Abstract
The role of civil society is to provide a platform for like-minded individuals to come together to pressurise decision makers in society. However, strategies to undermine the active civil sector, creates the current situation; where the responsive body of citizens is less active and effective. The lack of political desire to challenge the cyclic fall-out imbedded within our current mode capitalism; means that citizens cannot rely on traditional political ideologies or parties to overt this modern phenomena and problematic global outcomes. Thus, the role of alternative practices, particularly that of protest actions which take place in the public realm; are a key arena in challenging the problems created by global capitalism. These include pressures on workersā€™ rights, manmade environmental concerns (driven by the desire for perpetual growth) and the role of government, particularly in the role of dissolving of the welfare state and public institutions such as the NHS. This paper will build on my research which focuses on protest actions which took place in London between 2010 and 2013 in the aftermath of the Global Economic Crash of 2007/8. These actions often crystallise imbedded social and political problems - and can become a forum that catalyse change. This paper will explore the way in which protest and other oppositional action can become a route to more sustained oppositional practices which can become institutionalised and inform the direction or the way in which we approach contemporary global challenges.
Author Information
Carl Fraser, University of Sheffield, United Kingdom
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