Protest Participation

Abstract

AbstractThis chapter examines protest participation as a distinct mode of political participation. The chapter addresses four key questions: What is protest participation? How can it be studied? Who engages in it? How can it be explained? Furthermore, we discuss the role of context for protest participation, including how patterns of protest may differ between democratic and nondemocratic states, as well as how protest participation has transformed over time, both in the long and in the shorter run. The chapter makes two key arguments about protest participation. Firstly, concerning its definition, we stress the fact that what is meant by protest participation changes over time and therefore analytical tools must adapt to these changes. Secondly, concerning its explanation, we argue that, while there are different approaches and research traditions stressing different explanatory factors – we can distinguish in this regard between macro-structural, social-psychological, and predispositional accounts –, some points of convergence exist amongst them and therefore we need to combine those approaches and traditions in order to reach a better understanding of why and how people engage in protest activities. The transformation of political participation is also discussed.