Introduction

This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book discusses scholars from different disciplinary backgrounds, who share a common concern: how to understand the global rise of public protests as a popular method of political expression, and the erosion of ideological divides that traditionally separated the protesters and curated political choices. It highlights the local and global dynamics underlying social protests. The book examines how public protests have spread to different parts of the world, transcending political, social and ideological cleavages and other boundaries. It deals with questions about the nature of contemporary social protests that seem to have spread across the world like a contagion, a concept entirely in keeping with the dynamics of global interconnection via the Internet. The book examines the recent anti-corruption movement, which brought together people from different ideological leanings in the deeply fragmented society of India.