Arce and Rices Framework provide a unique perspective on the way protests occur and their possible outcomes. The framework by Arce and Rice identifies the political protests that have come up throughout the world since 2011. The book focuses on political unrest in various countries, including Latin America, Europe, and the Middle East (Arce & Rice, 2019). According to the framework, the protests mainly consist of excellent educational backgrounds and "the precariously employed" individuals. The individuals have sought to challenge the reign of political leaders and exposed a vast compromise that exists in modern-day political systems. The framework also further shows the extent of the economic and financial crisis issues in these various countries. The framework also helps identify the impact of the global protest cycle and its effect on the different regions worldwide. The book gives an analysis that focuses on the grievances, frameworks, and theories involved in a particular protest.
The first example of a protest described is the 2019 – 2021 Chilean protest. The protest occurred as a set of several riots and demonstrations throughout the country. The source of the grievance from the people was due to the fare evasion campaign that started through high school students (Arce & Rice, 2019). The protest sparked national unrest and eventually led to takeovers of the city's main train stations. The citizens even went further to fight with law enforcement agencies, which led to one of the most historical roots in the country's history. The issue increased in intensity when people took advantage of the problem and started vandalizing the infrastructure in the city. The use of social media platforms such as Facebook and Instagram has been rampant in the intensification of the protest in Chile. The Public Transport Department decided to restructure the cost of public fares, which did not bode well with the citizens of Chile. While the government cited various reasons as part of the fare increases, they also failed to realize the plight of their citizens. Chile ranks high up among some of the poorest countries in Latin America. However, the government has enjoyed excellent political stability over the past few years. Inequality is a severe cause of concern in the country. The president failed to realize the extent of the inequality issue, which meant that millions of citizens were at risk of marginalization. The neoliberal policies that have come up over the years have helped the country to develop. However, the policies have also led to severe economic disparities, with many Chileans living in poverty. The framework for this protest relates to the marginalization of the low-income people, whom the state failed to consider in its reforms. In this context, the political opportunity structure refers to Chile's various institutions and entities that could have helped with the reforms. A good example would be that the Neoliberal reforms have done well to make the country wealthy. Instead of taxing the low-income families, the state should have shifted its focus to high-income families. Moreover, the state should also have sought various other forms of financing, such as help from the International Monetary Fund. The deprivation and strain structure theory applies to the protests that have occurred in Chile. The deprivation theory shows that the educated people in the country were aware of the compromise the state was trying to cause on their quality of life.The state wanted to invest in a new transport system and decided to transfer this obligation the people. The structure strain theory applies by showing the social structure in Chile only benefited the wealthy and privileged people in society. The low-income people such as students and middle-class earners were no longer a priority for state initiatives.
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The Arap Spring 2.0 protests also involved several anti-government demonstrations. These included several countries, including Jordan, Sudan, Algeria, Egypt, and Iraq. It was one of the most lethal incidents of social reform that have ever occurred in the Arab nations. It started with sustained disobedience that led to the removal of Omar al Bashir from power (Moghadam, 2020) . The power then went to a specialized council that would oversee the welfare of the country. The term Arab spring comes from previous protests that had occurred in the region. The protests that happened in the streets of various Arab towns inspired enlightenment across the world. These included multiple countries such as Lebanon and Syrian. The moto for the Syrian people identified the rejuvenated spirit of social reform occurring in the area. The protests spread across different parts of the world did well to show that tyranny was no longer a threat to the Arab nation. Most of the protests were due to various grievances that people experienced in the Arab world. These included corruption, drought, unemployment, over-reliance on non-renewable resources, and the oppressive system of the Muslim governments. The framework for these protests includes different Arab countries that become aware of each other's actions. Platforms such as social and mass media were crucial in spreading awareness to the other participants in different countries. Arabs learned more about the marginalization others faced in different countries and their lengths to solve the problem through social media. The political opportunity structure in this context is that other countries should have joined hands to help end the unrest. A good example would be that various organizations such as the U.N. should have intervened in this process. The Arab Spring movement mostly involved a specific religious group, and international groups could have had an enormous impact on this process. Furthermore, the reform should have included a shift from these countries' religious forms of government. While such measures have been helpful in the past, the new world requires equality, including inclusivity.
The theory that would best apply to the uprising in these Arab states would be the mass society theory. The Arab countries caught wind of the activities of other countries, and this inspired them to engage in the organized protests. The events also started in Sudan and eventually spread in mass to various other regions.
The protests in the U.S.A. have also been an excellent platform for evaluating protest outcomes across the world. A good example that Arce and Rice give is the Occupy Wall Street movement. The march was a movement against economic inequality and the negative influence of politics. The protests started in Zuccotti Park and then spread to various other regions of the world (Fominaya, 2017) . The grievances for the movement were the social and economic inequality issues that were occurring in the country. The protestors were particularly disturbed by the issue of corruption and elites who were controlling all the primary financial sectors of the country. The framework for the protests included the high levels of unemployment and the ever-increasing G.D.P. levels of the country. The increased unemployment rates meant that people in the region struggled to pay essential bills and handle day-to-day obligations. The political opportunity in this context refers to the various measures that state and various international agencies should have implemented to solve the problem. A good example would be the creation of job employment opportunities and improved tax regulation measures. The tax regulation measures should have focused on the elites, who have acquired billions of dollars in wealth over the years. The competing theories include the structure-strain and mass society theory. The social structure strain theory refers to how social systems in the U.S. have given privileges to the elite. The result is an increased rate of corruption and the marginalization of the average income earner. The mass society theory also applies because it is clear that people acted in unison to help bring out the attention of the state to the issue.
References
Arce, M., & Rice, R. (2019). Protest and democracy .
Moghadam, V. (2020). Globalization and Social Movements: The Populist Challenge and Democratic Alternatives . Rowman & Littlefield.
Fominaya, C. (2017). Social Movements in a Globalized World . Red Globe Press.
