The Best Democracy & Protest Documentaries

World Affairs & Investigations - 86 free documentaries about democracy & protest.

Start with Why Democracy Is Mathematically Impossible (24 min, Veritasium), then Punching Nazis, Exposing Fascists, and the Antifa Philosophy: Fringe Nation (47 min, VICE). All 86 documentaries here are free to watch from their makers' official uploads. To read deeper, the top-rated book on democracy & protest is How Democracies Die by Steven Levitsky.

• Why Democracy Is Mathematically Impossible (24 min, Veritasium)
• Punching Nazis, Exposing Fascists, and the Antifa Philosophy: Fringe Nation (47 min, VICE)
• Make the World Greta Again - Time's 2019 Person of the Year (34 min, VICE)
• How Would You Respond to These Ethical Dilemmas? | DEADLOCK: An Election Story (56 min, PBS)
• Democracy Under Fire | Breaking the Deadlock: How to Fix an Election (56 min, PBS)
• American Patriot: Inside the Armed Uprising Against the Federal Government (53 min, FRONTLINE PBS)
• Lies, Politics and Democracy (113 min, FRONTLINE PBS)
• Protesters, Bystanders Arrested | Caught in the Crackdown (53 min, FRONTLINE PBS)
• The Rise and Fall of an Alt-Right Gladiator (18 min, VICE)
• Dictating virginity (42 min, DW Documentary)
• Why We Protest: Colombia (19 min, VICE)
• The Growing Revolt Against the US Dollar (21 min, Wendover Productions)
• Why are autocrats popular? - Assault on democracy (42 min, DW Documentary)
• The 3D printing revolution (26 min, DW Documentary)
• The Square: Egypt At War (105 min, Real Stories)
• Why We Protest: France (18 min, VICE)
• Revolution in medicine - BioNTech, mRNA and the Covid-19 vaccine (42 min, DW Documentary)
• Inside the Iranian Uprising (53 min, FRONTLINE PBS)
• Asia’s Gen Z Rebels: Inside Their Fight Against Corruption And Unemployment | The Gen Z Rebels (46 min, CNA Insider)
• Life In Myanmar, Four Years After Coup: What Happens Next? (23 min, CNA Insider)
• The Complete Elimination of HIV: The Truvada Revolution (Full Length) (27 min, VICE)
• Kakistocracy - Are We Ruled By the Worst? (12 min, Academy of Ideas)
• 4 Revolutionary Riddles Resolved! (9 min, Veritasium)
• The Maker Movement In The Digital Age | A League Of Extraordinary Makers - Part 5/5 (48 min, CNA Insider)
• 1989: A World in Revolution | 1989: The Year That Made Us (22 min, National Geographic)
• Meet America's Most Controversial Teens (59 min, Real Stories)
• The Parallel Society vs Totalitarianism | How to Create a Free World (13 min, Academy of Ideas)
• How Civil Disobedience Safeguards Freedom and Prevents Tyranny (13 min, Academy of Ideas)
• Freedom vs. Force - The Individual and the State (13 min, Academy of Ideas)
• The Hyper-Real Revolution: Why Real Experiences Are Becoming Obsolete - Rick Roderick (16 min, After Skool)
• Democracy for Sale | How Billionaires Bought America | Why the Rich Always Win Elections (85 min, Moconomy)
• Why Democracy Leads to Tyranny (17 min, Academy of Ideas)
• The Turkish Republic at 100: Is democracy still salvageable? (52 min, DW Documentary)
• The Philanthropists: How Billionaires are infiltrating our democracies (59 min, ENDEVR)
• Who Rules America: The History of Democracy in America | Occupy | Activism (25 min, ENDEVR)
• Rebellion to Revolution (S1, E4) | The Revolution (44 min, HISTORY)
• How a Single Act Ignited a Revolution: The TRUE Story of the Arab Spring | VICE (45 min, Our History)
• The Power of Bee Democracy (16 min, Real Science)
• Somaliland's Journey to Democracy: Overcoming Obstacles for Stability (58 min, Real Stories)
• How green is the energy revolution really? (20 min, The Economist)
• Why We Can’t Vote Our Way to Freedom (9 min, Academy of Ideas)
• Women, social media and the revolution - Digital warriors (53 min, DW Documentary)
• Social Networks - Saviour Of or Threat To Democracy? | Battle of Social Networks (53 min, ENDEVR)
• Iran's Next Revolution? Inside The Fight for Freedom (53 min, Real Stories)
• The Town That Took On The Taxman (59 min, Real Stories)
• The Revolutionary Mission To Produce Infinite Clean Energy 🌱 (169 min, Spark)
• Iceland's Tourism Revolution (15 min, Wendover Productions)
• The Individual vs. Tyranny (10 min, Academy of Ideas)
• As Gen Z Protests Topple Governments, Can Online Rage Spark Real Change? | From Memes To Movements (43 min, CNA Insider)
• South Korea 2024 Martial Law Crisis: Its Hard-Won Fight For Democracy (23 min, CNA Insider)
• Rise Of The Makers: Return Of The Maker Movement | A League Of Extraordinary Makers - Part 1/5 (48 min, CNA Insider)
• Fidel Castro's Socialist Revolution: Cuba 25 Years Later (115 min, Our History)
• Uncovering China's Hidden Dissident Movement (52 min, Real Stories)
• How Crude Oil Revolutionised Society In The 1950s | The House The 50's Built (43 min, Spark)
• How bad is the crisis in democracy? (27 min, The Economist)
• Frédéric Bastiat - The Law (10 min, Academy of Ideas)
• Activists vs Fish Industry: The Deadly Fight for the Future of the Oceans (51 min, ENDEVR)
• How This Revolutionary X-Plane Blends Plane And Helicopter | The Military Tech Show (43 min, Spark)
• Why fossil free is a movement - VPRO documentary (48 min, VPRO Documentary)
• Turkey: Can democracy and Islam go together? - Docu (46 min, VPRO Documentary)
• Spontaneous Order vs. Centralized Control (11 min, Academy of Ideas)
• Eric Hoffer: The True Believer and The Nature of Mass Movements (10 min, Academy of Ideas)
• Wokeism: Is America on the brink of a Revolution? (53 min, ENDEVR)
• Why the American Revolution Almost Failed at the End (S1, E12) | The Revolution (44 min, HISTORY)
• Sue Grey: Our country and democracy have been hijacked, our freedoms and assets being rapidly eroded (60 min, Our Planet)
• The music industry and the digital revolution (18 min, The Economist)
• Revolution Of The Restaurant Industry | Horn & Hardart | TiffinLabs (47 min, Moconomy)
• Tunisian Revolution: The Role Of Women In The Arab Spring (57 min, Real Stories)
• People, power and Varoufakis - VPRO documentary - 2016 (47 min, VPRO Documentary)
• No Left Turn - Is Social Democracy Over? | Why the Center-Left Is Failing in Europe (52 min, Moconomy)
• The Future of Protest (31 min, VPRO Documentary)
• After Democracy: what now? - VPRO documentary - 2010 (49 min, VPRO Documentary)
• The History of Protest Fashion: The Clothes Make the Movement | Past Forward (57 min, American Experience)
• Power, Protests & Spies: Secrets Of Pasir Panjang Power Station! | Hidden Histories - Part 3/4 (47 min, CNA Insider)
• How to make black lives matter more (24 min, The Economist)
• The energy revolution - VPRO documentary - 2012 (60 min, VPRO Documentary)
• How Chinese Activists Hijacked State TV (84 min, Wonder)
• Empire of the sun: a solar power revolution (25 min, The Economist)
• On the edge of the Revolution (36 min, VPRO Documentary)
• How The RAF Modernised & Revolutionsed For WWII | History Of RAF (48 min, Spark)

Top-Rated Books About Democracy & Protest

1. How Democracies Die by Steven Levitsky (3.9/5) - View on Amazon
2. On Tyranny by Timothy Snyder (4.1/5) - View on Amazon
3. Twilight of Democracy by Anne Applebaum - View on Amazon
4. Why Nations Fail by Daron Acemoglu (3.7/5) - View on Amazon