Jun 1, 2011-2011
Belarus
Silent Protests
Share
ACTIVISTS/ACT.GROUPS/DESCRIPTION OF THE GROUP
Individual activist some of whom were connected to opposition presidential candidate Andrei Sannikov
TARGET
Alexander Lukashenko (Belarussian President)
WIDELY HELD BELIEF
People have the right to elect their leaders. People have the right to protest peacefully.
CASE NARRATIVE
Issue and Opponent: President Alyaksandr Lukashenka was re-elected in Belarus for the third time in 2011 from an election that many citizens believed was rigged. The Soviet-style economy suffered a major crisis, which resulted in Belarusians protesting the system and Lukashenka.
Dilemma Action: Young activists took to social media outlets like Facebook and Twitter to encourage others to join them in the streets to protest. The movement has gained over 10,000 supporters. People participated in silent protests by air clapping their hands in the streets during the weekly protests in 30 cities across Belarus. This action occurred over 5 weeks.
Outcomes: Authorities took the protests seriously, sending the KGB, the Belarusian secret police force, to obtain information about protestors from their social media pages. This information was obtained after they detained the site’s administrator and forced him to give them user passwords. 200 people were arrested during the protests, and no concessions were made.
PRIMARY STRUGGLE/GOAL
NONVIOLENT TACTICS USED
DA TACTICS USED
Symbolic sounds
CASE NARRATIVE WRITER
SUCCESS METRICS
9 / 12
(EREP) Dilemma action got replicated by other movements
(MC) Media Coverage
(MSYMP) Media coverage was sympathetic to the activists
(OR) Opponent response
(PS) Dilemma action built sympathy with the public
(PUN) Punishment favored the activists
(REFR) Dilemma action reframed the narrative of the opponent
(RF) Dilemma action reduced fear and/or apathy among the activists
(SA) Dilemma action appealed to a broad segment of the public
PART OF A LARGER CAMPAIGN
3 / 3
Activist group continued working together after the action
Encouraged more participants to join the movement
Internally replicated by the same movement
RESOURCES
Project documentation
Dilemma Actions Coding Guidebook
Case study documentation
Dilemma_Actions_Analysis_Dataset
SOURCES
Smith, Christopher. 2011. “BELARUS: THE ONGOING CRACKDOWN AND FORCES FOR CHANGE,” HEARING BEFORE THE COMMISSION ON SECURITY AND COOPERATION IN EUROPE. Retrieved July 23, 2023. (https://chrissmith.house.gov/uploadedfiles/2011.11.15_belarus_-_the_ongoing_crackdown_and_forces_for_change.pdf).
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. 2011. “Belarus courts jail, fine ‘silent’ protesters,” Retrieved July 23, 2023. ( https://www.refworld.org/publisher,RFERL,COUNTRYNEWS,BLR,4e204377c,0.html)
Related cases
Sep 20, 2018-2018
India
In Andhra Pradesh, in the village of Komarada Mandal, potholes have been left unattended by the local and regional government. Specifically, the interstate road near t...
/
Apr 15, 2012-2012
China
China has strict censorship rules that forbid people to engage in any gossip about top political leaders, their families, or internal party affairs. However, recently ...
/
Aug 16, 1992-1992
Brazil
On May 10, 1992, President Collor’s brother revealed Fernando Collor’s involvement in a peddling scheme during a magazine interview. On August 16, Presiden...
/
Subscribe to our newsletters to get full access to all materials on our website.