They wear black, hide their faces and vanish into crowds: The mysterious movement unsettling Europe

Demonstrators clad completely in black have been spotted repeatedly at protests in Europe and have been known to cause destruction and violent clashes with the police in the process. These demonstrators are referred to as the Black Bloc and represent an unusual case for law enforcers due to the fact that they are different from other political groups. In particular, this group does not have any official leaders, members or spokesmen.

The presence of the Black Bloc has been noted in various European countries, including France, Italy, Spain and Albania.

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This raises a question: how a loosely organised form of protest has been able to keep popping up at demonstrations in other countries.

What is the Black Bloc movement and where did it begin?

In a report, Al-Jazeera states that, unlike a traditional organisation with an organisational structure, the Black Bloc is a term used to refer to a tactic employed by activists in terms of protest where individuals dress alike, hide their identity and act collectively when participating in demonstrations.

According to Francis Dupuis-Deri, a professor of political science, the origins of the Black Bloc lie in Germany in the 1980s as a result of an autonomous social movement referred to as autonomia.

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As stated by the professor during an interview with Al Jazeera, the first members of the movement were against the state, capitalism, political parties, and institutions, including trade unions.

Clothing played a major role in this movement.

Participants wore black jackets, hoodies, motorcycle helmets, sunglasses and face coverings in order to avoid being recognised by the police.

Over time, the tactic was adopted by countries other than Germany and was present in various demonstrations in other countries, such as the 1999 World Trade Organization gathering in Seattle and French demonstrations of 2016 as reported by Al Jazeera.

Why are Black Bloc protesters so difficult for police to identify?

The first problem for police and law enforcers is the lack of a usual organisational structure.

It is impossible to pinpoint any central leadership, check any official membership list or contact any spokesperson to learn who organises a certain protest.

As Dupuis-Deri claims, protesters can recognise each other by clothes and create connections through word of mouth and participation in many protests. Personal contacts made during several protests can help a protester find like-minded people.

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Such a structure makes it very hard to decide whether all those wearing the same clothes belong to a certain organised group of activists or not. Some of the people may be experienced protesters, whereas the rest may copy the tactic or attend the specific protests separately.

Moreover, Al Jazeera also quotes an Italian member of parliament, Mario Furore, who believes that the latest vandalism acts in Milan were performed more as a copycat behaviour than as the actions of an organised group. He noted that investigations should show who performed these actions.

This is a significant difference. Clothes and behaviour are not enough to prove membership in the same organisation.

How do Black Bloc protesters operate during demonstrations?

The technique is based on collective presence, mobility and the capability to blend in with a larger crowd. Similar dress codes make individual identification difficult but allow people using the technique to identify each other.

According to an Italian government document on police training in 2023, referred to by Al Jazeera, small teams carry out reconnaissance before an event and divide locations into sectors. Diversionary techniques, wherein activities in one sector divert police attention from another, were mentioned in the document.

Mobility was another characteristic mentioned – participants sought to create disorder and decrease the chances of getting arrested.

Nevertheless, these characteristics cannot be treated as evidence of the fact that any time Black Bloc participants gather, it occurs according to a centrally controlled plan. This technique might involve different people and organisations with different intentions.

This lack of centralised management is what makes the phenomenon hard to define. Police might face people who use similar tactics but do not belong to a single organisation.

Why are Black Bloc protesters controversial across Europe?

The proponents of the radical direct action movement assert that the use of confrontation strategies can help highlight social inequalities and political grievances that are overlooked by institutions. The opponents, on the other hand, think that violence and destruction of property may work against the interests of many peaceful protesters.

This debate has found itself reflected in France, where student movements and trade unions' protests were accompanied by violent conflicts and destruction of public and private property.

According to Al Jazeera, some politicians did not want to address the problem of Black Bloc openly because isolated actions might be used to discredit all protests.

There have been confrontations in Italy, too. In Rome, Milan and Turin, there were instances when cars were burned, property was damaged, and conflicts with the police occurred.

It is difficult to define the political identity of the movement, too.

As stated by Dupuis-Deri, one should not assume that Black Bloc actions can be connected only with some political ideology since right-wing nationalist and neo-Nazi organisations applied similar tactics and clothing in Germany and Poland in the past.

Can European authorities stop the Black Bloc?

However, there is no easy answer, as the technique does not have any formal membership or central leadership to break down.

According to Al Jazeera, citing Dupuis-Deri, intelligence services estimate the number of Black Bloc activists in Europe to be somewhere between 5,000 and 7,000, even though the lack of membership registration makes an accurate count almost impossible.

The real issue here is finding a proper balance between security needs and the freedom of peaceful demonstration.

Any attempt to treat every protester as a potential violent offender can seriously undermine legitimate political activities, while ignoring violent acts committed during demonstrations leaves those who suffered damage without proper investigation.

Finally, the case of Black Bloc reveals the challenging situation faced by European authorities, because they can arrest those who committed crimes, but stopping a decentralised technique from being applied is much harder.

The main factor behind the success of this technique is not the organisation behind it, but its simplicity and ease of identification and application to other demonstrations.