crowd estimates—more
than 1 million demonstrators (selected protests) 53
Table 10 Reported repression of protests, 2006–2020 75
Table 11 Protests with high numbers of reported arrests, injuries
and deaths 2006–2020 77
Chapter 3
Table 1 Main human rights and development policy demands
from world protesters 2006–2020 103
xix
CHAPTER 1
Introduction
Abstract The Introduction of “World Protests: A Study of Key Protest

Issues in the 21st Century” provides the background and methodology of
the study, including the countries covered. It also describes the structure
of the volume chapter by chapter, from protestors’ demands and methods
to achievements and repression, guiding the reader through the content
of the book. An annex presents 250 methods of non-violent protest.
Keywords Protests · Social movements · Democracy ·

Crisis · Civil rights · Human rights · Social justice
1 Background
The two first decades of the twenty-first century saw an increasing number
of protests around the world. From Africa to Europe, from the Amer-
icas to Asia, people have taken to the streets demanding real democracy,
jobs, better public services, civil rights, social justice, and an end to
abuse, corruption and austerity, among many other demands. What these
protests have in common—regardless of where they take place geograph-
ically or where their demonstrators are on the political spectrum—are
© The Author(s) 2022 1

I. Ortiz et al., World Protests,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-88513-7_1
2 I. ORTIZ ET AL.
failures of democracy and of economic and social development, fueled

by discontent and a lack of faith in the official political processes. The
main findings of this study indicate that social unrest rose in every region
during the period covered.
This book presents the results of a protest event analysis1 under-
taken in 2013 and 2020 by a team of four researchers.2 The study
analyzes data on 2809 protests, which made up more than 900 protest
movements. These took place in 101 countries, and a great number of
protests also crossed international boundaries. The research compiles data
from 15 years of news reports available online, mainly in six languages
(Arabic, English, French, German, Portuguese, and Spanish, although
some research was contributed referencing news reports in Mandarin and
Hindi) and published between January 2006 and December 2020. These
reports covered a variety of protests, from demonstrations and strikes, to
the campaigns of social and political movements, to unorganized crowd
actions such as riots.3
This publication contributes to the analysis of protests in several ways.
It expands the mapping of protests in the period 2006–2020 beyond
non-violent protests (Leakey, 2013) and beyond English language big-
data mining databases (Leetaru & Schrodt, 2013) as well as expanding
the amount of information and the period covered by other websites
such as the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace Global Protests
Tracker.4 This publication also provides new insights on areas earlier
developed by scholars investigating who protests (Chen & Suen, 2017;
della Porta, 2017), why (Barrett & Chen, 2021; Brannen et al., 2020;
Brancati, 2016; Caren et al., 2017; Carothers & Youngs, 2015), methods
of protests (Leakey, 2013; Sharp, 1973) and other issues.
1 Protest event analysis (PEA) is a research method developed by sociologists over

the past few decades to map, analyze and interpret occurrences and properties of large
numbers of protests by means of content analysis, via sources such as newspaper reports
(Koopmans & Rucht, 2002).
2 This book updates earlier work presented in Ortiz et al. (2013).
3 Excluded from the research sample are those periods when protests escalate into
armed conflicts in certain countries (e.g. Libya, Syria, Yemen); however, we have included
protests in earlier years in these countries.
4 The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace Global Protests Tracker focuses
exclusively on major antigovernment protests since 2017, drawn from English-language
news sources; it excludes rallies in support of political and personal causes. See: https://car
negieendowment.org/publications/interactive/protest-tracker (last accessed on 4.8.2021).
1 INTRODUCTION 3
Many have questioned why the world has been increasingly shaken
by protests in recent years. Some authors have pointed to the enabling
role played by rising protests in the preservation of civic space
(CIVICUS, 2020a, 2020b), the development of communication tech-
nologies (Carothers & Youngs, 2015; Qureshi, 2017) and the political
use of disinformation (Brannen et al., 2020). These are all important
factors, though not all carry the same weight.
Structural factors like economic change and democratic regression are
necessary to fully explain the surge in protests (Carothers & Youngs,
2015; Caren et al., 2017; Economist Intelligence Unit, 2020). From
Marx to Tocqueville, authors have written about unequal structural
conditions and consciousness of injustice as crucial factors for protests
and rebellion. Today, inequality is staggering, estimated to be the highest
in history (United Nations, 2020; Oxfam, 2020, 2021). Four decades
of neoliberal policies have generated more inequality and have eroded
incomes and welfare for both lower and middle classes (della Porta,
2017; OECD, 2019; Ortiz & Cummins, 2019; Puschra & Burke, 2013;
Schiffrin & Kircher-Allen, 2012; United Nations, 2020). Additionally,
the world is experiencing the unrest effects of the COVID-19 pandemic
(Barrett & Chen, 2021; Sedik & Xu, 2020).
Our analysis shows that the number of demonstrations has increased
steadily since 2006 and that protests have become more political due to
disappointment with malfunctioning democracies, frustration with politi-
cians, and a lack of trust in governments. By 2020, there were fewer
protests about a specific issue (e.g., an education policy reform) and more
“omnibus protests” in which demonstrators raised demands related to
many issues. Not surprisingly, the most prevalent demand of protesters
around the world in the period 2006–2020 was for “real democracy.”
Since almost three thousand protests were reviewed in this study,
they were classified into four main categories, by descending frequency
of occurrence: (i) protests related to the failure of political representa-
tion/political systems, focused on a lack of real democracy, corruption
and other grievances; (ii) against economic injustice and austerity reforms;
(iii) for civil rights, from indigenous/racial rights to women’s rights and
personal freedoms; and (iv) protests for global justice and a better inter-
national system for all, instead of the few. An innovation of the book is
in the statistics and graphs presented on these and other points of focus,
and the numerous examples from all world regions.
4 I. ORTIZ ET AL.
Who protests? Recent research shows the increasing participation of

the middle classes in protests, both in high-income and developing coun-
tries (Chen & Suen, 2017; della Porta, 2017). Our study confirms the
increasing involvement of unorganized citizens, grassroots movements,
and young and old persons. People have taken to the streets in the Arab
Spring, the Indignados (Outraged) and “yellow vests” movements of
Europe, the Occupy movement in the United States, and in the Estallido
Social (Social Upraising) in Chile and other countries in Latin America.
Trade unions continue to be a major organizing power, leading some of
the largest protests in history.
What methods do protesters use? Our research identifies 250 methods
of protest, presented in Annex B, updating the pioneering study of 198
methods of nonviolent action by Gene Sharp (1973). Based on our
research and given the technological leap that has been ongoing since
the 1970s, we have been able to identify more than fifty new methods
from recent experiences, such as digital and online activism.
Peaceful protests are a fundamental aspect of a vibrant democracy.
Historically, protests have been a means to achieve fundamental rights at
the national and international level (Tilly, 1978; United Nations, 2012).
However, protesters confront repression in many countries. The link
between protests and repression, or how governments react violently or
with legal actions to quell protests, is well documented (see for instance,
Davenport & Armstrong, 2004; INCLO, 2013). Governments, as the
legitimate policy-making institutions responsible to their citizens, are the
most frequent target for protesters. Governments react in diverse ways,
sometimes repressing protests and sometimes conceding fully or partially
to protestors’ demands. The book examines both repression by govern-
ments, as well as protestors’ successful achievement of policy goals from
governments during the period 2006–2020.
2 Methodology
The study investigates protests in 101 countries and territories repre-
senting 93% of world population5 (Fig. 1), setting each event in time
and place and identifying a number of other properties, including: main
grievances/demands, who is protesting, what protest methods they use,
5 Based on 2020 data contained in United Nations (2019).

1 INTRODUCTION 5
Algeria DemocraƟc Israel Nepal Spain

Angola Republic of Italy Nicaragua Sri Lanka
ArgenƟna Congo Ivory Coast Niger Sudan
Australia Denmark Jamaica Nigeria Syria
Bangladesh Dominican Japan Oman Tanzania
Belarus Republic Jordan Pakistan Thailand
Bolivia Ecuador Kazakhstan PalesƟne, Tunisia
Bosnia and Egypt Kenya Occupied Turkey
Herzegovina El Salvador Kosovo Territory Uganda
Brazil Ethiopia Kyrgyzstan Peru Ukraine
Bulgaria France Lebanon Philippines United Arab
Burkina Faso Germany Libya Poland Emirates
Cameroon Ghana Macedonia Portugal United
Canada Greece Madagascar Romania Kingdom
Chad Guatemala Malaysia Russia United States
Chile HaiƟ Mali Saudi Arabia of America
China Honduras Mauritania Senegal Uzbekistan
Colombia Hungary Mexico Serbia Vietnam
Global Iceland Montenegro Singapore Western
CroaƟa India Morocco Slovenia Sahara
Czech Indonesia Mozambique Somalia Yemen
Republic Iran Myanmar South Africa Zambia
Ireland South Korea Zimbabwe
Fig. 1 List and map of countries covered in the study, 2006–2020 (Source
Authors’ analysis of world protests in media sources 2006–2020, see: https://
worldprotests.org/ [Covered countries are darkened])
6 I. ORTIZ ET AL.
who their opponents/targets are, and what were the results of the
protests, including achievements and repression. The objective of the
study is to document and characterize major protests from two years
prior to the onset of the 2008 global financial crisis to the end of
2020, to examine protest trends globally, regionally and according to
country-income levels, and to present the main grievances and demands
of protesters in order to better understand the drivers of social unrest.
The study references the media sources and data presented in the inter-
active World Protests website (https://worldprotests.org/), developed by
the authors with support from the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES) and
Global Social Justice/Initiative for Policy Dialogue. In order to control
for bias in the selection of news sources, a widely recognized challenge
within the protest-event analysis framework, this study includes at least
one internationally or regionally recognized media source per protest
(e.g., BBC News, CNN, Al Jazeera, Le Monde, El Pais, The New York
Times, and similar sources in the six main languages used for research:
Arabic, English, French, German, Portuguese, and Spanish), augmented
by at least one local or independent news, academic, or organizational
source. This strategy for overcoming selectivity bias nevertheless does not
fully represent all protests taking place, nor can the strategy compensate
for the fact that international sources are more readily available online for
the whole period, while national and especially local sources are less acces-
sible via the Internet the older they are (Klandermans & Staggenborn,
2002).
The representation of protest movements in our database is weighed
by their duration in time. We follow 906 protest movements or episodes6
around the globe, which are responsible for thousands of protest events.
To simplify, we have marked each active year of an episode as one event:
this leads to 2809 protests events overall, which places this database
and its results at a mid-point between the automated, big-data query
databases such as the GDELT project7 and the analytical movement anal-
ysis method that can be found in projects such as the Global Nonviolent
6 We use the word episode when referring to an entire period to avoid confusion
with the usual understanding of movement as one organized group, an episode can have
multiple movements fighting towards the same goal, that is especially relevant in the case
of omnibus protests.
7 The GDELT Project. https://www.gdeltproject.org/ (last accessed on 3.8.2021).
1 INTRODUCTION 7
Action Database.8 Our approach has enabled us to track movements in

meaningful detail while at the same time presenting general statistics as
to why, how, who and where people protest at the aggregate level. Please
refer to the Annex A for further notes on the methodology and statistical
methods used.
3 Organization of the Book

For ease of comprehension, this book has a straightforward structure in
which two central chapters are distinguished. The main core of the book
is the analysis of data to understand who protests, why and how they
protest, as well as documenting achievements and fallbacks. The last part
of the book looks at selected key issues, such as the rise of populism
and radical right protests; protests and inequality, women and corruption;
the main protests by region and understanding how protestors’ demands
link to Human Rights and development policies. A summary concluding
chapter closes the book.
This introductory chapter has focused on a brief review of the literature
and methodology and outlines the rest of the book. Chapter 2 presents
the analysis of world protests 2006–2020. Section 1 in Chapter 2 starts
by an overview, the aggregated numbers of protests by year and world
regions.
Sections 2 to 6 in Chapter 2 analyze the main grievances and demands
of protesters in the period 2006–2020, and how they evolve over time.
Section 3 focuses on the most numerous cluster of protests, those due to
failures of political representation and political systems, such as grievances
related to a lack of real democracy; corruption; a failure to receive
justice from the legal system; sovereignty and patriotic issues; trans-
parency and accountability; the perceived power of a deep government or
oligarchy; preventing war and restraining the military industrial complex;
the surveillance of citizens, as well as anti-socialism and anti-communism.
Section 4 in Chapter 2 centers on grievances against economic injus-
tice and austerity reforms; this second most numerous cluster includes
protests caused by inadequate jobs, wages and/or labor conditions;
reforms of public services; corporate influence, deregulation and privatiza-
tion; inequality; tax and fiscal justice; low living standards; agrarian/land
8 The Global Nonviolent Action Database. See https://nvdatabase.swarthmore.edu (last

accessed on 3.8.2021).
8 I. ORTIZ ET AL.
reform; high fuel and energy prices; pension reform; housing and high
food prices.
Section 5 in Chapter 2 presents the third most numerous cluster,
civil rights’ demands in areas such as ethnic/indigenous/racial rights; a
right to the commons (digital, land, cultural, atmospheric); freedom of
assembly, speech and press; women and girls’ rights; labor rights; the
rights of lesbian/gay/bisexual/transgendered people (LGBT); immigrant
rights; personal freedoms; prisonersrights and religious issues. This cluster
also includes protests that sought to deny rights or reject equal rights for
a group (e.g., against minorities such as migrants), generally linked to
radical right protests.
Section 6 in Chapter 2 concentrates on demands for global justice,
such as for environmental and climate justice; also grievances against
the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank, the European
Union and the European Central Bank (ECB) and other International
Financial Institutions (IFIs), against imperialism; against free trade; in
defense of the global commons; and against the Group of 20 (G20).
After the presentation of the main grievances and demands of
protestors, each of the central sections of the book examines key
aspects of world protests in the period 2006–2020. Section 7 in
Chapter 2 analyzes who the main groups leading protests are, such
as non-governmental organizations (NGOs) or civil society organiza-
tions (CSOs), grassroots, political parties/movements, workers’ unions,
students/youth, indigenous/racial groups, unorganized workers, reli-
gious groups, women/feminist groups, hackers, employers’ organizations
and prisoners.
Section 8 in Chapter 2 centers on the numbers of protestors in events,
noting the problem of crowd estimates that are very different depending
on the source. The protests included in this study have involved numbers
ranging from a few hundred protestors to millions of demonstrators—
more than 50 protests events in the period involved millions of people.
The chapter also analyzes whether the increasing number of protestors
and protests is enabled by improved civic space, civic conditions and
political freedoms.
Section 9 presents the wide range of methods to protest commonly
used in the period 2006–2020, such as marches and protest assem-
blies, blockades, occupations and other kinds of civil disobedience/direct
action; internet activism and whistleblowing/leaks; vandalism and
looting; strikes and walkouts; pot-banging/noisemaking, street music,
1 INTRODUCTION 9
educational events; boycotts and legal/paralegal methods; hunger strikes

and self-inflicted violence. Examples of each method are provided in
the chapter. Additionally, Annex B presents a systematic list of 250
non-violent protest methods.
Section 10 in Chapter 2 looks at who protestors oppose. Just as key
objectives of this research are to find out who is protesting (and how and
why), it is also important to identify the main targets, or opponents, of
the protests. The most frequent target for protesters, by a wide margin,
is their own national government; other targets include institutions unac-
countable to people such as corporations, the military, the financial sector,
the European Union/ECB, the IMF and World Bank, as well as the
United States of America’s and China’s imperialism.
Section 11 in Chapter 2 analyzes the achievements of protests, and the
conditions for successful outcomes. Section 12 documents both violence
by protestors as well as state-organized violence and repression in the
form of arrests, injuries, and deaths. These two sections close Chapter 2
of the book.
Chapter 3 of the volume focuses on selected key issues. Section 1
in Chapter 3 brings attention to the rise of populism and radical right
protests, looking at the shift from anti-authoritarian left-wing populist
protests to authoritarian, far-right populist protests. The chapter reviews
the traits of radical right protests across the world.
Section 2 in Chapter 3 looks at the relation between inequality and
protests, examining inequality Gini coefficients (after tax and benefits)
and protests, with trend lines showing that there are more protests in
countries with increasing inequality, and vice versa, fewer protests in
countries where inequality is being reduced. The chapter also analyzes
data on democratic perceptions and looks at the correlation between the
percentage of people who believe that governments serve the few, and the
number of protests per country.
Section 3 in Chapter 3 presents a deeper look at corruption and
protests, and Section 4 at protests for women’s rights. The subse-
quent Section 5 takes a regional perspective, reviewing protests from
the Arab Spring to the recent “Latin America Spring” and showing how
ignored economic demands lead to political dissent.
Finally, Section 6 in Chapter 3 evidences how the large majority
of demands that protestors put to policymakers are in full accordance
10 I. ORTIZ ET AL.
with Human Rights and internationally-agreed United Nations devel-

opment goals. The book closes with summary conclusions, calling on
governments to listen and act on the messages coming from protesters.
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by/4.0/), which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction
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chapter’s Creative Commons license, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line
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the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright
holder.
CHAPTER 2
An Analysis of World Protests 2006–2020
Abstract This section of the book “World Protests: A Study of Key

Protest Issues in the 21st Century” analyzes in-depth 2809 protests that
occurred between 2006 and 2020 in 101 countries covering over 93%
of the world population. This section focuses on: (i) major grievances
and demands driving world protests, such as the failure of political repre-
sentation/systems, anti-austerity, and for civil rights and global justice;
(ii) who was demonstrating; (iii) what protest methods they used; (iv)
who the protestors opposed; (v) what was achieved; and (vi) violence and
repression in terms of arrests, injuries, and deaths.
Keywords Protests · Social movements · Riots · Democracy · Austerity ·

Civil rights · Social justice · Human rights · Repression
1 The World Awakens:

Protests Increase 2006–2020
There are times in history when large numbers of people protest about
the way things are, demanding change. It happened in 1830–1848, in
1917–1924, in the 1960s, and it is happening again today (Schiffrin &
Kircher-Allen, 2012). Since 2010, the world has been shaken by protests.
Our analysis of 2809 events reflects an increasing number of protests
from 2006 to 2020. Protests occur in all world regions (Table 1) and
© The Author(s) 2022 13

I. Ortiz et al., World Protests,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-88513-7_2
14 I. ORTIZ ET AL.
Table 1 Number of protests in 2006–2020
2006–2010 2011–2015 2016–2020 Total
East Asia and Pacific 98 144 136 378

Europe and Central Asia 119 319 368 806
Latin America and the Caribbean 92 164 171 427
Middle East and North Africa 53 85 70 208
North America 44 111 126 281
South Asia 26 37 38 101
Sub-Saharan Africa 76 138 155 369
Global Protests 68 83 88 239
Total 576 1081 1152 2809
Source Authors’ analysis of world protests in media sources 2006–2020, see: https://worldprotests.
org/
across all country income levels1 (Table 2). The study found a greater
prevalence of protests in middle-income countries (1327 events) and
high-income countries (1122 protests) than in low-income countries (121
events).2 There are also a number of international and global protests3
that happened in multiple countries simultaneously, and their number also
keeps increasing steadily over the years (239 protests).
With regards to the regional distribution of protests (Tables 1 and
3), Europe and Central Asia is the most active area (806 protests) in
the period 2006–2020, followed by Latin America and the Caribbean
(427 protests), East Asia/Pacific (378 protests), Sub-Saharan Africa (369
1 Country income group and regional classifications are taken from World Bank data
sets, which use gross national income (GNI) per capita to classify every economy as
either low-income, middle-income (subdivided into lower middle and upper middle), or
high-income.
2 The lower numbers in low income countries may be due to lesser civic participation
because of hardship and more difficult living conditions or perhaps due to there being
fewer international reports of protests in low income countries, and the fact that local
sources are less accessible via the Internet the older they are (Klandermans & Staggenborn,
2002), as discussed in the methodology section.
3 Since not all protests occur in a single country, income group, or region, the category
“Global” has been added to the analysis of protests by country-income and region to
reflect rising numbers of internationally-organized protests (239) which are due to both
the increased ease of organizing across borders, growing awareness of the impact of
undemocratic international organizations such as the G20 or the IMF, and the need for
coordinated global action to solve issues such as climate change.
2 AN ANALYSIS OF WORLD PROTESTS 2006–2020 15
Table 2 Number of protests by country income groups, 2006–2020
High-income Upper Lower Low income Global Total

middle middle protests
income income
2006 15 26 20 1 11 73
2007 28 26 33 2 12 101
2008 29 38 32 6 14 119
2009 46 33 24 5 16 124
2010 56 48 35 5 15 159
2011 80 61 49 8 18 216
2012 95 69 50 9 20 243
2013 103 60 46 10 18 237
2014 89 44 35 10 14 192
2015 88 47 34 11 13 193
2016 86 54 39 10 13 202
2017 93 52 45 11 17 218
2018 101 60 46 12 19 238
2019 106 59 51 9 18 243
2020 107 60 51 12 21 251
Total 1122 737 590 121 239 2809
Source Authors’ analysis of world protests in media sources 2006–2020, see: https://worldprotests.
org/
protests), North America (281 protests), the Middle East and North
Africa (208 protests) and South Asia (101 protests). Because this study
collected and organized information primarily by country, those regions
with more countries tend to have a greater number of protests, and those
regions with fewer countries (e.g., North America comprises only three
countries; South Asia, seven) show a slightly lesser number of protests,
although researchers tried to offset this by greater sensitivity to recording
more within-country protests in world-geographical regions with fewer
countries.
2 Main Grievances/Demands
The 2809 protest events analyzed in this study can be classified into four
different main categories related to the grievances and demands raised,
and therefore to the issues that generated them: (i) failure of the political
system; (ii) economic justice and anti-austerity; (iii) civil rights; (iv) global
justice. These are summarized below and in Fig. 1, and are presented in
16
Table 3 Number of protests by region, 2006–2020
East Asia Europe Latin Middle East North South Asia Sub-Saharan Global Total
Pacific Central Asia America & & N. Africa America Africa Protests
I. ORTIZ ET AL.
Caribbean
2006 11 11 13 6 6 5 10 11 73
2007 17 18 15 12 7 5 15 12 101
2008 21 21 19 12 7 4 21 14 119
2009 22 29 19 9 11 4 14 16 124
2010 27 40 26 14 13 8 16 15 159
2011 34 55 35 23 16 7 28 18 216
2012 31 68 37 23 23 9 32 20 243
2013 32 76 34 14 24 10 29 18 237
2014 24 62 27 14 22 5 24 14 192
2015 23 58 31 11 26 6 25 13 193
2016 27 64 32 12 20 7 27 13 202
2017 26 70 32 10 24 9 30 17 218
2018 26 79 36 15 26 6 31 19 238
2019 29 78 37 16 27 7 31 18 243
2020 28 77 34 17 29 9 36 21 251
Total 378 806 427 208 281 101 369 239 2809
Source Authors’ analysis of world protests in media sources 2006–2020, see: https://worldprotests.org/
Real Democracy 779

CorrupƟon 558
JusƟce 410
Sovereignty/PatrioƟc Issues 264
Transparency and Accountability 244
Deep Government/Oligarchy 208
AnƟ-War/Military-Industrial Complex 181
CiƟzen Surveillance 103
AnƟ socialism/communism 25
FAILURE OF POLITICAL REPRESENTATION 1503
Jobs/Wages/Labor CondiƟons 517
Reform of Public Services 478
Corporate Influence/DeregulaƟon/PrivaƟzaƟon 418
Inequality 347
Tax/Fiscal JusƟce 339
Low Living Standards 283
Agrarian/Land Reform 181
Fuel and Energy Prices 136
Pension Reform 97
Housing 85
Food Prices 73
ECONOMIC JUSTICE AND ANTI-AUSTERITY 1484
Ethnic/Indigenous/Racial JusƟce 396
Rights to the commons 299
Freedom of Assembly/Speech/Press 211
Deny Rights/Reject Equal Rights for a Group 211
Women's/Girls' Rights 207
Labor Rights 199
LGBT/Sexual Rights 131
Immigrant Rights 121
Personal Freedoms 76
Prisoners' Rights 75
Religious Rights 71
RIGHTS 1360
Environment/Climate JusƟce 359
AnƟ-InternaƟonal Financial InsƟtuƟons 319
AnƟ-Imperialism 263
AnƟ-Free Trade 96
Global Commons 71
AnƟ-G20 37
GLOBAL JUSTICE 897
0 200 400 600 800 1000 1200 1400 1600
Fig. 1 Number of protests by grievance/demand topics, 2006–2020 (Source

Authors’ analysis of world protests in media sources 2006–2020, see: https://
worldprotests.org/)
18 I. ORTIZ ET AL.
more detail in the following sections. Note that for most protests, more
than one grievance and more than one demand are involved. This means
the categories of grievances and demands are not mutually exclusive: each
protest event was “tagged” with the full set of grievances/demands found
to have contributed to it.
• Failure of Political Representation and Political Systems: 1503

protests were on focused on a lack of real democracy; corruption; a
failure to receive justice from the legal system; sovereignty and patri-
otic issues; transparency and accountability; the perceived power of
a deep government or oligarchy; preventing war and restraining the
military industrial complex; the surveillance of citizens, as well as
anti-socialism and anti-communism.
• Economic Justice and Anti-Austerity: 1484 protests were focused
on issues related to jobs, wages and/or labor conditions; reform of
public services; corporate influence, deregulation and privatization;
inequality; tax and fiscal justice; low living standards; agrarian/land
reform; high fuel and energy prices; pension reform; housing and
high food prices.
• Civil Rights: 1360 protests were for ethnic/indigenous/racial rights;
a right to the commons (digital, land, cultural, atmospheric);
freedom of assembly, speech and press; women and girls’ rights;
labor rights; the LGBT rights; immigrant rights; personal freedoms;
prisonersrights and religious issues. This category also includes
protests that sought to deny rights or reject equal rights for a group
(e.g., against minorities).
• Global Justice: 897 protests were for environmental and climate
justice; against the IMF, the World Bank, the European
Union/ECB, and other IFIs, against imperialism (United States,
China); against free trade; in defense of the global commons; and
against the G20.
How did these grievances evolve over time? Fig. 2 presents the number
of protests by main grievance/demand. Beginning in 2006, there is a
steady rise in overall protests each year up to 2020. Though generalizing
is difficult, as the global financial crisis begins to unfold in 2007–2008,
we observe an initial jump in the number of protests. Protests intensi-
fied with the end of fiscal stimulus and the adoption of austerity cuts
Fig. 2 Number of protests by main grievance/demand from year 2006 to 2020

(Source Authors’ analysis of world protests in media sources 2006–2020, see:
https://worldprotests.org/)
and cost-saving reforms worldwide after 2010, and they then peaked
in 2012–2013. Protestors were primarily demonstrating for economic
justice and anti-austerity reforms in the 2010–2014 period. Unresolved
grievances, few decent jobs, poor social protection and public services,
and failures of agrarian and tax justice, caused protests to become more
political, sparking a new wave of protests staring in 2016, catalyzed by fail-
ures of democracies. Since 2016, protests have escalated, often becoming
“omnibus protests” (protesting on multiple issues) against the political
and economic system. Decades of neoliberal policies have generated more
inequality, eroded incomes and welfare to both the lower and the middle
classes, fueling frustration and feelings of injustice, disappointment with
malfunctioning democracies and failures of economic and social devel-
opment, and a lack of trust in governments. In 2020, the coronavirus
pandemic has accentuated social unrest.
Protests linked to civil rights also show a sharp rise throughout the
covered period as well, mainly due to the presence of large demon-
strations for indigenous and racial rights, women’s rights, freedom of
press/speech, and the right to the commons. In recent years, a number
of radical right groups have also protested against minorities, for patriotic
matters, and for personal freedoms (e.g., refusing to stay home or to wear
20 I. ORTIZ ET AL.
masks during the COVID-19 pandemic). Global-justice related protests

increase in the period, but at a more moderate rate than the other cate-
gories, with a slowdown after the peak was reached in 2012–2013. The
following sections of the book present details on each of these main areas
of grievances/demands.
3 Grievances/Demands on Failure of Political

Representation and Political Systems
Our study shows the most consistent reason for people around the world
to protest is the perceived failure of democracies. About 54% of all
protests considered between 2006 and 2020 (a total of 1503 protest
events overall) relate to a failure of political representation and of political
systems. This is the case not only in countries with autocratic govern-
ments, or in low-income countries, where 53% of protests were due to a
failure of government to provide needed services, justice, and account-
ability, but also in high-income countries, where more than 48% of
protests were related to a failure of political representation, as well as
in over 61% of the protests in upper-middle-income countries (Fig. 3).
High Income Upper Middle Income Lower Middle Income Low Income Global Protests
Real Democracy
CorrupƟon
JusƟce
Sovereignty/PatrioƟc Issues
Transparency and Accountability
Deep Government/Oligarchy
AnƟ-War/Military-Industrial Complex
CiƟzen Surveillance
AnƟ socialism/communism
0 200 400 600 800 1000
Fig. 3 Protests failures of political representation/political systems by income

group 2006–2020 (Source Authors’ analysis of world protests in media sources
2006–2020, see: https://worldprotests.org/)
Formal representative democracies are perceived around the world as

having served the elites instead of the people. A deep crisis in political
representation is felt and articulated even by average citizens (e.g., the
middle classes) who do not consider themselves social or political activists
(Puschra & Burke, 2013).
Table 4, Figs. 4 and 5 present key issues in the category of failure
of political representation and political systems.4 According to our anal-
ysis, such protests were more prevalent in Europe and Central Asia, Latin
America and the Caribbean, East Asia and the Pacific, and North America.
The main reasons why people protest about a failure of political
representation and political systems are:
3.1 Real Democracy

This is the largest demand from around the world, present in nearly
28% of all protests counted and the single most prevalent protest issue
to emerge from the study, as it is an issue in 779 protests. This
kind of protest is understood to be based on the desire for a demo-
cratic society that responds to the needs of people, in which people
participate directly in the decisions affecting their lives, as counter-
posed to a formal, representative democracy, that is perceived as often
not respecting the “one person, one vote” rule, but instead to have
been distorted to serve the interests of the elites and the powerful
(Rancière, 2006). A typical example was the call for United States
democracy to respond to Main Street instead of Wall Street after the
2008 financial crisis. Protests for real democracy exist in all regions and
country-income groups. The regions with a higher prevalence of this cate-
gory of protest are Europe and Central Asia (e.g., Belarus, Bulgaria,
France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan,
Portugal, Romania, Russia, Spain, Ukraine, and the United Kingdom),
Latin America and the Caribbean (e.g., Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile,
4 Note that this table includes all instances of a demand or grievance. A protest may
have more than one grievance/demand, given that demonstrators often focus on several
issues (e.g., they may demonstrate against corruption and lack of transparency, while also
calling for real democracy) for this reason the number of demands and grievances is larger
than the total number of protests presented in earlier tables counting protest events.
Therefore when this study asserts, for example, that corruption is a causal factor in 20%
of all protest events, this does not mean that all other causes are to be found in the
remaining 80%.
22
Table 4 Protests against the failure of political representation/political systems by region, 2006–2020
I. ORTIZ ET AL.
Grievance/demand East Europe Latin America Middle North South Sub-Saharan Global Total
Asia & Central Caribbean East & America Asia Africa
Pacific Asia N.
Africa
Real democracy 111 238 108 75 67 14 130 36 779

Corruption 118 161 62 45 60 15 58 39 558
Justice 55 115 57 10 108 3 20 42 410
Sovereignty/patriotic issues 23 95 35 19 21 11 49 11 264
Transparency and accountability 40 41 22 3 47 3 19 69 244
Deep government 11 76 48 11 21 1 32 8 208
/oligarchy
Anti-war/military-industrial 19 8 20 21 8 3 18 84 181
complex
Citizen surveillance 5 30 14 2 7 0 8 37 103
Anti-socialism/anti-communism 0 7 10 0 6 2 0 0 25
Total 382 771 376 186 345 52 334 326 1503
Source Authors’ analysis of world protests in media sources 2006–2020, see: https://worldprotests.org/
Fig. 4 Map of protests on failure of political representation and political

systems, 2006–2020 (Source https://worldprotests.org/)
Fig. 5 Grievances/demands arising from the failure of political representa-

tion/systems by year, 2006–2020 (Source Authors’ analysis of world protests
in media sources 2006–2020, see: https://worldprotests.org/)
24 I. ORTIZ ET AL.
Colombia, Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Peru), East Asia and the
Pacific (e.g., Australia, China, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Philippines,
South Korea, and Thailand), North America (Canada, Mexico, and the
United States), and Sub-Saharan Africa (e.g., the Democratic Republic
of Congo, Ethiopia, Kenya, Madagascar, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria,
Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zimbabwe). This issue was
particularly relevant in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region
at the time of the Arab Spring (e.g., Egypt and Tunisia) and later (e.g.,
in Algeria, Jordan, Lebanon, and Morocco).
3.2 Corruption
Opposition to corruption is behind 20% of protests globally, with 558
events counted. Protests against corruption are often sparked by prior
complaints over poorly delivered public services in health, transporta-
tion, education, and security, as exemplified by the massive 2013 anti-
corruption protests in Brazil, which began as protests against rising bus
fares. Similar protests are to be found in many other countries (e.g.,
also Egypt, Haiti, Iran, Tunisia, Turkey, and Yemen). A large number of
protests are led by outraged citizens denouncing private-sector payouts
to politicians, tax fraud, manipulation of policies in the interests of the
privileged (e.g., Algeria, Bangladesh, Bulgaria, China, Hungary, Iceland,
India, Indonesia, Israel, Italy, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Lebanon, Madagascar,
Malaysia, Mexico, Morocco, Niger, Pakistan, Peru, Philippines, Romania,
Russia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Thailand, United States, and
Zimbabwe). Contrary to public perceptions, corruption is not an issue of
lower-income countries alone. Corruption is behind 16% of protests in
high-income countries, 24% in middle-income countries and 18% in low-
income countries. More on protests against corruption can be found in
Section 3 in Chapter 3.
3.3 Justice
Justice, or failure to receive justice from the legal system (not conceptual
kinds of justice, such as “environmental justice” or “economic justice”),
is a cause of 14% of all protests, with 410 protests counted overall. An
example can be found in the actions by “hacktivists” (digital activists) affil-
iated with Anonymous challenging unwilling state authorities to uphold
laws against rape, child pornography and police violence or face public
exposure of the perpetrators’ identities (e.g., in Canada and the United

States). Other examples are finance activists asking for reparations for
people who lost their savings due to banking crises (e.g., Italy and Spain)
and solidarity marches with victims wanting justice from the legal system
in case of house evictions, rape and others (e.g., Chad, Mexico, Nigeria,
and the United Kingdom).
3.4 Sovereignty and Patriotic Issues

Sovereignty and patriotic issues appear in 9% (264) of protests at both
extremes of the political spectrum. In recent years, patriotic matters have
been elevated by right-wing parties and groups (e.g., in Brazil, France,
Germany, Italy, Poland, Serbia, the United Kingdom, and the United
States); in Germany and Italy, for example, far-right nationalist groups
demonstrated against an “open door” policy for Muslim immigrants and
refugees. Sovereignty is also an ongoing issue for progressive protestors
demanding that big powers stop interfering in national policy-making in
developing countries (e.g., Ecuador, Ghana, Philippines, and Vietnam)
and in indigenous peoples’ matters (e.g., Brazil, Canada, Peru, and the
United States). Finally, sovereignty is a main claim of territories/areas
demanding independence (e.g., Catalonia, Hong Kong, Occupied Pales-
tinian Territory, Tibet, and Western Sahara). This is further developed in
Section 1 in Chapter 3.
3.5 Transparency and Accountability

Transparency and accountability are demands that lie behind nearly
9% of protest events worldwide, in 244 protests. This demand often
focuses on policies perceived as not serving the majority of citizens
(e.g., Australia, Greece, Iceland, Israel, and Spain). There are also many
protests against failed transparency and accountability in developing coun-
tries when governments adopt regressive tax policies and public service
reforms (e.g., Brazil, Colombia, Kenya, Philippines, and Thailand). This
demand also appears in protests about election results perceived as fraud
(e.g., Bolivia, Indonesia, South Korea, and the United States). Protests
on transparency and accountability are frequently linked to corruption
claims.
26 I. ORTIZ ET AL.
3.6 A “Deep Government”/Oligarchy

A “deep government” or oligarchy that manipulates policy-making is a
cause of more than 7% of all protests (208 protests counted). Claims
of an oligarchy secretly dominating the government is common among
both left-wing and radical right-wing groups. Examples include progres-
sive protests against the policies of autocratic leaders (e.g., in Belarus,
Brazil, Italy, Lebanon, Russia, Turkey, and Uganda) as well as radical right
protests against a supposed “deep government” that impedes advance-
ment of the far right agenda (e.g. in Germany, Poland, and the United
States).
3.7 Anti-war Protests/Anti Military-Industrial Complex

Anti-war protests and those against the military-industrial complex are
a factor in more than 6% of protests, with 181 episodes counted
overall. Protests by global networks working against war make most of
the demonstrations, with most protests focusing on the wars in Iraq,
Afghanistan. and Syria. Other protests focused on denouncing mili-
tary/police abuses (e.g., Democratic Republic of Congo, Mexico, Sudan,
and the United States), national military influence on governments (e.g.
Bolivia and Brazil), foreign powers’ military intervention (e.g., Mali
and Niger), and against United States military bases (e.g.,Ghana and
Japan). A number of nationally-coordinated anti-war/military protests
also occurred in the South Asia/Pacific region (e.g., Myanmar and
Philippines).
3.8 Citizen Surveillance

Surveillance of citizens by governments and of workers by corpora-
tions is a cause of 3% of all protests, with 103 episodes counted. Many
protests—especially since the Manning/Wikileaks 2011 leak of United
States diplomatic cables and intensifying with the 2013 case of surveil-
lance whistleblower Edward Snowden—have focused on the actions of the
United States. In other countries there have been protests against surveil-
lance by national governments (e.g., Australia, Brazil, Canada, China,
Germany, Morocco, Netherlands, Philippines, Spain, Turkey, the United
Kingdom, the United States, and Vietnam) for spying on citizens and
restricting the Internet. Germany, for instance, has experienced giant
protests against regulation of social media and the Internet.
3.9 Anti-socialism and Anti-communism

This appears in less than 1% of protests (25) in the period 2006–2020.
In recent times, anti-socialism and anti-communism have been linked
to radical right protests in high-income countries (e.g., Germany and
the United States), to opposition movements against Latin American
left-leaning governments (e.g., in Bolivia and Ecuador) and to some
conservative Muslim protests (e.g., Bangladesh).
4 Grievances/Demands
on Economic Justice/Anti-austerity
The cluster of issues related broadly to demands for economic justice,
including anti-austerity grievances, are the second most common reason
why people around the world protest. Overall, 1484 protests in the
period 2006–2020, or nearly 53% of total protests counted in the study,
reflect people’s outrage at economic and social public policy failures and
a perceived lack of broad-based development. Protestors have evinced
strong demands for jobs and better living and working conditions, quality
public services for all, tax and fiscal justice, equitable land and pension
reforms, as well as affordable food, fuel and other goods (Fig. 6). Protests
have accelerated because of the contraction of decent jobs as a result of
the global crisis and the extension of austerity measures worldwide since
2010, affecting nearly four billion people—half of the world population—
in 2017. Recently, the jobs crisis has been accentuated by the COVID-19
pandemic, resulting in more protests despite lockdowns. The majority of
global protests for economic justice and against austerity have manifested
people’s indignation at the gross inequalities between ordinary commu-
nities and rich individuals/corporations. The idea of the “1% versus the
99%,” which emerged a decade earlier during the United States protests
over the 2008 financial and economic crisis, have quickly spread around
the world, feeding earlier grievances against eliteswriting of the rules and
manipulating public policies in their favor, while the majority of citizens
continue to endure low living standards.
Another random document with
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may be bought for 2 cents a pound or less, whereas an iron of
Silicon < .02

Phosphorus < .01
Sulphur trace
can hardly be bought for less than 5 cents a pound.
This difference of three cents a pound is justifiable when the
highest grade of tool-steel is to be made; and it would be silly to
require any such material in any spring, machinery, or structural
steel.
In addition to these impurities there are other difficulties to be
guarded against, chief among which is an uneven distribution of
elements.
In all steel there is some segregation; that is to say, as the liquid
metal freezes, the elements are to some extent squeezed out and
collected in that part of the ingot which congeals last. It is claimed
that in the Bessemer and Open-hearth processes any ferro-silicon
added to quiet a heat, or any ferro-manganese added to remove
oxygen, are at once absorbed and distributed through the mass, and
so when any serious irregularity is discovered it is charged to
segregation.
A heat may produce billets of 75 carbon and 120 carbon, and
again it is called segregation.
As a rule, inertia has more to do with such differences than
segregation. One crucible of steel may produce an ingot containing
90 carbon and 130 carbon. Segregation has nothing to do with this:
a careless mixer has put a heavy lump of 140- or 150-carbon steel in
the bottom of the pot and covered it up with iron. The steel melted
first and settled in the bottom of the pot, the iron melted later and
settled on top of the steel, and they did not mix. The teeming was not
sufficient to cause a thorough mixing.
Segregation covers a multitude of sins.
Exactly how much is sin and how much is segregation will not be
known until analyses are made of the top, middle, and bottom of the
bath, and of the contents of the ladle, these to be compared to
analyses of the top, bottom, and middle of the ingots. There is
certainly an unavoidable amount of segregation, and as equally
certain an amount of curable irregularity due to inertia.
WILD HEATS.
After steel is melted, whether in a crucible, an open hearth, or a
Bessemer vessel, it boils with more or less violence. This boiling is
caused by ebullition of gases, and if steel be poured into moulds
while it is boiling the resulting ingot will be found to be honeycombed
to an extent that is governed by the degree of the boiling.
If a heat boils violently and persistently, it is said to be “wild,” and
if a wild heat be teemed the ingots will be honeycombed completely;
such ingots cannot be worked into thoroughly sound steel, and no
melter who has any regard for his work will teem a wild heat if he
knows it.
To stop the boiling is called “dead-melting,” “killing” the steel, so
that it shall be quiet in the furnace and in the moulds.
A crucible-steel maker who knows his business can, and he will,
always dead-melt his steel. It only requires a few minutes of
application of a heat a little above melting temperature, and this can
be applied by a skilled melter without burning his crucible or cutting
down his furnace; this is indeed about all of the art there is in
crucible-melting, the remaining operations being easy and simple.
Dead-melting in the Bessemer vessel is not possible by increase
of time; wild heats are managed differently, probably by adding
manganese or silicon, or both, but exactly how is not within the
author’s experience.
Dead-melting in the open hearth would appear at first sight to be
always possible, but there are more difficulties in the way than in the
case of crucible-melting.
The heat may be wild when the right carbon is reached, and then
the melter must use a little ferro-silicon, or silico-spiegel, or highly
silicious pig, or aluminum, and he must use good judgment so as not
to have his steel overdosed with any of these. From half an ounce to
an ounce of aluminum to a ton of steel is usually sufficient, and
although any considerable content of aluminum is injurious to steel
there is little danger of its being added, because of its cost, and
because a little too much aluminum will cause the ingots to pipe from
top to bottom.
Silicon seems to be the most kindly element to use, and it is
claimed that a content of silicon as high as 20 is not injurious; some
people claim that it is beneficial. That it does help materially in the
production of sound steel there can be no doubt, and if such steel
meets all of the requirements of the engineer and of practice it would
seem to be wise not to place the upper limit for silicon so low as to
prevent its sufficient use in securing soundness. But the author
cannot concede that as much as 20 silicon is necessary. In crucible
practice high silicon is not necessary; in “melting-iron,” or iron to be
melted, it means so much dirt, indicating careless workmanship; but
there will always be a little silicon present which the steel has
absorbed from the walls of the crucible during the operation of
melting. In high tool-steel silicon should be at the lowest minimum
that is attainable.
This discussion of wild heats may appear to be outside of the
scope of this work, and to belong exclusively to the art of
manufacturing steel, of which this book does not pretend to treat.
This is true so far that it is not recommended that the engineer shall
meddle in any way with the manufacturer in the management of his
work; on the other hand, it is vital to the engineer that he should
know about it, because wild steel may hammer or roll perfectly well,
it may appear to be sound, but the author cannot believe that it is
ever sound and reliable.
Again, it has a scientific interest; that wildness is due to too much
gas, and probably to carbon-gas, may be shown by an illustration.
It has its parallel in the rising of the iron in a puddling-furnace at
the close of the boil, a phenomenon with which every one is familiar
who has watched a heat being boiled or puddled. That all of the iron
does not run out of the puddling-furnace at this stage is owing to the
fact that there is not heat enough in the puddling-furnace to keep the
iron liquid after it has been decarbonized.
During the running of a basic open-hearth furnace an apparently
dead heat was tapped; before the steel reached the ladle there was
a sort of explosion; the steel was blown all over the shop, the men
had to run for their lives, and not one tenth of the steel reached the
ladle. The manager was rated roundly for carelessness in not having
dried his spout, and the incident closed. A few days later another
quiet heat was tapped and it ran into the ladle; about the time the
ladle was full the steel rose rapidly, like a beaten egg or whipped
cream, and ran out on to the floor, cutting the sides of the ladle, the
ladle-chains, and the crane-beams as it flowed. The men ran, and
there was no injury to the person.
Again the manager was blamed, this time for having a damp
ladle, and he was notified of an impending dismissal if such a thing
occurred again. He protested that he knew the ladle and the stopper
were red-hot, that he had examined them personally and carefully,
and knew he stated the truth.
There were several reasons for looking into the matter farther:
first, the man in charge was known to be truthful and careful, so that
there was no reason for doubting his word; second, if the vessel and
rod were red-hot, there could be no aqueous moisture there; and,
finally, such an ebullition from dampness was contrary to experience,
as a small quantity of water under a mass of molten iron, or slag,
results almost invariably in a violent explosion, like that of
gunpowder or dynamite.
Upon inquiry it was found that prior to both ebullitions there had
been a large hole in the furnace-bottom, requiring about a peck of
material to fill it in each case. Magnesite was used; the magnesite
was bought raw, and burned in the place. It is well known that it
takes a long time and high heat to drive carbonic acid out of
magnesite, and it was surmised that insufficient roasting might have
caused the trouble. Samples of burned and of raw magnesite were
sent to the laboratory, and the burned was found to contain about as
much carbonic acid as the raw magnesite. Then the case seemed
clear: This heavily charged magnesite was packed into the hole; the
heat was charged and melted. The magnesite held the carbonic acid
until near the close of the operation; then the intense heat of the
steel forced the release of the gas, which was at once absorbed by
the steel. Owing to the superincumbent weight of the steel the gas
was absorbed quietly, and when the weight was removed the gas
escaped, exactly as it does at the close of puddling or in the frothing
of yeast.
Whether the carbonic acid remained such, or whether it took up
an equivalent of carbon and became carbonic oxide, and then again
took up oxygen from the bath, and so kept on increasing in volume,
is not known.
The facts seem clear, and the collateral proof is that thorough
burning of the magnesite, and of any dolomite that was used,
prevented a recurrence of any such accidents.
Such ebullitions have occurred and caused the burning to death
of pitmen, and the statement of the above case may be of use to
melters in the future who have not met such an experience.
OXYGEN AND NITROGEN.

Oxygen and nitrogen are present in all steel and both are
injurious, probably the most so of all impurities.
The oxides of iron are too well known to need discussion or
description; they are the iron ores mixed with gangue. They are
brittle, friable, hard, and weak, like sandstones. Mixed in steel they
can be nothing but weakeners, elements of disintegration. Let any
one take a handful of scale—or rust—oxide of iron, in his fingers and
crumble it, and it will be difficult for him to imagine how such material
could be anything but harmful when incorporated in steel. Langley
has shown, and other scientists have confirmed him, that oxygen
may exist in iron in solution, and not as oxide; the discovery was
attended with the assertion that such dissolved oxygen produced
excessive red-shortness. The proof that red-shortness was caused
in this way was completed by the removal of the oxygen from some
extremely red-short steel; the red-shortness disappeared with the
oxygen and the steel worked perfectly.
When steel is melted very low in carbon, by any process, it is
certain to be red-short and rotten unless the greatest care be used to
prevent the introduction of oxygen. Crucible-steel of 15 carbon or
less will as a rule be red-short and cold-short; it will not weld, and is
generally thoroughly worthless. The same material melted to contain
18 to 25 carbon will be tough and waxlike, hot or cold. It will weld
easily into tubes, and may be stamped cold into almost any desired
shape.
Bessemer or open-hearth steel of less than 8 carbon is almost
certain to be equally worthless, whereas the same material blown or
melted not below 10 or 12 carbon, and re-carbonized not above 20,
will be tough and good at any heat under granulation, and equally
good and tough when cold.
As to Bessemer steel, the author cannot say whether it would be
possible to stop the blow between 10 and 15 carbon or not, but it
seems certain that if there be no overblowing red-shortness and
cold-shortness may be avoided by carbonizing back to about 15 by
the use of manganese or silicon, or both together.
In the open hearth it is always possible to stop the melt at 10
carbon, and to deoxidize the heat so as to avoid shortness, and not
to go above 20 carbon. Such steel will be sound and tough; it will
weld and stamp perfectly, and will be satisfactory for all reasonable
requirements.
The reason of this seems to be simple and plain: In melting or
blowing out the last fractions of carbon below 10 to 15 the same
quantity of air per second or minute must be used as when burning
out the higher quantities, and now there is so little carbon to be
attacked that the oxygen necessarily attacks the iron in greater and
greater force as the carbon decreases.
This leaves an excess of oxygen in the steel which cannot be
removed by the ordinary quantities of silicon, or manganese, or
aluminum.
If more manganese or silicon be used, the red-shortness and
weakness can be cured largely; but then the carbon is raised
considerably, and thus the steel is brought up to where it would have
been without this excessive decarbonizing, with the difference that it
is not quite so strong.
What good is there, then, in extremely low melting?
It must be admitted that there are tough, good-working steels in
the market of carbon < 5, manganese < 20. They are made in small
furnaces, worked with great care; the product is expensive, and,
unless it is wanted to be welded in place of common wrought iron, it
is in no case as good as well-made steel of 12 to 20 carbon; even for
welding the latter is superior if the worker will only be satisfied to
work at a lemon instead of a scintillating heat.
These special cases do not militate against the general fact that
extremely low steel is usually red-short and weak.
The above is written for the consideration of those engineers who
think they are going safe when they prescribe low tensile strength
and excessive ductility. If these requirements meant the reception of
pure, or nearly pure, iron, indicated by the low tenacity and high
stretch, then they would be wise; but if they result, as they almost
certainly do, in initially good material rotted by overdoses of oxygen
the wisdom may not be so apparent.
NITROGEN.
The real influence of nitrogen is not known to the author. Percy
shows that nitrogenized iron is hard, exceedingly friable, and causes
a brilliant, brassy lustre. He also says nitrogen is driven out at a
yellow heat; doubtless this is true of the excess of nitrogen, but it has
been shown in Chapter II that melting in a crucible will not drive the
nitrogen out of Bessemer steel.
When crucible-steel not made from Bessemer scrap and
Bessemer steel of equal analysis are compared in the tempered
condition, there is almost invariably a yellowish tinge over the fresh
Bessemer fracture which distinguishes it from the crucible-steel. The
Bessemer steel is also the weaker. These differences are believed to
be due to nitrogen.
Langley maintains his belief that oxygen is still the chief mischief-
maker; the author believes nitrogen to be the more potent of the two;
there is no known way to remove the nitrogen, and there the
question stands.
ELEMENTS OF DISINTEGRATION.
It has been stated time and again that these impurities are
elements of disintegration, and that it would be wise in every case to
restrict the quantities allowable within reasonable limits, giving the
steel-maker sufficient leeway to enable him to work efficiently and
economically, and at the same time to keep the quantities of these
impurities as low as possible.
On the other hand, able, successful, and conservative engineers
have claimed that if the steel-maker meets their physical
requirements as shown by prescribed tests they, the engineers,
should be satisfied; that they should not interfere with chemical
composition, as they had no fear of subsequent disintegrations.
This argument was answered by the statement that skilled steel-
workers could manipulate poor steel so as to bring it up to the
requirements; that the well-trained workers in the bridge-shops
would not abuse the steel; that the inherent deficiencies would not
be developed; the work would go out apparently satisfactory; and
that it might remain so for a long time, in the absence of unusual
shocks or strains, but that in an emergency such material might fail
because of deterioration where a purer material would have held on.
In the absence of proofs such statements have been met with a
smile of incredulity.
Fortunately some proofs are now at hand, and as the method of
getting them has been obtained, more will follow from time to time.
In Engineering, Jan. 17, 1896, Mr. Thomas Andrews, F.R.S.,
M.Inst.C.E., gives the following cases:
A fracture of a rail into many pieces, causing a serious accident.
A broken propeller-shaft which nearly caused a disastrous
accident.
Analysis of the rail:
Carbon 0.440
Silicon 0.040
Manganese 0.800
Sulphur 0.100
Phosphorus 0.064
It is clear that the sulphur is excessive, and that it was neutralized
so as to make the steel workable by an excess of manganese.
Of the propeller-shaft Mr. Andrews says chemical analysis of
outside and central portions of the shaft showed serious segregation.
“The percentage of combined carbon was nearly 50 per cent
greater in the inside of the shaft than on the outside; the manganese
was also in excess in the inside of the shaft; the phosphorus and
sulphur had also segregated in the interior of the shaft to nearly
three times the percentage of these elements found near the outside
of the shaft.”
Unfortunately Mr. Andrews does not give the analysis of the
shaft.
A number of micro-sections of the rail and of the shaft were made
and examined.
“Numerous micro-sulphur flaws were found, varying in size from
0.015 inch downward, interspersed or segregated in the
intercrystalline junctions of the ultimate crystals of the steel, and
being located in such a manner as to prevent metallic cohesion
between the facets of the crystals, thus inducing lines of internal
weakness liable to be acted upon by the stress and strain of actual
wear.”
The dimensions of these flaws in the rail varied from .0150 ×
.0012 to .0010 × .0004 parts of an inch.
In the shaft from .0160 × .0030 to .0020 × .0016 parts of an inch.
In the rail he found as many as 14 flaws in an area of only
0.00018 square inch, equal to nearly 60,000 flaws per square inch.
In the shaft he found as many as 34 flaws in an area of only
0.00018 square inch, equal to nearly 190,000 per square inch.
In speaking of the shaft he says: “In addition to blow-holes, air-
cavities, etc., the interior of the shaft was literally honeycombed with
micro-sulphide of iron flaws, which were meshed about and around
the primary crystals of the metal in every direction.” “The deleterious
effects of an excess of manganese in interfering with the normal
crystallization of the normal carbide of iron areas were also
perceptible.”
As the number of micro-sulphur flaws in the shaft were about
three times as many as in the rail, we may assume that the shaft
contained at least as large a percentage of sulphur as the rail, and,
owing to the general honeycombed structure, it would not be a far
guess to assume that the steel was teemed wild.
“The deleterious effect of these treacherous sulphur areas and
other microscopic flaws, with their prolonged ramifications spreading
along the intercrystalline spaces of the ultimate crystals of the metal
and destroying metallic cohesion, will be easily understood.”
“Constant vibration gradually loosens the metallic adherence of
the crystals, especially in areas where these micro-flaws exist.
Cankering by internal corrosion and disintegration is induced
whenever the terminations of any of the sulphide areas or other
flaws in any way become exposed at the surface of the metal, either
to the action of sea-water, or atmospheric or other oxidizing
influences. In many other ways, also, it will be seen how deleterious
is their presence.”
“Internal micro-flaws of various character are nevertheless almost
invariably present in masses of steel, and constitute sources of initial
weakness which not unfrequently produce those mysterious and
sudden fractures of steel axles, rails, tires, and shafts productive of
such calamitous results. A fracture once commencing at one of
these micro-flaws (started probably by some sudden shock or
vibration, or owing to the deterioration caused by fatigue in the
metal) runs straight through a steel forging on the line of least
resistance, in a similar manner to the fracture of glass or ice.”
It is understood that similar investigations are being carried out
on an extensive scale by Prof. Arnold; in the meantime the above
cases should satisfy any one that these impurities are elements of
disintegration, and that the less there are of them in any steel the
better for the steel.
It seems clear that if 10 sulphur will cause 60,000 flaws per
square inch, 01 sulphur ought not to cause more than one tenth of
that number; or, if an equal number, then they could only be one
tenth of the size.
The segregation found in the shaft is so excessive that it would
seem probable that there was a good deal of sin there also; but,
even if it were unavoidable segregation, the harm would have been
just so much the less if there had been less of total impurities
present to segregate.
ARSENIC.
Arsenic is known to be very harmful in tool-steel, and it is proper
to assume that it can do no good in structural steel. In any case
where the properties of steel do not come up to the standard to be
expected from the regular analysis examination should be made for
arsenic, antimony, copper, etc. These are not as universal
constituents of steel as silicon, phosphorus, sulphur, and
manganese, but they are present frequently, and in any appreciable
amount they are bad.
XI.
THEORIES OF HARDENING.
The hardening of steel is such a marked phenomenon, and one

of so great importance, that it has always attracted a great deal of
attention, and many theories have been put forward in explanation.
Before chemistry was brought to bear upon the subject the
proposed theories were based upon assumption, and as there were
no proofs one had as much right to consideration as another, and
none seemed to be altogether satisfactory.
Since science has taken up the question the theories are about
as numerous as the investigators, and while no one can claim as yet
to have settled the matter definitely, each one has an apparent basis
of reason deduced from observed facts.
Among early observations it was noted that when unhardened
steel and hardened steel were dissolved in acid a much larger
amount of carbon was found in the solution of the unhardened than
in that of the hardened steel. This led, first, to the distinction of
combined carbon and graphitic carbon, a distinction that has been
maintained through subsequent investigations. It seems to be well
established now that there is a definite carbide of iron, Fe₃C, and
some observers believe it to be the hard substance in hardened
steel.
Following this came the announcement that these conditions,
combined and graphitic carbon, represented two different forms of
carbon, and they were designated as cement carbon and hardening
carbon; also as non-hardening and hardening carbon. Later
investigation having established the existence of the carbide Fe₃C,
this was claimed to be the hard body, but this has not met universal
acceptance.
Another investigator, studying by means of the pyrometer and
observing heat phenomena, concludes that hardening is due to an
allotropic condition of the iron itself; that when iron is heated above
the recalescent-point, and presumably below granulation, it becomes
in itself excessively hard; that sudden cooling prevents its changing
from this form, and so, when there is carbon present, the result of
quenching is great hardness.
When steel is allowed to cool slowly to below recalescence, the
iron assumes another form, and one which cannot be hardened by
quenching; this latter is known as α iron, and the hardening kind as β
iron. A later investigator finds it necessary to have a third allotropic
form to meet some of the phenomena, which he designates by
another Greek letter.
Another investigator establishes independently the saturation-
point, which was pointed out and published twenty years ago, viz.,
somewhere about 90 to 100 carbon; he fixes the saturation-point at
89 carbon and gives the formula Fe₂₄C. He assumes that this is an
exceedingly unstable carbide, that it is formed between recalescence
and granulation, and can only be fixed by quenching, and that when
steel is quenched the fixing of this carbide is the cause of hardness.
A still later investigation establishes this saturation-point at about
100 carbon by observing that in hardened steel of 135 carbon there
is a combination of 100 carbon which is the excessively hard part of
the steel, and a portion containing the remaining 35 parts of carbon
that is not quite so hard, and he suggests a fourth allotropic form to
cover this part.
It is also suggested that steel should be considered and treated
as an igneous rock; judging from the appearance of magnified micro-
sections, this suggestion appears to be a happy one for the purpose
of making comparisons.
The above theories of hardening, and others, are not to be
regarded as antagonistic or contradictory, doubtless there are germs
of truth in every one of them, or each one may be merely the
individual’s way of suggesting an explanation of the same observed
phenomena, so that when a final conclusion is reached each may be
found to have been travelling in the same direction by a different
path. It is certain that able, patient, painstaking, men are working
faithfully to produce a solution of the problem, and even if their ideas,
as briefly given above, do seem to be contradictory it would only
evince deeper ignorance and a stupid mind in any who should
attempt to ridicule or unduly criticise honest work before it is
completed. While these investigations are going on, and before any
definite conclusion is reached, is there any well-established safe
ground for the steel-worker and the engineer to stand upon? There
certainly is a good working hypothesis for all to use, and one which it
is believed will always be the right one to follow no matter what the
final explanation of the remarkable phenomena of hardening,
tempering, and annealing may prove to be.
After many years of careful experimenting and study Prof. J. W.
Langley came to the conclusion that no matter what the final result
might be as to carbides, allotropic conditions, etc., that if steel were
considered as iron containing carbon in solution, whether it were a
chemical combination or a mere solution, and that cold steel be
regarded as a congealed liquid in a state of tension, then all known
phenomena could be accounted for, and all known conditions could
be produced with certainty by well-known applications of heat and
force.
When carbon is in the so-called combined condition, then the
solution maybe compared to pure sea-water; when the carbon is
partly combined and partly graphitic, the solution may be compared
to muddy sea-water, the mud representing the graphitic carbon.
When the carbon is practically all graphitic, as in over-annealed
steel, then the solution may be compared to thoroughly muddy fresh
water.
This hypothesis of solution agrees well with the saturation noted;
then about 100 carbon is all that iron will dissolve without extraneous
force; and higher carbon must be forced into solution by the work of
hammers, presses, or rolls.
This gives reason to the experienced tool-maker’s well-known
preference for well-hammered steel.
The hypothesis of tension, probably molecular, covers all of the
phenomena of excessive hardness due to high heat, which means
high molecular motion checked violently by sudden quenching. It
accounts for the progressive softening due to every added degree of
heat, and it accounts for rupture, cracking, due to excessive heat or
to any unevenness of heat.
Without this hypothesis of tension it is difficult to understand why
quenching should rupture a piece of steel, no matter what the degree
of heat, or how uneven it might be.
Without it, too, it is hard to see how successive additions of heat
can cause gradual changes from β to α iron, or from an unstable
carbide to an imperfect solution. It would seem that the allotropic
changes, or the decompositions of carbides, must be more marked
than the gradual changes from hard to soft which we know to take
place by slow and gentle accretions of heat.
There is no property of steel known to the author which is not
covered by Langley’s hypothesis, and therefore it is put forward with
confidence for engineers and steel-users to work by until the
scientists shall have completed their investigations, and after that it
is believed that it will be a safe working hypothesis, because science
does not change facts, it only collates them and reveals the laws of
action.
Under this hypothesis of Langley’s we may define hardness as
tension, softness as absence of tension.
This is not stated as established fact; it is given as a simple
definition to cover the known phenomena until the final solution of
the problem shall lead to a better explanation.
Regarding steel as a solution of carbon in iron, one important fact
may be set down as established thoroughly: that is, that the more
perfect the solution under all circumstances the better the steel.
Continued application of heat in any part of the plastic condition
allows carbon to separate out of solution into a condition of mere
mixture; it converts the clear sea-water into muddy water; this is the
reason why so much emphasis has been given in previous chapters
to the harmfulness of long-continued heating.
In every case, when steel is hot enough for the purpose desired,
it should be removed at once from the fire.
XII.
INSPECTION.
Careful and systematic inspection is of the utmost importance

from the first operation of melting to the last act of the finisher.
Assuming that every operator is honest and conscientious in the
performance of his work, the personal equation must be considered,
as well as the exigencies of the many operations. The steel-maker
must inspect his ingots to see that they are melted well and teemed
properly, that they are sound and clean, and to determine their
proper temper.
When work is finished, he must inspect it to see that it has been
worked at proper, even heats, that it is correct in dimensions, and
that all pipes and seams have been cut out. After all this has been
done faithfully it were well that his work were done when it were well
done. Such is not his happy lot; every successive manipulator may
ruin the steel by carelessness or ignorance, and it is a gala day for a
steel-maker when he does not receive some sample of stupid
ignorance or gross carelessness, with an intimation that it would be
well for him to learn how to make steel before he presumed to offend
by sending out such worthless material. And sometimes, though not
so often if he knows his business, he finds a complaint well founded;
then he must regulate his own household and make his peace with
his angry customer as best he can.
The engineer must inspect his steel to see that it is sound, and
clean, and finished properly, as he has a right to expect that it should
be.
It is not intended here to lay down rules for shop and field
inspection,—that is an art in itself outside of the function or the
experience of a steel-maker,—but some hints may be given as to the
examination of steel as it comes from the mill, and it has been the
aim in previous chapters to give such information as may enable an
engineer to form a good judgment as to matters which are not likely
to come to his knowledge in the course of ordinary practice.
Steel should be sound; it should be examined before it is oiled or
painted. All pipe should be cut off; a pipe of any considerable size
will show in the end of a sheared bar, and a careful observer will
soon learn to detect it. If there is reason to suspect a pipe, file the
place and the pipe will be revealed if it is there. Do not chip at it, for a
chisel will often smooth a line which a file will bring out. In tool-steel
there should not only be no pipe, there should be no star left in the
bar. A “star” is a bright spot which shows the last of the pipe, not
quite cut away; the steel is not solid in the star and it will not make a
good cutting-edge; it may even cause a sledge to split.
SEAMS.
In tool-steel there should be no seams at all. Some makers
declare that in high steel, seams are evidences of good quality; such
a statement is the veriest fraud; it is hard to get any high steel free
from seams, and therefore if the maker can get the user to believe
that a seam is a good thing he can enhance his profit; that is, he can
enhance it for a time until his fraud is understood.
Some seams are hard to see; when there is reason to suspect
one, a little filing across the line will show it in a distinct black line if it
is there. A file is an indispensable tool for an inspector, better than a
chisel or a grindstone.
In machinery and structural steel a few small seams may be
unobjectionable; too close inspection may lead to unnecessary cost
without a compensating gain; still every engineer should reserve the
right to determine what seams are allowable and what are not, for
his own safety.
Laps should not be tolerated in any work.
Torn cracks on edges or surface indicate burned steel or red-
short steel; they should not be allowed.
The grain of steel should be practically uniform, not too coarse,
not with brilliant lustre, nor with a dark india-ink tint. With an even
fine grain, a bright lustre may indicate a mild steel not worked badly.
Inspectors must learn by practice what is tolerable and what is not,
as it is impossible to lay down hard and fast rules; it is safe, however,
to say that a fairly fine grain of even texture, not much lustre, and no
india-ink shade, is indicative of good heating and proper working.
With these few general hints the subject must be left, for, like
tempering, inspecting is an art in itself, and it cannot be taught in a
book.
An expert inspector will see seams and pipes with his naked eye
that a novice could not detect with an ordinary magnifying-glass.
It may do no harm to the inspector to suggest to him that
amiability and good sense are the best ingredients to mix with sound
judgment.
If he will cultivate these, and learn to distinguish between a mere
blemish and a real defect, he will find his work made easy and
pleasant; and he will be far less likely to have bad work thrust at him
than he will if he makes it apparent that he regards himself as the
only honest man.

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World Protests: A Study Of Key Protest

Issues In The 21st Century 1st Edition

Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung New York; Initiative for

ISBN 978-3-030-88512-0 ISBN 978-3-030-88513-7 (eBook)

Cover illustration: © Melisa Hasan

Thanks to José Antonio Ocampo (Professor of Professional Practice and

thanks to all the anonymous reviewers and to Donatella della Porta

4.2 Reform of Public Services 31

9.2 Blockades, Occupations and Civil

5 From the Arab Spring to the Latin America Spring:

Isabel Ortiz is director of the Global Social Justice Program at Joseph

Sara Burke is a senior expert on the global economy and international

and advice on economic policy frameworks and the multilateral system,

Mohamed Berrada is an economics consultant and entrepreneur. Besides

Hernán Saenz Cortés is an International Relations Ph.D. from Univer-

COVID-19 Corona-Virus Disease of 2019

Fig. 5 Grievances/demands arising from the failure of political

Fig. 18 Main targets of world protests, 2006–2020 (Source

Fig. 8 Protests against corruption, 5-year periods, 2006–2020

Abstract The Introduction of “World Protests: A Study of Key Protest

Keywords Protests · Social movements · Democracy ·

© The Author(s) 2022 1

failures of democracy and of economic and social development, fueled

1 Protest event analysis (PEA) is a research method developed by sociologists over

Who protests? Recent research shows the increasing participation of

5 Based on 2020 data contained in United Nations (2019).

Algeria DemocraƟc Israel Nepal Spain

Action Database.8 Our approach has enabled us to track movements in

3 Organization of the Book

8 The Global Nonviolent Action Database. See https://nvdatabase.swarthmore.edu (last

educational events; boycotts and legal/paralegal methods; hunger strikes

with Human Rights and internationally-agreed United Nations devel-

United Nations. (2012). Report of the United Nations Special Rapporteur on

An Analysis of World Protests 2006–2020

Abstract This section of the book “World Protests: A Study of Key

Keywords Protests · Social movements · Riots · Democracy · Austerity ·

1 The World Awakens:

© The Author(s) 2022 13

Table 1 Number of protests in 2006–2020

2006–2010 2011–2015 2016–2020 Total

East Asia and Pacific 98 144 136 378

Table 2 Number of protests by country income groups, 2006–2020

High-income Upper Lower Low income Global Total

Table 3 Number of protests by region, 2006–2020

Real Democracy 779

Fig. 1 Number of protests by grievance/demand topics, 2006–2020 (Source

• Failure of Political Representation and Political Systems: 1503

Fig. 2 Number of protests by main grievance/demand from year 2006 to 2020

masks during the COVID-19 pandemic). Global-justice related protests

3 Grievances/Demands on Failure of Political

Transparency and Accountability

0 200 400 600 800 1000

Fig. 3 Protests failures of political representation/political systems by income

Formal representative democracies are perceived around the world as

3.1 Real Democracy

Real democracy 111 238 108 75 67 14 130 36 779

Fig. 4 Map of protests on failure of political representation and political

Fig. 5 Grievances/demands arising from the failure of political representa-

exposure of the perpetrators’ identities (e.g., in Canada and the United

3.4 Sovereignty and Patriotic Issues

3.5 Transparency and Accountability

3.6 A “Deep Government”/Oligarchy

3.7 Anti-war Protests/Anti Military-Industrial Complex