The Revolution Will Not Be Occupied: Theorizing Urban Revolutionary Movements in Tehran, Prague, and Paris

TLDR: In this paper, the spatial practice of revolutionary movements is analyzed through three case studies: Tehran during the 2009 Green Movement, Prague during the 1989 Velvet Revolution, and Paris during the 1968 student protests.

Abstract: Recent events have demonstrated that revolutionary movements continue to play an important role in shaping local, national, and international politics. This paper theorizes the spatial practice of revolutionary movements through three case studies: Tehran during the 2009 Green Movement, Prague during the 1989 Velvet Revolution, and Paris during the 1968 student protests. Urban space provides the primary location of movement mobilization. Furthermore, urban mobilization activates the memory of past struggles and prior political events, and movements use these political memories to connect with an urban population and to justify the challenge to state power. Secondary spaces, defined as important civic or cultural spaces within the city, potentially contribute leadership and organization toward the goal of revolutionary transformation. This paper demonstrates that movements that are able to formally organize within secondary spaces, instead of relying only on a tactic of urban occupation, defined as...