FROM THE PRESIDENT
HARVARD POLITICAL REVIEW
The Politics of Protest
A Nonpartisan Undergraduate Journal of Politics, Est. 1969—Vol. LI, No. 1
EDITORIAL BOARD
PRESIDENT: Alexis Mealey PUBLISHER: Wyatt Hurt MANAGING EDITOR: Marian Bothner ASSOCIATE MANAGING EDITOR: Ilana Cohen ASSOCIATE MANAGING EDITOR: Clay Oxford STAFF DIRECTOR: Cate Brock SENIOR COVERS EDITOR: Kendrick Foster ASSOCIATE COVERS EDITOR: Kate Gundersen SENIOR U.S. EDITOR: Joseph Winters ASSOCIATE U.S. EDITOR: Swathi Kella ASSOCIATE U.S. EDITOR: Chloe Levine SENIOR WORLD EDITOR: Kelsey Chen ASSOCIATE WORLD EDITOR: Ruhi Nayak ASSOCIATE WORLD EDITOR: Ajay Sarma SENIOR CULTURE EDITOR: Jacob Blair ASSOCIATE CULTURE EDITOR: Christine Mui SENIOR CAMPUS EDITOR: Winona Guo ASSOCIATE CAMPUS EDITOR: Jaden Deal INTERVIEWS EDITOR: George Dalianis BUSINESS MANAGER: Duncan Glew ASSOCIATE BUSINESS MANAGER: Victoriah Verna SENIOR DESIGN EDITOR: Trina Lilja ASSOCIATE DESIGN EDITOR: Tosca Langbert ASSOCIATE DESIGN EDITOR: Kendall Rideout SENIOR MULTIMEDIA EDITOR: Jacob Heberle ASSOCIATE MULTIMEDIA EDITOR: Nicolas Medrano ASSOCIATE MULTIMEDIA EDITOR: Annelisa Kingsbury Lee SENIOR TECH DIRECTOR: Kodi Obika ASSOCIATE TECH DIRECTOR: Yaodong Yu ASSOCIATE TECH DIRECTOR: David Hacker COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT DIRECTOR: Alexandra Diggs
STAFF
Alex Tam, Alienor Manteau, Alisha Ukani, Alison Chen, Allison Piper, Amy Danoff, Amy Wang, Annelisa Kingsbury Lee, Audrey Sheehy, Ava Salzman, Ben Roberts, Benjamin Firester, Brammy Rajakumar, Bridger Gordon, Byron Hurlbut, Campbell Erickson, Caroline Yun, Carter Nakamoto, Charles Xu, Chloe Lemmel-Hay, Chris Sun, Christian Browder, Clara Bates, Clara Nevins, Colton Carpenter, Connor Brown, Connor Schoen, Daniel Friedman, David Hacker, DJ Kranchalk, Eleonore Evans, Eli Berlin, Emily Malpass, Emily Moss, Emmet Halm, Enrique Sanchez, Esha Chaudhuri, Ethan Schultz, Fatima Taj, Gabrielle Landry, Garrett O’Brien, Graham Walter, Hadley DeBello, Hafsa Muse, Hope Kudo, Isabel Cole, Isabel Isselbacher, Jacob Kern, Jake McIntyre, Jamal Nimer, James Blanchfield, James Coleman, Jamie Bikales, Jamie Weisenberg, Jay Gopalan, Jerrica Li, Jerry Huang, Johannes Lang, John Ball, Jon Riege, Jordan Barton, Jose Larios, Joseph Minatel, Josh Berry, Katharine Heintz, Katherine Ho, Katie Miao, Kevin Bi, Lainey Newman, Lauren Baehr, Lauren Fadiman, Leila Wass, Libby Palanza, Lindsey Bouldin, Lu Shao, Manuel Abecasis, Marcus Trenfield, Matthew Hatfield, Matthew Shaw, Max Snyder, Maya Bharara, Meena Venkataramanan, Melissa Kwan, Mfundo Radebe, Michael Montella, Michael Wornow, Mikael Tessema, Mimi Alphonsus, Miyu Imai, Mustafa Ansari, Natalie Dabkowski, Nicholas Sleeper, Nick Danby, Nidal Morrison, Nikole Naloy, Noah Knopf, Noah Redlich, Otto Barenberg, Pawel Rybacki, Peyton Dunham, Roger Cawdette, Rumi Khan, Ryan Chung, Ryan Golemme, Sam Meyerson, Samantha FrenkelPopell, Sandy Koenig, Sanika Mahajan, Sarah Deonarain, Sarah Tisdall, Satish Wasti, Sophie Dicara, Tamara Shamir, Tom Slack, Vanessa Ruales, Will Finigan, Will Polster, William Boggs, Yash Kumbhat, Yashaar Hafizka, Yuri-Grace Ohashi, Zachary Buttenwieser, Zehan Zhou SENIOR WRITERS: Akshaya Annapragada, Alicia Zhang, Amir Siraj, Andrew Zucker, Anirudh Suresh, Beverly Brown, Chad Borgman, Corbin Duncan, Darwin Peng, Drew Pendergrass, Eve Driver, Gordan Kamer, Hank Sparks, Jessica Boutchie, Katie Weiner, Keshav Rastogi, Lauren Anderson, Matthew Rossi , May Wang, Nicolas Yan, Perry Arrasmith, Russell Reed, Sarah Shamoon, Savitri Fouda, Waseem Nabulsi, Will Imbrie-Moore.
ADVISORY BOARD Jonathan Alter Richard L. Berke E.J. Dionne, Jr. Ron Fournier
Walter Isaacson Whitney Patton Maralee Schwartz
2 HARVARD POLITICAL REVIEW SPRING 2020
When the HPR gathered in November 2019 to select a topic for the spring magazine cycle, we faced a unique challenge. Amidst the usual happy chaos of choosing a topic for our magazine, there hung a quiet solemnity brought on by the understanding that the issue would be our first of the 2020s. As a consequence, we found ourselves debating not just what pitch would create an interesting set of articles, but also what subject would be appropriate to set the tone for another decade of political journalism. After tireless debate, we emerged with an answer: protest. Protest is an act of reclamation of one’s political identity, a decision to rise against the status quo to assert one’s agency as a citizen. The rise of the internet has introduced ubiquitous global access to news alongside massive platforms for political organizing, galvanizing generations young and old to exercise their political voices. The increased accessibility of protest in the digital era has brought about its own challenges, from the spread of false information to the growing threat of cyber crime. Across the globe, people and institutions alike are turning a critical eye to protest, examining both its immense power to provoke positive social change and its potentially damaging, often unintended consequences. 2020 marks the beginning of a new age of activism. On New Year’s Eve, the world welcomed the decade with celebration, but underneath the revelry, the pulsing current of political unrest continued to rush forward. From Hong Kong to Iran and France to Brazil, global streets have erupted into protests. Greta Thunberg and young climate activists around the world are building coalitions and organizing powerful demonstrations for climate action, taking the reins of global politics and guiding us towards a sustainable future. In the United States, a large, powerful cohort of voters is coming of age, demanding answers to challenges the world has never before been asked to face. As we continue into this new decade, we can nonetheless remain certain that protest will continue to shape our
political reality. In “The Politics of Protest,” four writers consider the implications of a new era of protest at Harvard, in the United States, and across the globe. In “Good Protestor, Bad Protestor,” Swathi Kella explores the effects of identity on public perceptions of protest legitimacy, highlighting a history of disenfranchisement of minority groups in American protest. Ilana Cohen’s “Revolutionizing Harvard” evaluates the history of radical activism on Harvard University’s campus, demonstrating the ways in which contemporary protestors are adapting old tactics in service of new causes. In “Culture Jamming,” Joseph Winters tackles the use of adapted corporate logos in protests, with activists harnessing the power of corporate advertising against the very power structures it is designed to uphold. Finally, Jeremiah Kim considers the use of lasers as tools for peaceful protesters to make a statement in “Lasers: The Future of Protests.” It is with immense pride that I present to you the first magazine produced by the HPR’s 52nd masthead. 2020 is a pivotal year in politics, but it is also a critical year for the HPR as we welcome the organization’s first ever majority-female leadership team. We remain firm in our commitment to empower and give voice to hundreds of writers, regardless of background, identity, or political affiliation, while continuing to build a more inclusive, representative community. As we enter a new decade of political uncertainty, we find stability in our belief in the power of rigorous, analytical journalism to fuel change and shape our political moment. Thank you for continuing to support us as we pursue this goal for another decade.
Alexis Mealey President
