In France, the Emmanuel Macron administration has been facing a new challenge in recent weeks after the "yellow vest" protests that swept the country in 2018. The controversial pension reform, which has been on the agenda for a long time, is causing protests across the country. Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin announced that more than 850 demonstrators had been detained over demonstrations against the reform. Moreover, daily life in the country has been paralyzed by union-led strikes and slowdowns.

A wave of protests has been shaking the United States for the past week. The riots, which started in Minneapolis when a white police officer caused an African American's death by kneeling on his neck for more than nine minutes, spread to 25 major cities. As the initially peaceful anti-racist protests took a violent turn, the United States government deployed the National Guard and military units. The media reports, depicting streets on fire, luxury stores being looted and soldiers on the ground, make the U.S. seem like a Middle Eastern or African nation grappling with civil war.

An analysis on the identity and message of the protesters should take into consideration the heterogeneity of protesters.

In its capacity as a wake-up call for all, the demonstrations will go down in Turkey’s political history as a constructive, democratic statement if all parties work together to establish common ground for dialogue and progress.