Political Dissent & RSA SSE Riga Debate Society
Types of Dissent
LEGAL PROTEST RULE DEPARTURE CONSCINETIOUS OBJECTION CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE RADICAL PROTEST REVOLUTIONARY ACTION
IMMORAL LAW CANNOT BE MORALLY BINDING Justification IMMORAL LAW CANNOT BE MORALLY BINDING What’s bad about dissent? Offense Divisiveness Encouradges disrespect for the law (the social consensus) Actual violnece/fear/uncertainty
IMMORAL LAW CANNOT BE MORALLY BINDING Justification IMMORAL LAW CANNOT BE MORALLY BINDING What level of dissent is justified? Proportionality (the punishment view) Minimum harm/ no alternative Probability of success (is more violence allowable if it attracts internac. Media attention?) Right motivation
Suppression of Dissent
Suppression of Dissent Immedeate: Outlawing types of dissent that are usually legal Outlawing certain movements Enforcement Through violence (leads to escalation) Imprisonment (or wose) Spreading misinformaton
Suppression of Dissent Long term: GOAL: EXCLUSION FROM POWER STRUCTURES/OPRESSION Segregation/ perpetuating ‘otherness’ Education (propoganda, quality) Media narratives Work opportunities (including political office)
RSA (Republic of South Africa)
SA history Multiethnic society, 11 official languages Dutch arrive 1652 Brits arrive 1795 Both sides fight against each other till 1910 (UK wins) form a unified South Africa Both sides were oppressive towards locals through all the time 87% of land for whites (20% of pop)
Apartheid National Party comes to power in 1948 4 groups: “white”, “black”, “colored”, “Indian” Gov: segregated education, medical care, beaches, living place, marriage & relationships, public services, freedom of speech Scientific racism
What I directly stole from Stephanie 1948-1960: quiet suppression 1960-1970s: violent suppression and start of successful resistance (Sharpville massacre, 1960), (Soweto uprising, 1978) 1980s: ungovernably and worldwide condemnation of apartheid Early 1990s: African National Congress (ANC) unbanned, Nelson Mandela freed 1994: 1st free & fair elections 1994-… ANC on power
Social movements Treatment action campaign Equal education …
Stehpanie’s video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tz74y1RsZyQ