Book contents
- Streetscapes of War and Revolution
- Studies in the Social and Cultural History of Modern Warfare
- Streetscapes of War and Revolution
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Figures and Maps
- Acknowledgments
- Note on Language Use
- Introduction
- 1 All Gray
- 2 Black–Yellow Surfaces
- 3 Shades of War
- 4 Black Markets, Green Expeditions
- 5 Not Only Red
- 6 The End of Darkness? Uncertainty and Revolution
- Conclusion
- Select Bibliography
- Index
5 - Not Only Red
Street Protests, State Legitimacy, and Social Justice
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 30 May 2024
- Streetscapes of War and Revolution
- Studies in the Social and Cultural History of Modern Warfare
- Streetscapes of War and Revolution
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Figures and Maps
- Acknowledgments
- Note on Language Use
- Introduction
- 1 All Gray
- 2 Black–Yellow Surfaces
- 3 Shades of War
- 4 Black Markets, Green Expeditions
- 5 Not Only Red
- 6 The End of Darkness? Uncertainty and Revolution
- Conclusion
- Select Bibliography
- Index
Summary
This chapter charts the evolution of social unrest in the streets of Prague from the war years to the end of 1920, a moment of heightened occupation of public space by crowds. Most of these protests resist clear-cut labels as socialist or nationalist. They must be considered in terms of the protesters’ relationship to the state, in the larger context of the Habsburg Empire’s collapse and the Czechoslovak republic’s difficult stabilization. Food supply deficiencies generated many riots, demonstrations, and strikes. The trajectories of protests, from suburban centers of local power to the city’s main squares, show declining trust in imperial institutions and increasing recourse to violence. Postwar demonstrations signal a shift in conceptions of citizenship and democracy, the streets becoming a forum for legitimate popular political participation. The housing crisis and evictions by crowds constitute a good case study of the willingness to resort to direct action to establish a new form of social justice.
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- Information
- Streetscapes of War and RevolutionPrague, 1914–1920, pp. 207 - 252Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2024