Introduction
The topic of the following essay is to assess the meaning behind space and time analysis in social movements and mass-protest. Analysis will reflect how these two dimensions allow deeper understanding democratization and democracy erosion, respectively in Ukraine and Hungary.
Academic debate
Researchers agree that the place (space dimension) where the democratization is happening matters to its success. Similarly, the time of democratization has influence on success of the efforts. Therefore, space as well as time are important components of democratization, but also democratic erosion mechanisms. The space dimension is mostly referred to as geographic location, not considering its inner liaisons with time in physics.
Outline
I. Definitions
II. Comparing Hungarian Protests
• A. Protests in 1956 vs. 1990s
• B. Impact of Space and Time on Protest Outcomes
III. Economy and Democracy
IV. Quantum Concepts in Decision Making
• A. Quantum vs. Classical Probabilities
• B. Emotional Influence on Decisions
• C. Applying Quantum Laws
V. Protest Benchmark App
• A. Action, Energy, and Time Equation
• B. Assessing Protest Intensity
VI. Factors Affecting Protest Success
• A. Role of Space, Time, and Observation
• B. Computational Challenges
• C. Implications for Democratization
VII. Limitations and Conclusion
Hypothesis
My hypothesis is that deeper understanding the meaning behind the space and time dimensions helps understand the decision-making process behind joining the social movements and mass-protest, making possible to influence the democratization and democracy erosion processes.
Literature review
I. Definitions
Democratization in ethnically homogenous areas is easier e.g. of Hungary in comparison to Bulgaria, with Turkish minorities. Democratization means a process thanks to an authoritarian regime becoming democratic. Among many factors there is e.g. language unity that makes civil society build faster. Nonetheless, Hungarian's democracy revival happenedin the 90’s of twentieth century, and was aligned with almost tectonic strategic movements, caused by the collapse of Soviet Union. Therefore, the space and time dimension played a crucial role altogether, not only the space dimension. Protest and mass mobilization that is discussed in this Essey are defined as strong complaint expressing disagreement, disapproval, or opposition.
II. Comparing Hungarian Protests
Going back in time, to another Hungarian protest in 1956, namely, the Rakosi’s Hungary, it is visible that similarly to 90’s the protests were sparked by significant decrease of life quality in all domains ; with 400.000 people flawing the country and around 2.500 deaths, the protests and later uprising was unsuccessful. The difference in result between 89’ and 56’ can be attributed to the time dimension, as space was the same.
On the other hand, as we know that economic development does not ensure that society will pave its way to democracy; nonetheless, in well-functioning economies the chances of democracy survival are higher. Hungary of 2024 is by no means an under-developed economy yet still, is experiencing a democratic erosion. To understand why some of the protests were successful, among many variables in this research decision-making in time-space dimension will be analyzed.
III. Quantum Concepts in Decision Making
It is important to underline that space and time are the main measures to reason people’s decisions of any kind, including those directing a country into democracy or not. The discussion is about resources, risk management, emotions management, but in very fundamental terms, why do people do this and not that, over specific time and in a specific space.
Analyzing one’s decision usually comes down to analyzing probabilities, and here comes the quantum probability that fits better for uncertain cognitive processes, as it allows for multiple possibilities at once, unlike classical probability. Drawing a parallel to human emotions, emotional entanglement can be conceptualized as the interconnectedness of emotions within oneself or between individuals. For instance, the joy experienced in one facet of life might be deeply connected to the sadness felt in another, like the correlated states of entangled particles. When an emotional “measurement” or realization occurs in one aspect of life, it can instantaneously influence or clarify feelings in another seemingly unrelated areas of life.
Therefore, considering Maslow’s pyramid of needs, if the people in Rakosi’s Hungary started feeling hung(a)ry, emotion could have been transmitted to other parts of their life e.g.discontentment with authoritarian regime. Nonetheless, there remains a question on why do they make those decisions, is there a rationale, consisting of specific space and time valuesthat make them engage in pro-democratic protest?
Decision-making happens in the brain, which consists of brain cells called neurons. Neuronsare interconnected through an electrical architecture of the brain, sending and receiving impulses. Single neuron can be described as a quantum-like state that consists of a 0, 1 and a state of uncertainty in physics called superposition. It means that we can say that the quantum states are secondary to the tangible reality of the objects they describe. In other words,quantum laws might be applicable to decision-making.
IV. Understanding Space-Time Dynamics
As a result, the quantum understanding of space-time might be applicable to assess the meaning behind measuring space and time in mass protests and social movements.Interestingly, this means that time is not a smooth, continuous flow, but it acts more like a series of micro jumps. Namely, the set of events placed in time change in specific, discrete steps, and feels like taking stairs rather than sliding down the ramp. Nonetheless, these stairsare defined probabilistically, and are visible only when observed, meaning only after are certain option is executed. This means that protest participants might find themselvesinvoluntarily in the middle of the protest, due to jump-like escalation of the events. Yet, in other words, only if you go there, and start acting, will you know if it will have an impact or not.
As events progress, it is possible to find two types of time; a time that doesn’t match up with the events from the open system, and a time in open system, where all the interactions are taking place. It is similar to the concept of focus work, or a great time with friends, when the time flows differently. Similarly, in the protests, reasoning faced with closed system time, might cause a decision-making process, that results in a mass manifestation participation.
This might explain why every decision is made, and why some decisions are better and some worse. Evidence indicates that the uprising of 1956, taken in a closed time system, proved to be a bad decision, leading to mass migration and many deaths.
V. Factors Affecting Protest Success
Commutation relation says that if you know one property like position, you can't know another property like momentum as precisely. In other words, the people living in Ukraine,being the position were known well, only the momentum, so the time of action was remaining unsure. Bringing aside all the other circumstances and analyzing only the decision-making process, behind the protests of Euromaidan in 2014, it is necessary to introduce another dimension, being action. It is impossible to understand how time-space dimension is influencing protest, without introducing directly actions to the whole analysis, therefore, action is an energy multiplied by the time it takes for a process to occur.
In quantum mechanics, the principle of quantization extends to action as well. This means that the action of a system can only changes by certain discrete amounts, specifically integer multiples of a quantity called Planck's constant, denoted by ℎ h. Planck's constant is a fundamental constant of nature, and it's a very small number, approximately 6.62607015 × 1 0 − 34 6.62607015×10 −34 joule-seconds. So, when it is said, "action variables may only change by integer multiples of ℎ h", it means that the total energy of a quantum system, multiplied by the time it takes for a process to occur, can only change in specific, quantized amounts determined by Planck's constant. Resulting in this equation:
Action = Energy x Time
The protests in Ukraine occupied a specific space, generating a corresponding energy, and unfolded within a defined timeframe, constituting a closed system involving the Ukrainian people. Consequently, in line with the probabilistic functioning of psychological processes, a certain set of probable actions was generated. One of the probable actions were changes in the Ukrainian government, and series of changes that could be constituted as democratization.
Since action is related to energy and time, this quantization principle has far-reaching implications. It means that given the Energy and Time, Action can be assessed. This means that a set of possible outcomes can be assessed and does not mean it is possible to describe the future in any detail.
However, by utilizing the equation Action = Energy x Time and assigning a Joule [J] value to each individual taking part in the protest, it becomes possible to establish a model that defines the intensity of a protest. Put differently, it becomes feasible to introduce a benchmark to assess past mass protests and their corresponding action coefficients, thereby determining the effectiveness of any future protest.
VI. Protests benchmark app
For instance, historical data from protests like the Hungarian protests of 1956 and other significant events can be used to assign Joule [J] values to the protesters, enabling computation of each participant's energy. Similarly, in the case of the Ukrainian protests, participants could be assigned their energy in [J]. The entire process could be facilitated by a Large Language Model (LLM) tailored to process real-time data from social media platforms, providing users with a high-quality experience. Additionally, a new factor—the internet—would need to be introduced as a coefficient that amplifies each participant's potential energy, thereby increasing the openness of the time-space system. As crucial as protests are for democracy, a database with such simulations based on real-time data could be established. Given the specific nature of the internet, numerous clones would likely emerge, offering society another platform for expression. Like any other domain, this one would be susceptible to disinformation, yet with real-time data, there is hope for self-regulation to emerge and promote platforms that deliver the most accurate results.
In Hungary, protest success relied mostly on when and where it happened, rather than on the people themselves. In Ukraine, the protests succeeded partly because they used the internet. Also, just watching protests can spark more action, making the observing tool itself important. It is possible to figure out certain actions for each protest situation, but it'd need magnitude bigger computational power.
VII. Limitations and Conclusion
The constraint of this study is the scarcity of papers addressing the potential application of quantum discoveries outside of physics. However, this limitation is understandable given that the mathematical tools required to address certain domain-specific issues are not yet sufficiently developed. The use of empirical data was also limited, due to the theoretical nature of the problem. I have fallen short on outlining all the theoretical assumptions behind the analysis, also because of the length limitation. Since, the approach to the problem of space and time from quantum perspective might seem unusual, I gave evidence that it is indeed applicable to decision making process analysis, nonetheless just 1.
Mass protest scenarios, similarly, to life scenarios hold rationale, that lies between space and time equations and is a source for innovative solutions that create another way for democracy to be tested and protested, like the protest benchmark app presented above. That is why, I argue that deeper comprehension of meaning behind the space and time dimensions helps understand the decision-making process behind joining the social movements and mass-protest, making possible to influence the democratization and democracy erosion processes.
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