From Suffragettes to Palestine Action – who defines legitimate protest?

From the suffragette movement and the fight against apartheid to today’s campaigns for climate justice and Palestine, what defines legitimate protest? And who gets to decide? This episode explores the contested politics of protest through history. We examine what happens when legal and political channels for change are blocked, and how states respond when protest challenges entrenched power. As politicians celebrate historic acts of civil disobedience while criminalising modern movements, we ask: who gets to decide what counts as legitimate protest – and how will history judge us? Helen Pankhurst CBE , Chancellor of University of Suffolk and great grand-daughter of iconic suffragette Emmeline Pankhurst, discusses what we can learn from shifting attitudes to protest movements over time. We hear from Chief Executive of Amnesty International UK Sacha Deshmukh , who explains why proscribing Palestine Action sets a dangerous precedent for criminalising peaceful protest. And Kathryn Nwajiaku-Dahou (Director of Politics and Governance programme, ODI Global) assesses how definitions of 'protest' are shaping grassroots movements globally. Guests Sara Pantuliano (host), Chief Executive, ODI Global Sacha Deshmukh, Chief Executive, Amnesty International UK Kathryn Nwajiaku-Dahou, Director of Politics and Governance programme, ODI Global Helen Pankhurst CBE, Chancellor of University of Suffolk; Convenor of Centenary Action and Advisor to CARE International

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From Suffragettes to Palestine Action – who defines legitimate protest? is an episode from ODI podcasts by ODI podcasts.

This episode is 33:00 long.

This episode was published on Sep 25, 2025.

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