The people out of doors are never more actively engaged than at critical democratic moments such as national party conventions, election campaigns, presidential inaugurals, meetings of world leaders, and mass protests. At these events protesters seek to reach attending audiences and, more importantly, to generate substantial media exposure for their causes. Critical democratic moments tend to attract large public crowds, government officials, and dignitaries. As a result, they raise substantial security concerns. Indeed, at no time is the balance between security and liberty on the expressive topography more tenuous than at moments of such high public energy, sharp dissent, and profound contention.

Previous chapters examined the expressive significance – largely from the speaker's perspective – of a variety of places on the expressive topography. This chapter examines the transformation of public places when governments react – or in some instances overreacts – to perceived threats to public order and security. At recent critical democratic moments, authorities have sharply limited public contention by transforming portions of the expressive topography into militarized places. “Militarization” is the control of public places and public expression through repressive measures like expressive zoning, surveillance, infiltration of protest groups, mass arrests, and use of force. The process is both more focused, and more repressive, than the “public order management system” described in Chapter 6. The object of militarization is to impose a distinct kind of order on places during certain public events.