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The main demonstration sites in Seoul City Center: The presidential palace Blue House (a place with authority); Jongno Administrative Complex (a place with authority); Yeollin Madang (an open space with authority); U.S. Embassy (a place with authority); Sejong Cultural Center (an open space with audience); Gwanghwamun (a major crossroads, place with audience); Cheonggyecheon Plaza (an open space with audience); City Hall (an open space with audience, customary protest site); Seoul Station (an open space with audience); Myeong-dong (a place with audience, historical protest site); Bosingak (an open space with audience); Jongmyo (an open space with audience); Daehangno (an open space with audience, historical protest site); Japanese Embassy (a place with authority). Common protest sites outside this area include the National Assembly, the Sinchon university area, Yongsan Garrison and Ministry of Defense.
Source publication
Demonstrations shape the urban landscape and affect the normal functions of a city. They disrupt traffic, make marginalized people and neglected areas visible in city centers, and challenge élite designs of urban landscape both visually and functionally. Demonstrations question élite norms by using city space in nonconformist ways for making claims...
Contexts in source publication
Context 1
... to the principles derived from the Book of Rites (Zhou Li) and fengshui. The majority of big demonstrations in Seoul take place along the principal north-south main road, starting from the southern gate of the royal palace, or the main east-west thoroughfare. Many key protest sites are situated on the wide, open road leading to the royal palace ( Fig. 1). 3 A similar spatial solution is constructed around the National Assembly, where demonstrators alike occupy the street leading to ...
Context 2
... plazas in Seoul's traditional city plan, and demonstrators still commonly congregate on sidewalks or streets. Many major labor demonstrations take place exclusively on the streets: demonstrators hold their first rally on the street in Daehangno and then march along the main east-west thoroughfare to hold another rally on the street at Gwanghwamun (Fig. 1). The 20th century introduced parks and plazas to Seoul. The first, Tapgol Park, was the site of one of the earliest modern demonstrations in the city in 1919, when demonstrators read Korea's declaration of independence there. Today, streets, parks, and plazas all host ...
Citations
... However, little scholarly attention has been paid to the far right's anti-climate practice at the urban scale. This is surprising because urban spaces are central sites for political mobilization (Nicholls 2007;Salmenkari 2009;Vasudevan 2015) and (anti-)fascist struggles (Ince 2011;Ince 2019;Santamarina 2021;Luger 2022). Capturing public spaces (e.g. ...
... In the present commentary, by turning to social movement geographies (e.g. Martin & Miller 2003;Salmenkari 2009;Featherstone 2011), I attempt to understand how far-right authoritarian anti-climate politics emerges and plays out as a spatial practice by analysing the different strategies that the Finnish far right undertook during XR Finland's Summer Rebellion in June 2021. I aim to contribute to ongoing discussions about the far right's anti-climate politics as well as the spatial politics of the far right by illuminating that far-right climate scepticism and intimidation of climate activists is not limited to online spaces but instead that they employ different, sometimes violent, strategies in urban spaces in their attempts to convey anti-climate messages (e.g. ...
... Although this text's main focus is on the spatial strategies of the far-right, the geography of protest was not only shaped by the XR Finland protestors, the Nazi camp and the Finns Party members, but also by other elements such as state power that tries to control and prevent different uses of the city (see also , Salmenkari 2009). Indeed, as reminded by Julia Lagerman (forthcoming: 4), "the struggle in and over public space is plural". ...
The globally growing climate justice movement has drawn attention to the accelerating climate change and the structural changes that climate mitigation would require. At the same time, there has been a surge and normalization of radical and extreme right-wing groups and parties. Their central element is not only ethno-nationalism and authoritarianism but also anti-climate politics, as they seek to obstruct climate politics, mobilize anti-scientific fictions and discredit scientists and activists. The far right's intimidation of climate justice activists has been studied by examining its textual and visual discourses in online spaces, but less attention has been paid to far-right anti-climate practices in urban spaces. Drawing on social movement geographies, I aim to contribute to the discussions on far-right anti-climate politics by analysing the spatial strategies of the Finnish far-right's counterprotests (the so-called 'Nazi camp') during Extinction Rebellion Finland's 'Summer Rebellion' in June 2021 in Helsinki. By doing so, I show that far-right anti-climate politics (in the form of climate scepticism and intimidation of climate activists) are not limited to online spaces but emerge through different strategies in urban spaces by which the far-right competes for control over space and visibility and shapes public narratives of climate change and politics.
... Finally, the concept of space "refers to a more general notion of how society and social practice are regulated (and sometimes disciplined) by spatial thinking (e.g., the capitalist mode of production or gendered notions of private and public spaces)" (Endres & Senda-Cook, 2011, p. 60). Similarly, Salmenkari (2009) suggests that social movements can perform protest events in public, commercialized, or symbolic spaces, among others. In turn, places located in these different spaces have variegated characteristics in terms of ownership, access, and the level of freedom of speech to express subversive opinions and ideas. ...
From a comparative perspective, the Chilean school system can be considered a paradigmatic case that combines structural privatization processes, sophisticated accountability systems and high levels of school segregation. This chapter aims to analyze the role of the spatial dimension in the trajectory of protests in the education sector during the Chilean post-dictatorship (1990–2019). Methodologically, the research carries out a Protest Event Analysis (PEA) of a novel database of more than 1.700 protests. The findings show that the spatial dimension (e.g., regional distribution, degree of rurality, types of places of protest, etc.) mediates not only the characteristics and the nature of actors who participate in protest events but also the strategies and repertoires of collective action deployed by social movements.KeywordsCritical geographyEducation policyProtestsNeoliberalismChile
... As mentioned in Section 1.3, the built environment has a potential connection with protests in three dimensions: accessibility, density, and design. Additionally, we added a fourth dimension, destination, because previous studies showed that various destinations, such as government buildings, may attract protests [43]. Hence, nine built environment indicators from the abovementioned four dimensions were selected as independent variables to model the protests, as shown in Table 1. ...
The built environment is indispensable for conducting protests. However, we still know little about the role the built environment plays in either supporting or hindering protests. In this study, we investigated the relationship between built environment characteristics and the spatial distribution of 348 protests that occurred in Hong Kong from June 2019 to January 2020. We innovatively distinguished between peaceful and violent protests as well as legal and illegal (authorized vs. unauthorized) protests. Our study revealed several significant patterns. First, in general, areas with a higher level of building density, government and commerce point-of-interest (POI) density, metro accessibility, park density, and street greenery experienced more protesting activities. Second, illegal and violent protests, those which are less constrained by authorities and thus more likely to reflect the autonomous choices of the protestors, are more likely to occur in regions with more government and commercial buildings, high metro accessibility, and a high level of street greenery. Based on these findings, we also proposed a new framework to illustrate the relationship between certain built environment features and choice of protest locations, which we hope will provide preliminary guidance for future studies.
... Protesters choose places that emphasize authority or symbolize social tension to highlight political disorder and conflict. Protesters also prefer locations of historical and symbolic value for cities to create a more destructive impact on society and attract attention (Salmenkari, 2009). Therefore, protests and mass demonstrations can greatly affect the tourism industry and lead to possible tourism crises and risks for tourists (Boissevain, 1996;Kim et al., 2020;Kousis, 2000;Monterrubio, 2017;Wut et al., 2021). ...
... First, the findings suggest that tourists prefer to travel to safe and secure destinations (Garg, 2015;Sonmez & Graefe, 1998). Also, since most demonstrations take place in locations of historical and symbolic value and public transportation is limited or shut down during the protests (Salmenkari, 2009), tourists have a hard time avoiding the affected parts of the city. Therefore, effective crisis communication (Liu-Lastres, 2022) can alleviate the concerns of tourists by providing accurate and timely information from trusted officials regarding the impact of protests on public transportation and affected areas. ...
Social media sites are useful platforms for providing crisis-related information. This study aims to identify specific categories shared by travellers on social media during crises such as protests and mass demonstrations. By employing qualitative data analysis methods, 932 comments about three large protests in 2019 were included in the analysis. Study results show that security concerns of tourists are more prominent in protests with high casualties and police involvement. Information about public transportation and areas to avoid is vital for tourists. To address tourists’ concerns, many locals contribute to social media platforms in the absence of a timely and reliable source. Specific theoretical and practical implications are provided.
... Amin defined public space, such as parks, streets, and squares, in cities as the symbol of collective happiness, the place where urban people meet and urban culture forms, the field for city leaders to realize their vision of political and social governance, and the important space for public political games and negotiation [31]. With rich representations in Western culture, such as the Agora (a forum in ancient Rome) and the Speaker's Corner in Hyde Park in London, public spaces embody grassroots social groups' identity and appeal by facilitating gathering and performing in open fora [32][33][34][35]. At the same time, strangers can meet and interact in public spaces. ...
The public space of a park is one of the most important carriers of social interaction and cultural practice in urban areas. Taking an ethnography of Taijiquan in Chengdu (China) as a case study, this article explores the production of Taijiquan’s “park culture space” (PCS). Our analysis revealed that the development of PCS not only transformed “public space” in the park to a “private space” through Taijiquan practice and exchange but also transformed “material space” in the park into “social space” with identification. We found that working on the process of self-managing Taijiquan’s “park culture space” included the democratic operation mechanism of communication and consultation, the cooperative operation mechanism of mutual benefit, and the incentive operation mechanism of balancing interests. Taijiquan’s “park culture space” was the reproduction of public space that was not only bonded with Taijiquan practice but was also reconstructed and expanded by Taijiquan practitioners. Furthermore, it involved the return of Taijiquan practitioners’ historical memory and collective life experience alongside the construction of Taijiquan practitioners’ group identity and the development of self-organization.
... Nejad (2016) further argues that the temporal/liminal nature of protest performances means that they involve the recreation of rituals, emphasizing the importance of sites and their connection to past events. Examining protest in Buenos Aires and Seoul, Salmenkari (2009) notes that while historical (and cultural) conventions shape the decisions on where to protest, sites such as government buildings continue to feature prominently. ...
The fire in the Colectiv nightclub in Bucharest, Romania in October 2015 led to sustained, nationwide protests that forced the resignation of the government. These protests drew on deep-seated feelings of injustice due to rampant corruption among the political elite. The capital city location provided an opening for spontaneous actions to present claims to power holders. We aim to identify how the urban space was used to initiate and scale up a meaningful challenge to the governing system by examining the evolution of these protests. Through analysis of interviews with protest participants and nonparticipants resident in Bucharest, we identify factors that mobilized participants and how these built and reinforced the developing movement. The findings emphasize the importance of (capital) cities in incubating social movements, by providing spaces to organize challenges to institutional actors from the local to the national level.
... Para los fines de este texto, sin olvidar que se trata de una noción polisémica (Ramírez, 2007;Carrasco, 2011), este concepto se aleja de definiciones que sitúan el espacio público en la esfera política (Rabotnikof, 2008;Sousa, 2013), y se acerca a dimensiones de análisis que, como la apropiación, la pertenencia y las prácticas cotidianas, están directamente relacionadas con la experiencia espacial del espacio vivido (Lindón, Hiernaux-Nicolas y Aguilar, 2006). Las prácticas cotidianas o socioespaciales implican el sentido del lugar (Fu-Tuan, 1977;Ortiz, 2006;Ramírez, 2016), que, si bien genera confianza y seguridad, también puede conllevar situaciones de conflicto entre los usuarios por su uso (Salmenkari, 2009;Motta, Rosa y García, 2013;Ayala, 2015;Boy, Marcus y Perelman, 2015;Boy, 2018;Perelman, 2018). ...
Este artículo es parte de una investigación más amplia sobre el análisis de los espacios públicos y las plazas desde el enfoque de la sociabilidad, planteándose aquí una reflexión teórica-metodológica sobre tres plazas de Buenos Aires: Madero Harbour, Lavalle y España. Se usan tres herramientas de análisis: la caminata urbana, el cuaderno de campo y la encuesta. Algunos resultados señalan que la sociabilidad está presente de muchas formas en las tres plazas; que las personas disfrutan el espacio junto con personas conocidas y en contacto con extrañas; que el uso desarrolla una experiencia espacial creativa más allá del diseño; y que la distancia no es determinante para su uso.
... Work in conflict and social movement studies has shown that economic status and employment can substantially affect the likelihood of observing mobilization (Cress & Snow, 1996;Fearon & Laitin, 2003). To account for the dynamics of mobilization, including the cascade of information (Lohmann, 1994), communicative spaces (Salmenkari, 2009), and the importance of sheer numbers of potentially mobilizable people, I include a variable that measures how rural or urban each district is. Finally, I measure regime-type using a variant of the Polity IV data (Marshall, Gurr, & Jaggers, 2013) that removes potentially confounding components (Vreeland, 2008). ...
Does corruption increase general and anti-government protest? Scholarship has produced seemingly incompatible results, with some research demonstrating a strong connection between corruption and the onset of contentious politics and other research finding that heightened perceptions of corruption decrease activism. This article addresses this puzzle by examining how different types of corruption condition diverging contentious outcomes. Focusing on two highly salient forms of corruption in the African context—elite corruption and police corruption—this article argues that the different consequences, salience, and costs associated with these two forms help to condition whether citizens rise up or stay home. This argument is tested via two methods. First, it draws from a survey experiment conducted in five Nigerian states in 2017. The survey experiment tests whether exposure to different types of corruption affects willingness to join in protests. Second, it draws from statistical analysis of geo-located perceptions of corruption and protest across Africa, incorporating checks for both collinearity and endogeneity into the model. The statistical analysis examines whether heightened perceptions of corruption correlate with increased counts of general and anti-government protest. The results from both methods demonstrate that elite corruption is positively correlated with protest, whereas police corruption is not.
... To address this, we draw from SCAD's variable on the size of protest. It is also likely that location matters in shaping protest dynamics (Salmenkari 2009), and the state's ability to repress is likely to be shaped by location. We draw from the Natural Earth Data's Urban Areas spatial file (Schneider, Friedl, and Potere 2009) and mark each protest that occurs within an urban area as such. ...
When do nonviolent protests escalate into violence? Existing literature has focused primarily on campaign-level escalations and only recently has work begun to examine protest event-level escalations. We build on this emerging literature and develop an argument for why some protests escalate to violence. We use statistical analysis and find that violent escalations are more likely to occur following recent repression and when protests are unorganized. Our results offer insight into the conditions in which protests remain peaceful and offer citizens a channel to pursue their goals as well as the conditions in which protests become violent and destabilizing.
... A lot of studies in geography have paid attention to the role that physical public spaces can play in staging collective claims against hegemonic regimes of power. Public demonstrations, protest and other forms of claim-making (Mitchell 2000;McCann 1999;Lee 2009;Salmenkari 2009) disrupt and shift relations of power by occupying and re-working important public space and by presenting particular groups' political claims to a wide audience (D'Arcus 2003(D'Arcus , 2006Mitchell and Staeheli 2005). If free speech is seen as a defining element of the modern liberal democracy, it is very often in material public spaces that we can envisage it being actually realized (Iveson 2007;Mitchell 2003a). ...
... It is Cambodian people's active participation in the street-level political actions that has convinced Springer (2010) that democracy is not naturally a privilege enjoyed by Westerners, but enthusiastically pursued by people outside the West. Indeed, it has been widely recognised among students of non-Western public space that public protest has the potential of counteracting spatial orders prescribed by hegemonic powers, hence acting as a crucial agent of democratisation (Salmenkari 2009;Padawangi 2013). Especially in those contexts where public spaces are already heavily coded with meanings and ideologies propagated by dominant groups (such as those of national and economic progress in Turkey (Batuman 2003;Baykan and Hatuka 2010), and those of neoliberal development in Latin America (Irazábal 2008)), public protests wield remarkably destabilising and disrupting impacts. ...
... The Speaker's Corner and the English coffeehouse are two examples of the ideal of political expression being concretized in the spatialized form (Cooper 2006;Laurier and Philo 2007). Other studies followed Fraser's appeal for contestatory and confrontational politics, and examined ways in which dominant power can be questioned and challenged through public demonstrations, protests and other forms of collective claim-making (Mitchell 2000;McCann 1999;Lee 2009;Salmenkari 2009). Those collective political actions, as D' Arcus (2003) argues, disrupt the established relations of power by giving previously marginalized social groups a consolidated position to speak, and by presenting these groups' values and political claims to an audience (Pile and Keith 1997;Mitchell and Staeheli 2005). ...
