While the recent spate of protests in Washington, D.C., drew ample media coverage, the extent of their effects on policy are debated among widely experts, bureaucrats and the demonstrators themselves.
Over the past few weekends, the demonstrations have focused on the situation in Israel, the war on terrorism and the ongoing conflict over the World Trade Organization and the role of the World Bank in the management of developing countries.
The protests were attended by tens of thousands of people, including many UW-Madison students. They tended to encompass many diverse issues under the umbrella of one political perspective; for example, the WTO protests last weekend also included pro-Palestinian and anti-war viewpoints.
UW-Madison Professor of sociology Pamela Oliver said massive protests such as these are intended to show that there is widespread support for the point of view of the demonstrators.
\Their meaning ... is 'we have a lot of people behind us,'"" she said. ""It's like voting with your feet.""
UW-Madison freshman Jessica Horne said that she attended the pro-Israeli protest in Washington on April 15 simply to demonstrate her support for the state of Israel in the face of opposition.
""It shows Israel and its neighbors that there are people that support Israel's cause,"" Horne said. ""Sometimes [Israelis] feel alone, like the world opinion is not so good for them right now, and it just shows support for them.""
UW-Madison senior Sarah Langford, an employee at the UW-Greens Info Shop, 31 University Square, said that members of the Greens went to the WTO demonstrations to spread awareness of anti-corporate viewpoints and to show the participants of the WTO meeting that their activities, but that their activities were ""no longer kosher.""
""People don't realize the control that corporations have over our lives,"" she said. ""[The WTO participants] are people in suits that aren't listening to anything other than the bottom line. ... I want my voice to be heard.""
Langford added that protesting was one of the only ways to get their viewpoint to the public.
According to Oliver, media coverage is also a goal of many activists. But since protests are mainly covered when the issue is already in the news, their value may be small.
Caroline Anstey, head spokesperson for the World Bank, said that changes to the World Bank's policies mainly stem from group discussions, and not the recent protests.
""We've had a series of very constructive debates with what we call civil society groups, especially in developing countries, and that has led to some quite considerable changes in policy,"" Anstey said. ""But I think that the groups that have been outside throwing bottles or engaging in violence have probably had a negative effect [on their cause].""
Oliver said that while some scholars argue that demonstrations provide a ""tag"" for media coverage of a social issue, others say that the only thing covered is the event itself, not its message.
""Some research might lead you to the conclusion that protest coverage is not actually very helpful for getting your message out, because all that gets out is the message that somebody cared about this issue,"" she said. ""But the content of what people were actually saying, especially if it's fairly complicated and thoughtful, usually does not make it in the news.\
