The Global Moment of 2011: Democracy, Social Justice and Dignity

ABSTRACT In this contribution, we argue that post‐2010 activisms, ranging from the Arab revolts to the Occupy movement, the Indignados and anti‐austerity protests in Europe, and the pro‐democracy protests in Russia and Mexico, exhibit three kinds of commonalities. These are a common infrastructure of networks and meetings that facilitate rapid diffusion; a generational background shaped both by the precarity of paid work and by exposure to and participation in global information streams; and, most fundamentally, a shared articulation of demands and practices. We further argue that three interconnected concepts have been at the core of both demands and the identity of these movements: democracy, social justice and dignity. Flowing from these three shared values and practices, post‐2010 activisms also share a mistrust of institutional politics and a determination not to become corrupted by power, which run deeper than in previous generations of activists and which pose an ongoing challenge to their involvement with formal politics.