Oct 2, 2002 
University experts weigh in on protests 
By Mary C. Schneidau 
Staff writer 

You heard all the hype about protests held to coincide
with the meeting of the World Bank and International
Monetary Fund this past weekend.  You heard about
thousands of people gathered in the streets of
Washington. You read about the mass arrest of hundreds of
protesters. But university experts say the atmosphere of
the protests is more complex than what is shown on TV.

The beliefs of activists and protesters who take issue
with the World Bank and IMF may seem easy to understand -
they believe the two institutions award loans to poor
countries which they are unable to pay back. However,
Mark Lichbach, government and politics chair and protest
movements expert, said the components of the protests are
as varied as the issues themselves.

Most protesters this weekend were young people, many of
them college students, which Lichbach said is to be
expected.

"Young people are always the backbone of protests
movements," he said. "They are the most energetic in
pursuing ideals. [There is a saying that] 'the most
radical part of a country is the city. The most radical
part of the city is the university. The most radical part
of the university is the student union.'"

Lichbach said young people are the least jaded by
politics and society. Older adults find protesting
difficult because their jobs and families do not permit
the time to risk being arrested.

Young people leave protest movements as they get older
because their political ideologies often change, Lichbach
said. A number of protesters turn from liberals into
conservative Democrats and then into Republicans, he
said. The older people get, the more tired they become of
the cynicism, hypocrisy, backbiting and self interests of
some protesters.

Though some members of the media portray many Americans
as having disdain for protesters, Lichbach said the
general attitude "depends on the protesters, depends on
the time." He pointed out that many in the northern
United States were horrified and moved to action when
hearing of the tactics of some Southerners against civil
rights protesters in the 1950s and '60s. Also, once
people heard of the number of American deaths in Vietnam,
many Americans became involved in the anti-war movement.

Many protest organizations had hoped this weekend's
protests would draw between 15,000 and 20,000 protesters,
but official estimates place the number between 3,000 and
5,000. Those numbers may not be a big surprise
considering the recent trends in protest organizations,
Lichbach said.

"The anti-globalization movement has gotten itself into a
bind," he said.

Lichbach said since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks,
protest organizations have become involved in more issues
than just globalization: They have increasingly been
anti-war and anti-Israel, often losing the support of
some women, blacks and other minorities who are less
willing to protest issues other than globalization, he
said. A number of new protest movements have "narrow[ed]
the appeal," he said. "They have cut themselves off from
the anti-globalization movement."

Though this weekend's IMF and World Bank protests did not
meet some attendance expectations, about 2,500 gathered
Sunday outside the home of Vice President Dick Cheney to
protest a possible United States war on Iraq while
anti-war protests in London and Rome drew tens of
thousands.

This weekend's protests did not result in any major
outbreaks of violence and few injuries were reported.
Lichbach said in effective protests, "sometimes reform
works, sometimes violence works. What works best is if
you mix violence and reform."

He pointed out that the civil rights movement was
successful because of both peaceful Martin Luther King
Jr.'s actions and the aggressive tactics of Malcolm X.

But usually for a movement to be accepted and effective,
Lichbach said, "Carrying the American flag works better
than burning the American flag."

Virginia Haufler, associate professor of government and
politics, said the IMF and World Bank recognize their
critics.

In responding to activists, she said, "The two
institutions are different. The IMF is much more closed
to outside activists. The World Bank makes an effort to
reach out to them."

The World Bank is eager to hear what activists with
offices and people in the field have to say, she said.

"An institution like the World Bank will reach out and
talk to credible institutions," she said.