Perception Analysis of Nonviolent Public Protests in Bangladesh

Abstract

Public protests challenging powerful authorities or regimes have been notable features of democratic politics worldwide. There seems to be an increasing tendency among civilians to attend protest mobilizations by relying on nonviolent forms such as sit-ins, slogans, marches, human chains, demonstrations, petitions, and hunger strikes while resisting the adversary. Given the frequent display of public dissent, the conceptual underpinning of this type of protest action is often misconstrued. We know very little about the nature, form, organization, and effectiveness of the unarmed version of contentious political action. This research investigates to what extent people understand nonviolent public protests. In so doing, this study collects opinions of various groups of people to understand nonviolent protest movements in Bangladesh. The data is collected using a survey questionnaire. The findings of the study suggest that nonviolent action is a strategic option for ordinary civilians in Bangladesh. It further shows that the knowledge of the efficacy and potential of nonviolence is not broadly shared, which is why the power of nonviolence is far from acceptable to many groups. The result reveals that nonviolent protest is popular among urban-centric movement organizers and educated young activists, especially students. The study also finds that people envision nonviolent action as a reliable protest tool that can yield significant social and political changes in Bangladesh. These findings can be a good reference for future studies on Bangladesh’s social movements, contentious politics, and collective action.

Social Science Review, Vol. 40(2), December 2023 Page: 59-80