Democracy Forum

Host: Ann Luther, League of Women Voters of Maine Protest: Good Citizenship at Work? We talk about whether protests are a legitimate, if not necessary, form of civic participation. Are protests good citizenship or are they civil disorder? Is protesting effective in changing public policy? Are nonviolent actions more effective than those that involve violence? When do protest movements succeed? Guests: Douglas Allen, Professor Emeritus of Philosophy at the University of Maine Erica Chenoweth, Frank Stanton Professor of the First Amendment at the Harvard Kennedy SchooL and a Susan S. and Kenneth L. Wallach Professor at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study To learn more about this topic: “What Anti-Protest Bills Reveal About The State Of U.S. Democracy,” OnPoint, WBUR, April, 2021 Civil Resistance: What Everyone Needs to Know, Erica Chenoweth, March, 2021 “The Myth of the Silent Majority: Americans have learned the wrong lessons about the political consequences of protest,” Daniel G