"People power" is a political slogan denoting the populist driving force of any social movement which invokes the authority of grassroots opinion and willpower, usually in opposition to that of conventionally organised corporate or political forces. People power protest attempts to make changes in the political process of a given state - it refers to “revolutions driven by civil society mobilisation” which result in a reconfiguration of political power in a given state. This method is reliant on popular participation “civilian-based” and therefore does not include isolated acts or protest without an overarching organisation by a group of people. People power can be manifested as a small-scale protest or campaign for neighborhood change; or as wide-ranging, revolutionary action involving national street demonstrations, work stoppages and general strikes intending to overthrow an existing government and/or political system. With regards to tactics employed by People Power movements, both nonviolence and violence have been used throughout history: as was the case in the non-violent 1986 People Power Revolution in the Philippines which overthrew the Marcos régime, or the violent uprising in Libya in 2011. People power movements rely on popular participation and are therefore supported by civilians, as opposed to a governmental organisation or military wing. For this reason, academics and historians often consider the grassroots nature of people power movements, as they express the discontent of the governed.
History The earliest origins of people power protests are often identified as in “the third world, across at the second half of the twentieth century”. The socio-political and economic circumstances of this period popularised grassroots movements in the Third World. These circumstances include: a general trend in growing attention to human rights across the globe; advancements in communication technologies which allowed for dissemination of revolutionary ideas and organisational capabilities; minimal censorship of citizens by the government; among others. A specifically renowned instantiation of people power is the ‘flower power’ movement of the 1960s, which was organised in opposition to the Vietnam War.
Goals The general academic consensus is that people power movements are executed with the goal of changing the existing political structure in a given country, and in most cases, installing a democratic political system. As such, social movements or acts of protest which either have a goal unassociated with a political ideology, or incoherent movements with no end goal at all, are considered excluded from people power.
Strategies With regards to the numerous strategies carried out by people power activists, movements of this kind may involve violence and pacifism. Academic scholars recognise that because people power movements operate with the end goal of changing the existing political structure, if violence is to be used it will be “pragmatic or strategic” rather than principled non-violence. Pragmatic non-violence can include “non-physical pressures” or other measures to “undermine the opponents power”. As such, the category of people power cannot be applied to protests which are ends in themselves to exclusively promote a nonviolent philosophy. Rather, people power will use violent or nonviolent strategies — or both — to achieve desired outcomes with specific political goals. A case in point is the EDSA Revolution in the Philippines of 1986, which although was intended to be a peaceful revolution, actually adopted violent tactics. Historically, when compared to violent campaigns, more cases of non-violent people power movements have succeeded in achieving their political goals as they gain wider resonance with audiences outside the movement. The level of organisation of people power movements varies from “relatively spontaneous…to pre-planned and highly coordinated”. There is not one specific method of planning or coordination necessary for a people power movement: so long as the tactics employed reflect a sustained effort from a “grassroots populace”. In terms of examples of different tactics employed, a wide range of strategies of protest and persuasion have been used. Strategies used by people power activists often engage the wider population so as to maximise participation and general engagement. Below is a list of strategies that would be exemplary of people power movements.
Small-scale
Social media and network communications to share photos, images, and longer texts Signatures for petitions House meetings and events Posters, letter-writing, phone-calling Contact with media outlets or press Civil disobedience Fundraising and education campaigns Direct appeals through messages and emails Crowdsourcing campaigns to maximise participation in communities
Large-scale Organised “acts of sabotage” against government which anticipate armed and violent conflicts Nonviolent action and campaigns Violent street demonstrations and marches Blockades Work stoppages General strikes Legal action Boycotts, investments or disinvestments April Carter, leading scholar on grassroots action and peace studies, identifies three advantages with the strategies of people power protests:It reflects how those engaged in strikes, demonstrations and occupation of key buildings, and facing down armed security forces, see themselves: the people rising against oppressive rulers; it links the idea of resistance to the idea of democracy, which is the goal of the mass protests; it suggests the central strategy (conscious or intuitive) behind such peaceful revolts: that rulers can be toppled when the ruled refuse to obey them any longer.
20th-century examples
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