D0664 - SEM. CONTROLLING PROTEST

Learning outcomes

By the end of the seminar, students will: - develop an in-depth understanding, from an international and comparative perspective, of some of the strategies of legal and social control recently used by some Western states to restrict or make more difficult engagement in activities associated with protest; - be able to critically assess the implications of these strategies of control for individual citizens and for the communication of diverse views in a democracy.

Course contents

This seminar will be run by Professor Alison Young of the University of Melbourne (Australia), who will be visiting the Department of Legal Studies in Bologna this autumn as an Erasmus+ Visiting Professor. For any question on the seminar, please email Prof. Young's host in Bologna: Prof. Di Ronco, anna.dironco@unibo.it. 

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The right to protest is often taken for granted in a Westernised democracy, but it should not be – there are always conditions attached to what is defined as ‘lawful’ protest. Even within that category, protest events are subject to state regulation of the timing, duration, location and format. Increasingly, protests are being categorised as unlawful, and on occasions, criminal law is used by governments against protesters in the name of national security, such as through proscription of groups as ‘terror organisations’. This short course will examine ways of controlling protest through expanded powers of policing and through the criminalisation of the expression of dissent. It will consider the impact of the use of criminal law and expanded police powers in the criminal justice system, the court process, and on individuals and affected groups. The course will involve both seminar discussion and short lectures, as well as dynamic and collaborative group work. We will be examining a range of recent examples such as the pro-Palestine protests, protests against gendered violence, and climate protest.

Readings/Bibliography

Selmini, R. and Di Ronco, A. (2023) ‘The Criminalization of Dissent and Protest’

Crime and Justice, vol.52 pp. 196-231.

Wall I.R. (2019) ‘Policing atmospheres: Crowds, protest and “atmotechnics”’ Theory, Culture & Society vol.36(4) pp. 143-162.

Bauck, W. (2026) ‘The criminalizing of protest and dissent has a long history in America’ The Guardian, 4 Feb,

https://www.theguardian.com/usnews/2026/feb/03/criminalizing-protest-dissent-history

Teaching methods

Day 1: 2-hour seminar/ lecture: a mix of lecture and open discussion

Introduction to ideas in readings: protest and democracy; key concepts in understanding protest; state power and control techniques. Students are expected to have completed the assigned readings before the seminar.

Day 2: 3-hour seminar/ group work

First hour: small group work: collaboratively researching allocated examples;

Second hour: presenting the findings of in-class collaborative research

Final hour: Whole group discussion of the implications for democracy, citizenship, and dissent.

Assessment methods

The seminar is assessed on a pass/fail basis. To pass, students must attend both sessions in full, held on two consecutive days (for a total of five hours), and actively participate in class discussions and group work.

Students who successfully complete the seminar will have the corresponding 1 CFU automatically recorded during the first winter examination session.

Teaching tools

Power point presentations, audio-visual material.

Links to further information

https://findanexpert.unimelb.edu.au/profile/1280-alison-young

Office hours

See the website of Anna Di Ronco