The 2010s: A Decade Of Protests Around The World

By Claire Harbage,

Published December 31, 2019 at 8:56 AM CST

Supporters of Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaidó take part in a march in Caracas in February 2019. Amid Venezuela's isolation and catastrophic economic conditions, Guaidó emerged as a key challenger to Nicolás Maduro's rule, but has had difficulty sustaining his initial mass momentum in support.

2019 has become known as a year of protest. But this year does not exist in isolation: Protests have been emblematic of the entire past decade.

The 2010s began with the Arab Spring and Occupy protests, and are ending with a swell of anti-government demonstrations in India, Iraq, Lebanon, Hong Kong, Latin America, parts of Europe and beyond. The middle years likewise were marked by major protests on multiple continents, from Iran to Ukraine, South Korea, Zimbabwe and Greece.

All decade long, people around the world — young, middle-aged and old, in places wealthy and not — poured into the streets, over and over again, insisting on economic and social equality, demanding better governance and action on a range of ills including corruption, racism, sexual abuse and climate change.

The impact and legacy of these protests will become clear in the years to come. But all made their mark on a turbulent decade, throwing into relief the issues people cared about most. Starting in 2019 and moving back, here are some glimpses from around the world, outside the United States.