The Rise of the Guerrilla Protest Movement: Exploring New Opportunity Structures Exploited During the 2019 2020 Hong Kong Protests
Abstract
The longevity of the 2019-2020 Hong Kong protests and its adherence to a defined Five Demands end-state presents a social movement worthy of examination. Using political opportunity theory as a framework and the 2014 Umbrella Movement as a backdrop, this paper argues that new opportunity structures are present in 2019-2020 that were not realized by the 2014 protestors. Protestor innovations within the social media domain have exposed new opportunity structures, enabling the protestors to exploit flash mob protests, a leaderless organizational structure, and narrative ownership to challenge the Hong Kong government and mainland China. The adoption of these new tactics provides a means for enhancing protest longevity and resiliency despite the well-documented human rights violations by the Hong Kong government. The advancement of protestor tactics between 2014 and today signals an evolution for modern social movements and brokers a new-age of guerrilla protests. Other movements, whether admirable or reprehensible, can adopt these tactics to force a political or social agenda equally challenging authoritarian and democratic ideologies. This new reality of social movements compels increased awareness of these new opportunity structures to identify means for enabling progressive movements while thwarting nefarious ones.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Apr 20, 2020
- Accession Number
- AD1177691
Entities
People
- Richard W. Hanberg
Organizations
- Marine Corps University