RAN POL - Study Visit Dealing with disruptive and escalating, violent ‘borderline’ protest in the realm of the police P/CVE role

Background and aim of this meeting:

Police all over Europe are confronted with tactics of protest and demonstrations which are challenging them in their role as facilitators of democratic protest. For instance, there is a wave of disruptive forms of protest, like peaceful blockades of roads and other critical infrastructure, or disruptions of public events and places like museums and sports events. This could often be seen as a tactic of civil disobedience because the actions are deliberately illegal but also non-violent. The other form of protest that is posing a big challenge for police is protest actions where the demonstrators are prepared and willing to use violence for their cause. Here demonstrations are the theatre for violent mobilisation and sabotage, targeted at the subject of their political fight, or at the police. 

All of this could be described as disruptive and/or escalated, violent protest. We could use the term borderline protest, protest bordering with, and having a smaller or bigger overlap with extremism.  

Police have to facilitate the right of demonstration, and the way this is being done can mitigate the process of radicalisation of these protests – or sometimes, unfortunately, fuel it. The theory of social movements and of radicalisation highlights the fact that the way authorities (here: the police) react, intervene, communicate and are being perceived plays a role in potential processes of radicalisation.  

During this online study visit, participants will “visit” a small number of European police forces to see what 'borderline protest' looks like in their country and how police are dealing with it. On the provisional list are Italy, Spain, Germany, France and the UK. 

Please suggest a police expert: 

• analyst (crowd management, violent extremism), or
• commander/decision maker (crowd management), or
• police officer (crowd management, violent extremism).