“Are they allowed to do that?” is often the first question in this country when people rebel. The author Friedemann Karig explains where this comes from and why it is important.
Germany has been rebelling for weeks. In addition to various strikes and the farmers' protests, it is primarily the demonstrations against the right-wing and the AfD that are filling the streets with crowds. This is unusual for German conditions. But why exactly?
While the culture of protest is part of the DNA in other countries such as France, things have remained comparatively quiet in Germany in recent decades. The author Friedemann Karig looked into why this is the case and how protest actually works.
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“The greatest achievements of our coexistence were won through protest”
Karig is currently working in the USA at the Thomas Mann House (Los Angeles). There he researches protest in the footsteps of Martin Luther King and Mahatma Gandhi. “The greatest achievements of our social and political coexistence, democracy and the right to vote or freedom of expression, were won through protest. And yet we in Germany are so skeptical about protest.” His book, “Whatever You Want. How Protest Really Works”, which deals with the mechanisms and effects of collective rebellion, will be published in mid-March. Karig shares a few findings from his research BuzzFeed News Germanya portal from Ippen.Mediaalready in advance.
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Where our “distrust of political energy” comes from
“In Germany we have a great distrust of political energy,” explains Karig. “We are suspicious when something brews and then explodes. Which is understandable, given the history.”
Karig refers to Thomas Mann, who wrote in his diaries in 1944: “One should not forget and not allow oneself to be excused from the fact that National Socialism was an enthusiastic, sparking revolution, a German people's movement with a tremendous spiritual investment of faith and enthusiasm.”
Karig explains that a lot of people back then believed that their situation would improve. “This is one of the reasons why we in Germany are still, with good reason, very cautious about the energy of the masses. Anyone who even talks about a 'revolution' has to prove twice over that they don't mean anything bad by it.”
“If my friends go there and say this will do something” – that’s how protest works in the long term
In order for the current trend of protest in Germany to continue, a higher level of organization and commitment is now particularly important. “People must show the willingness to take on voluntary positions, organize themselves into associations, join a party and take on responsibility.”
According to Karig, an important factor is group awareness of self-efficacy. “People need to believe they can make a difference. You have to know this group and like it. The greatest probability that it will work is if my friends go there and say that it will do something.” If that happens, “the costs of not going again in April are high for the individual because their entire social environment is also going there “, explains the author.
The last generation no longer sticks – why protest is changing
It is also completely normal for protest to evolve, says Karig about changes in the last generation or the Alliance between Fridays For Future and the Verdi union. “We discussed a lot about the last generation and its means, it's a very German thing. 'Are they allowed to do that?', how often did this question come up.” But: “The discussion about the means is normal. If you take a closer look at Martin Luther King, you can see this clearly. We think he wrote this great speech and convinced the white majority of society. That's not true. He spent 15 years discussing the right means.”
The faction of the civil rights movement around the activist Malcom X even spoke about gun violence. “And at some point they realized what was working: the pressure on the economy. Only after they found the pain point did the white majority society move.”
Carry protest to the adversaries of history
Especially for them Last generation According to Karig, change in the choice of means is important. “I believe they are doing the right thing by taking the protest now to the antagonists of history. Until now, they have made themselves antagonists because the entire nation was angry with them.”
Also the alliance between Fridays For Future and Verdi was a “smart step”. “They want to show that everyone can be their comrade-in-arms. And Fridays For Future was first and foremost a strike. In this respect there is also a tactical similarity.”
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