Methods, Strategies and Tactics in Social Movements in a State of emergency

Abstract

States of emergency such as natural disasters, coups, wars or pandemics can bring significant changes and challenges to social movements. In such situations, the methods, strategies and tactics they use can be crucial. The most common methods used by social movements include protests, civil disobedience, campaigns, building alliances through mobilisation, lobbying and civil protection - supported by the use of social media and street art to disseminate information. This panel will discuss how Russian feminists mobilised against authoritarianism and Russia's imperial aggression against Ukraine in February 2022, how they encountered obstacles that limited the spread of the movement and transnational feminist solidarity. It will also look at right-wing extremists in Germany who publicly call on people to leave Western Germany with their families and settle in rural Eastern Germany, where life is supposedly better: with a low percentage of foreigners, more support for right-wing parties, affordable real estate prices and, above all, a white population - a perfect place to save the German nation from the so-called "great replacement." The relationship between strategic considerations and practical attempts will be presented through a case study of a small town in East Germany. The panel will also look at mass mobilisations in autocracies, which have not been studied before. Revolutionary leaders may deliberately provoke punishment by the ruling regime to signal their political beliefs and encourage citizens to identify with and support the revolutionary movement. Finally, the panel will examine how the Russian feminist grassroots responded to Russian aggression against Ukraine by immediately protesting against the conflict, publishing a manifesto outlining their anti-military and anti-Putin agenda, and calling for international feminist movements to join anti-war protests worldwide and how they were able to attract support not only in Russia but also globally.

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