Macro-Level Repression and Micro-Level Paths to Political Resistance

Abstract

Abstract This chapter proposes a framework to understand the multifaceted impact of macro-level repression on individuals’ participation in political resistance. We focus on repression as a structural characteristic of a given country, and we propose that it may shape political resistance in two major ways. First, repression can influence resistance through affecting particular micro-level, psychological mechanisms that typically predict resistance (e.g., political dissatisfaction, efficacy). Second, repression can condition the links between resistance and many of its typical predictors. In other words, repression can make certain micro-level factors more, less, or differently relevant for resistance. To illustrate our propositions, we focus on two micro-level predictors of resistance—perceived injustice and political efficacy—and we draw on a wide range of political contexts, from backsliding democracies to stable authoritarian regimes.