Violent civil unrest is most prevalent in hybrid regimes, while peaceful protests dominate demonstration events in democracies.
The 2020 Global Peace Index shows that demonstrations in full democracies have been common over the last decade, averaging 6.5 demonstrations per country per year. However, these demonstrations are less likely to be violent and lead to major political instability or regime change.
Hybrid regimes have had the greatest relative prevalence of violent civil unrest since 2011. Riots accounted for 37% of all incidents of unrest in these political systems.
Hybrid regimes are states that may hold elections that are not necessarily free and fair. They may feature widespread corruption and weak rule of law, with problems regarding government functioning, political culture and political participation.
The media and the judiciary are likely to be under government influence in hybrid regimes. The rate of civil unrest in authoritarian regimes declined 30 per cent from 2011 to 2018, with the sharpest fall occurring during the 2012 Arab Winter.
Flawed democracies saw civil unrest increase the most, where the rate of demonstrations increased tenfold.
Citizens around the world are protesting against a range of issues, from economic hardship and police brutality to political instability.
What can Positive Peace tell us about social movements and civil resistance campaigns?
