How protest is redefining democracy around the world | Zachariah Mampilly

翻译人员: Yan Gao 校对人员: Echo Sun

Like many of you, I'm often frustrated by the democratic process.

我与你们很多人一样， 常对民主进程感到沮丧。

它混乱、复杂，

It's messy, it's complicated,

it's often inefficient.

并且通常效率低下。

Our political leaders feel disconnected

我们的政治领导人不够关心

from the concerns of ordinary people.

民生问题。

Many feel that voting every few years

许多人认为，每隔几年选出一个

for leaders disconnected from their daily challenges

无法解决他们日常困难的领袖，

is pointless.

根本毫无意义。

But before we reject democracy,

但是，在我们否定民主以前，

let's imagine what it could be.

来想象一下它可以变成什么样。

And I believe that African activists are redefining democracy

我相信非洲的活动家

正在以抗议为核心重新定义民主，

by putting protest at its center,

what I refer to as "protest democracy."

我称它为：“抗议民主”。

International organizations and academic experts

国际组织和学术专家

define democracy as regular, multiparty electoral competition.

定义的民主是： 定期的多党选举竞争。

But democracy should not only be about elites competing at the ballot box.

但民主不应该仅仅是 精英们在竞争选票。

For it to have meaning,

想让它变得有意义，

it's something we must engage in every day.

那它应该是与我们的日常生活 息息相关的事。

When I say "protest democracy,"

当我提出“抗议民主”时，

I'm challenging how we think about democratic action.

我挑战的是我们 对民主行动的看法。

Viewing democracy as only elections is no longer adequate

把民主只看成是选举， 已经过时了，

and threatens democracy itself.

并且还会对民主本身造成威胁。

So we must protest democracy to give it a renewed meaning.

因此我们必须要对民主提出异议， 来重新定义它。

What would this look like?

新的民主会是什么样子呢？

We need to turn to African societies,

让我们看看非洲社会。

where ordinary people are increasingly taking to the streets

在那里，普通人正纷纷走上街头，

to transform their lives.

去改变他们的生活。

African social movements have often been at the forefront

非洲的社会运动常常处于

of conceptualizing democracy in this way.

这种民主概念化方式的前沿。

This may come as a surprise to those of who think

对于那些认为非洲人民

参政的唯一方式是 动用枪杆子的人来说，

that the only way Africans engage in politics

is through the barrel of the gun.

这会让他们感到惊讶。

But increasingly, young people are taking to the streets

越来越多的青年人走上街头，

and abandoning organized violence

放弃有组织的暴力行为，

in favor of more effective nonviolent action.

支持更有效的非暴力活动。

I've spent much of the past two decades talking to African activists,

过去二十年，我花了很多时间 与非洲的活动家们交谈，

both violent and nonviolent.

暴力派和非暴力派的都有。

Across Africa, young people are rising up

在整个非洲，年轻人开始站出来，

to challenge almost every type of regime known to humanity.

质疑人类所知道的几乎每一种政权。

This is my friend Thiat.

这是我的朋友西亚特。

He's a rapper from Senegal.

他是塞内加尔的一名说唱歌手。

He led a large movement in Senegal

他在塞内加尔领导了 一个大规模运动，

that was successful in preventing the president from stealing a third term.

成功阻止了总统窃取第三次任期。

From Morocco to Lesotho,

从摩洛哥到莱索托，

young people are rising up against entrenched monarchies:

青年人挺身而出， 反抗根深蒂固的君主制；

in Egypt and Sudan,

在埃及和苏丹，

against brutal dictatorships;

他们对抗残酷的独裁统治；

in Uganda and Ethiopia,

在乌干达和埃塞俄比亚，

against powerful militarized states

他们反抗拿民主做掩饰的

with quasi-democratic veneers;

强大军国主义国家。

in South Africa, where this image was taken,

在南非——就是拍这张照片的地方——

and Burundi,

还有布隆迪，

against democratically elected leaders

反对那些民主选举的领导人，

who have done little to improve the conditions for ordinary people.

因为这些领导人 对改善民生毫无作为。

Across the continent, protest is not exceptional,

在整个非洲大陆， 抗议并不罕见，

but a normal part of life.

而是正常生活的一部分。

Africans use protests to challenge both dictators

非洲人民通过抗议来反对独裁者，

as well as power cuts.

也抗议断电状况。

In a way, Africans are protesting democracy itself,

在某种意义上，非洲人民 是在抗议民主本身，

enriching its possibilities for us all.

来为每个人争取民主的可能性。

There have been two major waves of African protest,

已经有过两大非洲抗议风潮了，

and we are currently living through the third,

我们现在正在经历第三波，

which began around 2005.

这一波大约从 2005 年开始，

It includes the so-called Arab Spring,

它包括所谓的“阿拉伯之春”，

which took place mostly on the continent.

主要发生在非洲大陆。

The first wave took place in the 1940s and 1950s

第一波发生在 1940、1950 年代，

and led to Africa's decolonization.

它导致了非洲的殖民地自治化。

克瓦米·恩克鲁玛（Kwame Nkrumah） 在加纳领导了一个大联盟，

Kwame Nkrumah led a broad coalition in Ghana

that overthrew British rule,

推翻了英国的统治，

providing a template for nonviolent movements globally.

为全世界提供了一个 非暴力运动的典范。

The second wave took place in the 1980s and 1990s

第二波发生在 1980 和 1990 年代，

为了反对财政紧缩措施

against austerity measures that imposed harsh conditions

给非洲经济强加的苛刻条件。

on African economies.

These protests led to the overthrow of autocratic regimes

这些抗议导致了独裁政权的垮台，

and led to the introduction

并且在全非洲大陆引进了

of multiparty elections across the continent.

多党选举制。

The ongoing third wave is correcting the shortcomings of the earlier two.

正在进行的第三波， 意在修正前两次的不足。

If the first wave brought liberation but not democracy,

如果说第一波带来了自由， 但没有带来民主，

and the second, elections but only for the elites,

而第二波，有了选举， 但仅限精英，

then it is the third wave

那这第三波，

that is most concerned with transforming democracy

则主要专注于将民主转变成为

into the rule of the people.

人们当家作主。

It includes movements like Y'en a Marre in Senegal,

这一波运动包括 塞内加尔的 Y'en a Marre、

布基纳法索的 Le Balai citoyen、

Le Balai Citoyen in Burkina Faso,

Tajamuka in Zimbabwe,

津巴布韦的 Tajamuka、

LUCHA and Filimbi in the Democratic Republic of Congo,

刚果民主共和国的 LUCHA 和 Filimbi 等运动。

movements that work outside of more conventional nongovernmental organizations

这些运动的范畴超越了 较传统的非政府组织

and political parties

和政治党派，

to challenge the economic and political system itself,

挑战的是经济和政治系统自身，

often at great risk.

而这样做通常都存在巨大的风险。

Brilliant young activists like LUCHA's Fred Bauma

像在 LUCHA 中， 弗雷德·鲍乌马（ Fred Bauma）

have been detained and tortured,

这样杰出的青年活动家 遭到了拘留和酷刑，

often with little to no outcry from the international community.

却没有怎么引起国际社会的抗议。

The list goes on, as you can see from some of the data we collected.

从我们收集到的数据中可以看出， 这样的例子还有很多。

There have been large popular protests

自从 2005 年， 在非洲 40 多个国家

in over 40 African countries since 2005,

都有较大规模的群众抗议。

and if you look, you'll recognize that in 2011,

从图上可以看到出，在 2011 年，

the year of the so-called Arab Spring,

所谓“阿拉伯之春”发生的那年，

was actually the spike of this broader wave.

正是这一波更大风潮的高峰。

Contrary to popular belief,

可能有悖大家认知的是，

many of these protests have been successful.

这些抗议中有很多是成功的。

We know of the dictators falling in Tunisia and in Egypt,

据我们所知，在突尼斯和 埃及有独裁者垮台，

but popular movements have prevented presidents from stealing third terms

群众运动已成功阻止了 总统窃取第三次任期，

in Senegal, in Malawi and Burkina Faso as well.

在塞内加尔、马拉维、 布基纳法索也一样成功。

What's driving this upsurge of protest?

是什么原因导致了抗议的风潮？

Demographically, Africa is both the youngest

从人口统计学来看， 非洲既是最年轻的，

and the fastest-growing continent,

也是发展速度最快的大陆，

with the largest age gap between the people and their rulers.

但人民和统治者之间的 年龄差距最大。

It is urbanizing at a tremendous pace.

其城市化的速度也是很快的。

Economically, African countries have been growing for over a decade now,

经济上，非洲国家已经 持续十多年增长，

largely driven by investments from Asia.

主要由亚洲的投资推动。

But little of this wealth is trickling down.

但这些财富并没有惠及于民。

Formal jobs in the industrial sector are actually decreasing,

工业部门的正式工作其实在减少，

with informal labor the only option left for people to eke out a living.

人们仅能凭借非正式的 体力工作勉强糊口。

As a result, inequality is skyrocketing,

因此，不平等现象暴涨，

and political leaders are increasingly disconnected

政治领袖们也逐渐脱离了

from their much younger populations.

年轻群众。

For those of us from outside of Africa,

对于我们这些来自非洲之外的人，

we're familiar with parts of this story:

我们对这部分故事很熟悉：

a massive spike in inequality,

不平等现象出现高峰——

the product of a decline in good jobs for good wages

工作好、报酬高曾被认为是 先进社会的标志，

而这种工作的减少造成了不平等；

that were once considered the hallmark of an advanced society;

the capture of our political parties by elites

我们的政党被精英们占据，

accompanied by the hollowing out of civil society

再加上曾为普通人发声的

that once provided a voice to ordinary people;

人民社会也名存实亡；

that sinking feeling that no matter what you do,

以及那种绝望的感觉—— 不管你做什么，

external factors related to the global economy

与全球经济相关的外界因素

can disrupt our lives for the worse.

都会扰乱我们的生活，让它更糟糕。

Our political leaders seem helpless,

我们的政治领导人好像很无助，

insisting on austerity,

还在坚持紧缩政策，

even as public goods diminish to levels unseen in decades.

即使公共物资已经减少到 数十年未见的水平。

And this is when they're not succumbing to exclusionary nationalism,

而且这是他们还没有屈服于 排斥性民族主义时，

blaming our woes on the weak rather than the powerful.

将我们的不幸归咎于 弱势群体而非有权势者。

What those of us from North America and Western Europe consider to be new

那些对于来自北美和西欧的 我们来说很新鲜的事，

has been the normal condition of African life since the 1970s.

在非洲却从 1970 年代就是常态了。

那么，难道不是该向那些

So who better to learn from

than those who have been engaged in resistance to these conditions

曾参与反抗这些状况

且反抗时间最长的人学习吗？

for the longest period of time?

我们从非洲的抵抗民主运动中 能学到什么？

What can we learn from African protest democracy?

First, democracy must begin with ordinary people.

首先，民主需要起始于普通大众。

Viewing democracy as only elections has led to widespread disillusionment.

单纯把民主当作一场场选举， 已经造成了大范围的幻想破灭。

我们要努力让人民大众成为 民主生活的中心。

We must instead work to center ordinary people in democratic life.

Protest provides us one way to do that.

抗议是我们用到的一种方式。

Regardless of your age, sexuality, your gender,

不论你的年龄、性取向和性别是什么，

whether you're a citizen or a non-citizen, able-bodied or disabled,

也不论你是不是公民、身体是否残疾，

anyone can participate.

任何人都可以参与。

In contrast to elections,

与选举不同，

protests are not confined by rigid electoral cycles.

抗议并不会受到死板的 选举周期的限制。

在我们要求迅速反馈的时代，

They offer a much more immediate form of action

in our era of instant feedback.

抗议提供的是一种即刻的行动。

Second, while protests may be messy,

第二，虽然抗议看似混乱，

this is what makes them powerful.

但这也正是其强大之处。

抗议是存在争议和质疑的过程，

Protests are contentious and contested processes,

defined by contingent actions,

是根据情况而异的行动，

often devoid of clear messaging,

通常没有清晰的信息，

特征是组织不完整。

characterized by incomplete organization.

These dynamics are what makes it easy to dismiss protests as riots

这些不定因素让抗议行动 容易被当作暴动而受到驱散，

or to assume they are of limited political utility.

或是假设抗议的政治效用有限。

But it also makes them easier to suppress.

但这也使抗议很容易被镇压。

Too often, governments do not view protests as elementary to democracy.

通常，政府不会认为 抗议是民主的基本要素。

反之，他们会暴力镇压社会运动，

Instead, they violently crush social movements

或想办法诋毁抗议的理念。

or work to discredit their message.

Third, as I already hinted,

第三，正如我已暗示过的，

抗议，是可以让新的 政治想象力得以浮现的空间。

protest is the space from which new political imaginations may emerge.

Protests are about coloring outside the lines,

抗议，是打破规则，

a way for ordinary people to rewrite the rules of the game

是一种允许普通人 重写游戏规则的方式——

重写对普通人不利的游戏规则。

that too many feel are stacked against them.

Many young people in Africa have grown up in societies

许多非洲年轻人成长的社会

where a single ruler has ruled their entire lives.

是一个统治者控制了 他们一辈子的社会。

Protest is the space for new possibilities to emerge,

抗议为出现新的可能性提供空间，

as young people begin to discover their own power.

因为年轻人开始发现自己的力量了。

Consider the situation of my friend Linda Masarira,

以我的朋友琳达·玛莎里拉 （ Linda Masarira）为例，

她是养育五个孩子的单身母亲，

a single mother of five,

who is leading protests against the Mugabe regime in Zimbabwe.

在津巴布韦领导 对穆伽比政权的抗议活动。

她曾被殴打、拘捕、骚扰。

She has been beaten, arrested, harassed.

But Linda perseveres, because as she told me a few months ago,

但是琳达始终坚持不懈， 因为她几个月前对我说，

protest has given her a sense of meaning and direction.

抗议活动赋予了她意义和方向感。

And though she knows the odds against her,

尽管她知道自己胜算不高，

Linda perseveres.

但仍在坚持。

Like Linda and other young African activists,

像琳达和其他年轻的 非洲活动家一样，

we all must work to redefine democracy

我们都要努力重新定义民主，

as something more than just elections and political parties.

让民主不再只是关乎选举和政党。

Democracy is a creative process,

民主是一个创造性的过程，

and protest has always been the vehicle

而抗议一直是帮助我们

for expanding our political imaginations beyond what we are told is possible.

扩展政治想象力、 突破他人限制的载体。

（斯瓦希里语）非常感谢。

(In Swahili) Thank you very much.

(Applause)

（掌声）