The relationship between citizen and state has often been tenuous, but without this tension, many citizens might not have won their independence from colonial rule or oppressive regimes. The space for people to voice dissent varies and how that space shifts, opens or closes depends on a range of factors.
What is certainly clear is that creating movements that challenge state power requires courage, bravery, creativity and the ability to dissent—whether that comes from a single individual or from the nation at large, whether that is in resistance to colonization or a dogmatic regime.
The question, then, is given that civic space is shrinking in many countries, are we still being innovative in the ways in which we challenge socioeconomic and political power to work towards a vision of common good?
