Political unrest is widespread dissatisfaction among a nation’s population and can result in protests or conflict against the governing authorities. It is not a well defined term in social science literature although it is used broadly in international human rights contexts and the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project (ACLED) defines it as “sporadic but continued collective physical violence in the context of social or political instability”. It can include riots, civil war or other non-state armed actions.
The development of women’s, gay and lesbian, peace and environmental, labour and trade union, indigenous land and cultural rights movements and other social change movements reawakened the power of political protest in the second half of the twentieth century demonstrating the strength of the potential for non-violent civil disobedience as a way of challenging the status quo. This has given rise to a new generation of activists who are highly articulate and confident in their ability to hold a centralized and extraordinarily well-organized adversary to account.
The root causes of political unrest are multifaceted and complex. They can be driven by a specific issue such as a policy or action of governmental authorities or a deeper sense of dissatisfaction and marginalization carried by citizens. For example, the food riots in Burkina Faso in 2008 that were initially driven by high food prices were underpinned by broader grievances with poverty, economic marginalization and state oppression. Often, these underlying drivers will lead to a wider sense of societal dissatisfaction and can fuel social change movements that span different groups within society.