A public exhibition of the attitude of a group of persons toward a controversial issue
A demonstration is action by a mass group or collection of groups of people in favour of a political or other cause. It often consists of walking in a mass march formation and either beginning with or meeting at a designated endpoint, or rally, to hear speakers.
Demonstrations can be nonviolent or violent (usually referred to by participants as "militant"), or can begin as nonviolent and turn violent depending on the circumstances. Sometimes riot police or other forms of law enforcement become involved. In some cases this may be to try to prevent the protest from taking place at all. In other cases, it may be to prevent clashes between rival groups, or to prevent a demonstration from spreading and turning into a riot.
Demonstrations can promote a viewpoint (either positive or negative) on a public issue. A demonstration is usually considered more successful if more people participate. Research shows that anti-government demonstrations occur more frequently in affluent countries than in poor ones.
Women’s March 2017
Picture taken by Vlad Tchompalov on Pennsylvania Ave, Washington DC, United States.
“Yet what you need is not marches, demonstrations, rallies or wide associations, all of them are important. What you need is direct action. The sooner people understand that, the sooner we'll begin to change things.”
Times and locations
Sometimes the date or location chosen for the demonstration is of historical or cultural significance, such as the anniversary of some event that is relevant to the topic of the demonstration.
Locations are also chosen because of some relevance to the issue at hand. For example, if a demonstration is targeted at issues relating to foreign nation, the demonstration may take place at a location associated with that nation, such as an embassy of the nation in question.