ABSTRACT
Any conception of genuine democracy itself is at stake. Attacks on the right to protest go the heart of the capacity of members of society to dissent, oppose and organise against oppressive governmental or corporate operations. That also affects other fundamental democratic rights, such as free speech and freedom of association, assembly and movement. This is not an abstract question. There is a growing danger of governments seeking to silence dissent to the escalating risks of war, environmental disaster and social inequality.
This danger is heightened by the increasing resort to emergency powers and the re-emergence of authoritarian and fascistic tendencies around the globe, including in the United States and Europe. It would be further intensified by the outbreak of major wars, which are invariably accompanied by the suppression of anti-war opposition and/or resistance to the austerity measures and sacrifices of living and working conditions that accompany the mobilisation of the population for the war effort, as happened during both world wars.
