Will the “ordinary” uprisings change the world?

From Hong Kong in the east to Algeria in the west, and from France in the north to Chile in the south; ordinary people are rising up for change. Their uprisings seem to be a global wave rejecting the foundations of the current economic and social systems.

There may be a similarity between this wave and the one that preceded it a decade ago, but this time it seems more determined and challenging the status quo and seeking to change it. There are several observations that can be monitored with regard to the current uprisings in the world:

The first observation concerns those involved and actors in these uprisings, who are mostly ordinary people who do not have a political background in a direct sense (assuming that politics is a craft, as Max Weber says!), Came out to express their demands after losing confidence in the political class in their countries. , Whether in power or opposition.

In other words, they came from the political margin and not from the center that has monopolized politics for decades, and this is perhaps a big surprise for politicians and researchers alike. This is reminiscent of what a well-known sociologist Asif Bayat wrote a decade ago about the “ordinary” who would change the world, especially in the Middle East.

These "ordinary" suddenly moved from the margin to the center to be at the center of the event, becoming the focus of media and political attention, and trying to impose their demands and agenda on that "center", which ignored them and marginalized them until they revolted against him.

Second, there is an insistence on the part of these “ordinary” people not to return to their homes without fulfilling their demands, especially economic and social demands, even if it is necessary to continue demonstrating and staying in the street for weeks, months and even years, as is the case with the demonstrations of “yellow jackets” It started about a year ago in France and still occupies the center of Paris.

In Hong Kong and Algeria, and before them Sudan, all the way to Iraq and Lebanon today, demonstrators are still taking to the streets and important squares in order to challenge the policies and decisions of their governments.

Despite the repression, killing and violence they suffered, and dozens of victims, both in Hong Kong and Iraq and before in Sudan, whose uprising lasted from December 2018 until its demands were met in August 2019.

It is a phenomenon that deserves to be studied as it is reminiscent of the demonstrations of the human rights, civil and student movements, which appeared in the late sixties and extended until the mid-seventies, and contributed to the change of many societies in Europe and America.

Third, there are a variety of new tactics used by these “ordinary” protests. In addition to known tactics and protests such as demonstrations, sit-ins and strikes, there are different methods such as occupying streets and squares, using technology to maneuver with the authorities, and employing social media to overcome government surveillance and harassment.

Perhaps the main reason these protests have survived for weeks and months is their ability to devise new means and tools of protest, putting the authorities in the position of defenders more than the attacker.

Fourth, there is no central leadership to demonstrate. The “ordinary” depend on decentralized mobility, both leadership and geography. This phenomenon began in the 2011 protests, which had no clear leadership, which contributed to its success in overthrowing the regimes of corruption and tyranny, regardless of the hopes later.

In the current demonstrations - whether in Lebanon, Iraq, Hong Kong or France - there is no specific leadership or leadership of the movement, but there are field leaders whose role is limited to organizing events and actions on the ground, not speaking on behalf of the public. This reflects the maturity and awareness of the machines of monopolizing leadership or speaking on behalf of the masses as a gateway to attract, domesticate and empty the movement of its content.

However, this did not prevent the emergence of spontaneous and natural leaderships from the very heart of the movement itself, which became its conscience and pulse and ready to enter into negotiations with the authorities, as happened in the case of Sudan, which emerged from the bloc of the forces of the Declaration of Freedom and Change, which was born in the heart of the revolutionary uprising, and came out of leaders Automatic negotiation with the military and contribute to the development of the map of the transition.

Finally, the economic and social dominate the demands of protesters and demonstrators east and west, but there is a clear awareness of their relationship with the politician, and its role in getting the situation to what it is now. So there is no separation of demands for change between both.

On the contrary, the "ordinary" people who see the politicians are the root of the problem, whether it is corruption or the absence of social justice, or unemployment and the absence of basic services such as health, education and pensions.

It is not surprising, therefore, that the protesters raise slogans demanding the departure of the regime or the ruling elite in most of these uprisings, as the main responsible for the situation in those countries, such as in Lebanon, Iraq, Algeria, Chile and Bolivia.

What is amazing - so far - in these uprisings is the ability of these "ordinary" to change the rules of the game, and turn the margin to the center and the center to a margin, and even forced the center to comply with their demands, the most important respect for their will and dignity.