Martyr deaths converted liberal Maidan participants to adopt far-right tactical repertoires

Evidence

On January 19, Automaidan, the militant car owners’ collective, called for a march on parliament. When the procession turned into a violent confrontation, Automaidan backed off and distanced itself from the chaos. Right Sector, however, rose to the occasion and took responsibility for the violence (even if it may not have actually started it). In the three-day riot that ensued, people lost their lives, and the news of the martyrdom of protesters revolutionized the situation indeed. Maria was shocked by the deaths and recalls that for the first time, many of her liberal friends adopted the repertoire—Molotov cocktails, pyrotechnics, and cobblestones—favored by football ultras and the radical right. “It was now us or them,” she said. — Vincent Bevins, If We Burn, 507

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: A tiny far-right fringe, not the population, dominated the Maidan’s militant core — Vincent Bevins, If We Burn: The Mass Protest Decade and…, 492; Embellished martyr narratives can accelerate revolutionary mobilization — Vincent Bevins, If We Burn: The Mass Protest Decade and…, 195; Some leftist Maidan participants stayed despite the far-right’s prominent role — Vincent Bevins, If We Burn: The Mass Protest Decade and…, 511 (+7 more)

Broader Connections

• Security-force killings of activists triggered escalatory cycles of mourning and reprisal #expands (0.85) — Charles Tilly, Regimes and Repertoires, 603
• Embellished martyr narratives can accelerate revolutionary mobilization #expands (0.82) — Vincent Bevins, If We Burn, 195
• Police violence against protest organizers turned leadership figures into martyrs #expands (0.78) — J. Hoberman, Everything Is Now, 368
• Organized grief rituals were channeled directly into genocidal mobilization #exemplifies (0.75) — Michael A. Sells, The Bridge Betrayed, 202
• A tiny far-right fringe, not the population, dominated the Maidan’s militant core #qualifies (0.74) — Vincent Bevins, If We Burn, 492
• Cultural glorification of martyrdom turns suicide terrorism into socially applauded retribution. #expands (0.73) — Albert Bandura, Moral Disengagement, 2502
• Some leftist Maidan participants stayed despite the far-right’s prominent role #complicates (0.72) — Vincent Bevins, If We Burn, 511
• Martyrdom turned imposed passivity into triumphant agency #expands (0.71)
• The combatant-to-militant shift expands the right to kill indefinitely #expands (0.71)
• Mortality salience increases support for lethal violence against cultural enemies. #expands (0.70) — Jeff Greenberg and Spee Kosloff, Terror Management Theory, 67