Lately I’ve been reading the work of social psychologists Martijn van Zomeren and Eric Shuman, who study the psychology and effectiveness of protests.

Non-disruptive actions like today’s #HandsOff rallies are good at mobilizing sympathizers to support a cause. But if you want to change policy, nonviolent *disruptive* protests work better: strikes, sit-ins, boycotts, infrastructure disruption, etc.

As Frederick Douglass said, “Power concedes nothing without a demand.”

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tics.2023.10.003

One lesson I'd like to share about organising protests against the far-right and authoritarianism. Here in Munich, where we had protests with 200.000+ participants in 2024 and 2025, there was one simple rule.

No politicians were allowed to speak on stage. Only activists and victims speak.

The politicians, no matter what they promise at a protest, go back to their parliaments, think they've done enough and continue with business as usual. So remember: It's our protest. Not their photo-op. 1/4

Everyone who confuses correlation and causation ends up dying...