Can protests really bring about political change?
From Palestine solidarity marches to Gen Z uprisings, from France and Spain to India and Brazil, millions are taking to the streets to demand change. But can protest turn into political power?
Over the past decade, mass movements have challenged governments and shifted public opinion. Yet turning that collective energy into lasting political change has proved far more complicated. What happens when people take to the streets, but power remains firmly elsewhere?
This week on The Tea, award-winning journalist Vincent Bevins joins us. He has spent a decade reporting on protest movements worldwide, and in his latest book If We Burn, he explores what it really takes to turn popular mobilisation into lasting political change.
Also in the show:
🔥 From Tahrir Square to today’s mobilisations— What happens when your enemies hijack your revolution?
🔥 Libya and the US doctrine of “regime collapse”— When the overthrow of a government becomes an end in itself.
🔥 Gen Z uprisings — Generational protests, or mass movements in which one generation is playing a prominent role?
🔥 From the Black Panthers to the current democratic crisis — Who is really advocating for violence?
🔥 From Ukraine to Bahrain — What happens when popular movements become hijacked by foreign interests?
🔥 The crisis of the media — Who gets to shape the narrative?
Our guest argues that the challenge is building collective power that can withstand repression, resist outside interference, impose real costs on those in power, and turn popular demands into lasting political transformation.
#TheTeaWithMyriamFrancois #VincentBevins #GenZProtests #FranceProtests #YouthActivism #PeoplePower #PoliticalChange #GlobalProtests #Palestine
AUDIO CREDITS Presenter–Producer: Dr. Myriam François Guest: Vincent Bevins Senior Producer: Sara Farolfi Producers: Nadege Bizimungu & Sanjna Selva Assistant Producer: Iman Saleh & Robyn Moffat Researchers: Aliza Kayan-Ahmed & Saba Ahmadzadeh Noughani Video Editor: Max Bubnov An MPWR Productions show.
00:00:00 Why Are Mass Protests Failing to Deliver Change?
00:03:02 How the Right Hijacked Brazil’s Protests
00:07:06 How Governments Learned to Defeat Protest Movements
00:14:27 Are Today’s Protests Repeating the Mistakes of the Past?
00:16:45 Why Mobilising Millions Isn’t Enough to Win
00:21:36 The Problem With Gen Z Protest Movements
00:28:32 From Protest to Power: What Actually Works?
00:33:25 Are Protests Becoming Mass Surveillance Operations?
00:34:53 What Actually Forces Governments to Change?
00:39:08 Can Nonviolent Protest Defeat Repressive States?
00:56:33 Why the Right Keeps Stealing the Left’s Victories
01:20:57 The Most Important Lesson for Today’s Protesters
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