"a leader who reacts to his citizens uniting in the streets by making it illegal to unite in the streets is in for a bad time and should know it." I've noticed a trend in protests in state violence/repression which seems to simply throw gas on the fire. What I am, unfortunately, ignorant about is major protests which have not been answered with legal sanctions and violence. Do you know of any examples where protests have been quelled using other methods?
I'm no expert, but there are peaceful protests in the US all the time. Obviously the magnitude is vastly different but if all the president of Ukraine had done was throw some people in jail overnight, or even just for a few hours -- or hell if he'd just let them sit there -- the problem might not have spiraled out of proportion. The old maxim is don't pass laws you aren't willing and able to enforce. Thinking about this a bit more, there have been in the past dictatorships (in name or in fact) that quelled protests ruthlessly for a long time (Soviets, say) -- but it never lasts. It's not a sustainable model, especially in the 21st century. In the world of satellites, I would imagine the only way to deal with a protest short of yielding is to stall it with pointless democracy. Which, to be fair, Yanukovych also tried, albeit it too late. EDIT: welcome to hubski.