Knowra Protests of 1968 Protests of 1968 A transnational wave of student, worker, and antiwar protests in 1968 challenged political authority, social conventions, and established institutions.
May 1968 events in France : A nationwide French crisis of student protests, strikes, and occupations in May and June 1968. The largest strike wave in French history turned campus revolt into a challenge to government.
Student movements : Organized collective action by students seeking political, educational, or social change. Universities supplied networks and meeting places for many 1968 mobilizations.
Postwar baby boom : A marked rise in birth rates in many countries after the Second World War. A large younger generation increased university enrollment and the number of potential student activists.
Invasion of Czechoslovakia : The Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia in August 1968, which ended the Prague Spring reforms. The invasion demonstrated the limits of reform under Soviet power and provoked international protest.
Prague Spring : A Czechoslovak reform movement in 1968 that sought to create socialism with greater political freedom. Its reformist challenge to Soviet control met a military invasion in August.
General strike : A coordinated work stoppage across multiple industries or sectors, often intended to exert broad political pressure. In France, strikes carried student unrest into workplaces and disrupted the national economy.
Decolonization : The process by which colonies gained independence from imperial powers, especially after the Second World War. Anti-imperial struggles informed protest movements in Europe, Africa, and the Americas.
French legislative election of 1968 : A French parliamentary election in June 1968 that gave the Gaullists a large majority. The result showed how protest and strike did not necessarily translate into electoral victory.
Columbia University protests of 1968 : A student occupation of buildings at Columbia University in New York City during April 1968. Students protested university ties to the Vietnam War and plans affecting a nearby neighborhood.
Antiwar movement : Organized opposition to a war, including protests, campaigns, and acts of civil disobedience. Opposition to the Vietnam War connected campus protest to a wider public movement.
Show all 21