WHAT IS SOCIAL REPRESSION? (WITH EXAMPLES) - CULTURE VOCABULARY - 2024

The social repression is defined as acts and effects of control, contain, stop, punish and suppress individuals, groups or large social mobilization through state measures to prevent a demonstration in position against certain policies of the state.

The measures used by governments to repress socially involve the control of the information transmitted through the media, the manipulation of political and local leaders or the eradication of social movements that violate state ideals, among many others.

Violence represents one of the characteristics of repression. This has been used throughout the history of humanity in the restriction of protests or social events through the use of state forces such as national and regional police.

In more radical cases, this violence has also been carried out by potentially more prepared forces such as the military, specialized brigades, and in some cases armed and infiltrated party groups that report and act as against the protesters.

Some actions commonly studied in protest acts include physical and verbal violence by police forces, military repression that can lead to arrests and imprisonment of leaders, and even disappearances.

In addition, paramilitary forces can act against the groups that oppose the imposed measures.

The restriction of freedom of expression and meetings with ideals other than the government, as well as attacks on human rights and assassinations of opposition leaders, are seen in highly biased forms of social repression.

At present, you can also see the repression in the censorship of content on the Internet, restricted and controlled to prevent access to information or interaction.

The countries with the highest censorship in the world are: Azerbaijan, Saudi Arabia, Cuba, North Korea, China, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Myanmar, Iran, Vietnam.

Characteristics of social repression

Repression seeks to prevent or eliminate the political participation of a society mainly by silencing it and instilling terror through persecutory actions that violate human rights, such as:

• Denial of citizen rights
• Terrorism
• Torture
• Other extrajudicial punishments to stop dissidents, activists or the population that manifests itself against it.

When political repression is punished and directed by the state, it can be said that it refers to state terrorism in which cases of genocide, homicides of political figures or crimes against humanity that seek to generate fear and unrest in the population can occur.

This type of systematic violence is typical of dictatorial and totalitarian models, although it can also occur in democratic governments; whose actions can be carried out by the army, secret police forces, paramilitaries or other armed groups where many times the final result ends in death.

On the other hand, oppression manifests itself in suffocation, pressure and subjugation induced by threats to freeze actions and provoke acceptance of any state policy.

Here fear, intimidation and abuse of power play their role, which are characteristics of tyranny, generally used to demonstrate authority.

Examples of social repression in history

In the world, more than 1.6 billion people (a quarter of the global population) continually face unfortunate consequences if they wish to raise their voices to claim their most basic rights, as well as express their points of view, be able to create organizations parallel to the state or participate in peaceful assemblies.

Individuals who dare to protest for their rights in repressive countries are victims of persecution, physical abuse, psychological damage, jail, among other violent actions.

In nations with such controls, it is the state that governs life in general and defines it, so the inhabitants do not have any legal support with respect to the aggressions committed by it.

According to a report by the Freedom House organization in 2011, these countries make up the list of the most abusive governments of human rights:

Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, North Korea, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, which currently remain in similar situations. Some examples of oppressive and repressive states are:

1- Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia has been under the monarchy of Ibn-Al Saud, in which the royal family that dominates the territory has swept away any opposition that rises against its rules.

It is the seat of two of the holiest sites in Islam, Mecca and Medina, guarded by the royal family with the title of guardians of those places.

In this country, the most severe restrictions imposed on women are:

• Impediment to vote, therefore having public office
• Driving prohibited
• The testimony of a woman is worth half that of a man
• They forcibly marry
• They cannot travel without a family man to accompany them
• They are forced to wear a veil.

2- Myanmar

Myanmar, also called Burma, located in Southeast Asia, had a fairly stable democracy until 1962.

But since that year, a group of soldiers understood that the democratic state was not the correct way to satisfy their own interests and they staged a coup and installed themselves in power with intolerance towards the rights and freedoms of the inhabitants.

Torture, the execution of dissidents and censorship became Myanmar's daily bread. In 1988 there was a student revolution and the state became even more repressive.

In recent years, the regime has begun to study a number of seemingly hopeful reforms with a view to democracy.

3-

Fidel Castro came to power in 1959 by presiding over a revolution that overthrew the government of Fulgencio Batista, and governed until 1976 by decree, but then changed the constitution by reforming the government structure.

Castro, held the three most important positions in the Cuban government: president of the Council of State, president of the Council of Ministers and first secretary of the Cuban Communist Party. In 2006 he transferred his power to his brother Raúl Castro, who currently governs.

Although Cuba had good development and equity in education, the growth of economic, social and cultural rights was not matched with reference to the civil and political rights of citizens.

The government denied basic freedoms throughout the regime led by Fidel, having periods of intense repression with incarcerations and isolations where medical attention was denied, in addition to torture, shootings, no freedom of expression and limited communication.

4- North Korea

North Korea is at number two on the list of the most tyrannical countries. It is the only nation that, having no monarchy, has had the same family for three generations in government.

In this country there is censorship in the media, there are executions of enemies and periodic executions of political leaders and nobody is allowed to leave the territory.

Essential freedoms have been severely limited by the Kim family dynasty. So much so that in 2014 the UN found that the abuses in North Korea are incomparable to the world today.

Extermination, slavery, rape, forced abortions and other forms of sexual violence are common, and collective punishment is used to repress dissidents. In this nation there are no independent media, civil society or freedom of religious belief.

References

1. Stephen Frosh. Social Repression. (1999). Recovered from: link.springer.com.
2. Linda Camp Keith. Political Repression Courts and the Law. (2011). Recovered from: upenn.edu.
3. Jacqueline HR deMeritt. The Strategic Use of State Repression and Political Violence. (2016). Source: politics.oxfordre.com.
4. Anita Gohdes & Sabine Carey. Protest and the Outsourcing of State Repression. (2014). Source: politicalviolenceataglance.org.
5. The World's Most Repressive Societies. (2011). Source: freedomhouse.org.