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As social protest and social media begin to exert and display true ‘people power’, the impact on political, commercial and social institutions is being manifested. The refusal of a (not-so) few, “the indignant”, to accept perceived societal and political injustices has ignited a new form of community and protest. Whether to remonstrate corporate greed in the form of Occupy Wall Street or the high cost of living and cottage cheese prices in Israel – 2011 has seen a dramatic shift in the challenge to governments and business leaders to ‘listen more’ and ‘act with a conscience’.

Those Nations who understand and can harness this ‘people power’ for the positive, and respond to the challenges will certainly be rewarded and generate future political and economic changes.

The power of a Country Brand is directly proportionate to the power of its people, leadership and sense of purpose in the world community and, in realizing this strength, to create better lives and a future for its citizens and constituents.

Media, social networks and peoples’ protest represent a true civil display of power and demonstrate the impact of these actions in both socioeconomic and institutional terms. The voices of an apparent minority have risen in a very particular way during the last year. Not only have they claimed against social injustice but they have also unleashed a powerful, contagious effect that has proved globalization to be far from simply an intellectual theory; events in one city take only a few hours to be replicated thousands of miles away.

These demonstrations represent one of the most remarkable features of the year 2011. The Spanish Indignants movement started on 15 May when thousands of people – the majority alerted through civilian digital platforms – crowded Puerta del Sol in Madrid. Their banners and slogans gained global sympathy, their clever phrases and manifestos rapidly began to circulate across the Internet. Throughout the year, citizens of different social conditions in many countries have taken to the streets to express their anger against politicians and leaders and to demand improvements in their quality of life. These claims proved to be cross-sectional and although many of these events might have been the consequence of economic issues, their development has extended far beyond this terrain to a question of ideology in a wider sense. Protesters made use of their right to claim for something fundamental – a better life for all. There was a widespread demand for political leaders, economics opinion formers and businessmen to listen more and to act consciously.

The wave of mass social protest was such that action recurred in a more or less peaceful mood, in locations as diverse as Chile, Greece, India, Israel and Spain. However, this activity does not correlate directly to CBI movements. Spain ranked overall 14 in 2011, the same as in 2010, with a strong score in Quality of Life. Although the economic crisis had a negative impact on a particularly sensitive attribute, Job Opportunities, Spain showed significant improvements in Value system (+4) and Best Place to Live (+3).

Meanwhile, in Israel and India, two countries with remarkable economic growth, demonstrations crowded parks and avenues calling for social justice. In turn, rapid growth in Chile was unable to calm the fears related to the future availability of free university studies, resulting in several demonstrations. This year, Quality of Life in Chile is down 4 places and Education specifically lost 5 places.

In the US, people’s movement “Occupy Wall Street” protesting against social and economic inequality, corporate greed, and the influence of corporate money and lobbyists on government, is reflected in a drop of 3 places for Job Opportunity. However, CBI Quality of Life is up 2 places and now ranked #14, with almost every association in the dimension demonstrating gains this year.

Conflicts linked to social justice, no matter the actual origin of the associated demonstrations, offer nations the opportunity to improve global perceptions. Those countries with the ability to demonstrate a response to the challenge posed by protest, to listen to claims and to act in consequence, are likely to be well rewarded and establishing the conditions to engage in future political and economic reforms.
In this sense, the strength of a country brand is directly proportional to its citizens’ commitment, its leadership and the sense of purpose within the world community. There certainly is long-term value in the power to pursue better life conditions and a promising future for its citizens.