Don’t believe the doubters: protest still has power | Jan-Werner Müller

Demonstrations rarely lead to immediate policy change. But they are essential to building community and long-term resistance

Opinions about the protests this month keep oscillating between two extremes. Optimists point to the larger-than-expected numbers (larger than expected by many police departments for sure); they enthusiastically recall a famous social scientific finding according to which a non-violent mobilization of 3.5% of a population can bring down a regime. Pessimists, by contrast, see protests as largely performative. Both views are simplistic: it is true that protests almost never lead to immediate policy changes - yet they are crucial for building morale and long-term movement power.

Earlier this year, observers had rushed to declare resistance cringe" and a form of pointless hyperpolitics", a vibe shift" (most felt by rightwing pundits, coincidentally) supposedly gave Donald Trump a clear mandate, even if he had won the election only narrowly. Meanwhile, Democrats were flailing in the face of a rapid succession of outrageous executive orders - many of which were effectively memos to underlings, rather than laws. But taken at face value, they reinforced an impression of irresistible Trumpist power.