Around the world, people are marching: against Trump’s authoritarianism in the USA, Macron’s failures in France, and the cruelty of Gaza policy in the UK. Everywhere, governments are asking how to stop protest? when they should be asking why people feel the need to protest?.
In this video, I argue that protest is a democratic safety valve — a sign that governments are failing to meet basic human needs like food, housing, warmth, dignity, and justice. When people protest, it’s because they have been ignored.
Governments that suppress protest aren’t defending democracy; they are betraying it.
The real question is not how to silence dissent, but how to listen and act on what it tells us.
Watch now to explore why protest is essential to democratic life — and what it tells us about political failure and the possibility of renewal.