Body and protest

It has to do with commitment, if not sacrifice: Anyone who represents a political cause does so most effectively when he or she shows that it may cost strength. Participation in a demonstration, a sit-in blockade or, in the most extreme cases, hunger strikes or even self-immolation lend credibility and force to political demands. In conversation with Gabriele Kammerer, Dieter Rucht explores what physical action has to do with power, visibility and symbolism. The protest researcher, Emeritus Professor and Fellow at the Center for Civil Society Research, has been observing forms of rebellion against existing conditions for decades. Bodies are always involved – be it the hand that signs a petition.