1). For mass protests like these to work, pressure groups such as Stop the War
had to utilize online activism, where websites and social media posts were
created so that not only people in the same city but people around the world
could strike together. This occurred on "February 15, 2003, following the global
time zones from Australia, millions of people in more than six hundred cities
worldwide protested" (Walgrave, S., & Rucht, D., 2010, P. xiii). This shows the
power that social media has to galvanize not only a city or a country but the
entire world so that they all participate and send a clear message to the USA and
its coalition about the global opinion on the invasion of Iraq.
Overall, the 2003 Iraq war protests represent the power large protests can have
not only on a nation but around the world. Despite the fact that the protests did
not stop the US-led invasion of Iraq, they did succeed in raising awareness about
a key issue, which led to "diehard activists" sharing "the streets with citizens of
all kinds: students, teenagers, young couples..." (Walgrave, S., & Rucht, D., 2010,
p. In addition, the protests helped to build an active opposition that lasted for
the entirety of the war and energised anti-war movements.
7.2). Why did this event happen?
The Iraq war protests
occurred as a result of
people around the world
feeling as though they
needed to speak up about
an illegal invasion that was
about to happen. This led to
high levels of distrust,
Figure 5 - Trust in government in the United Kingdom (1986-2012) (British Social Attitudes 2012)
especially in nations where
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