The micro-dynamics of protest and riot mobilization in the “age of protest”

The weakening of democracy across the globe over the past decade has yielded a wave of large-scale protests that have rekindled scholarly and policy interest in social movements. The results of these protests have been varied; in Hong Kong, the Chinese Government tightened its grip on local government. In France, organized protests challenged the authority of the state. And in countries like Sudan and Burkina Faso, mass mobilization successfully dislodged autocratic leaders who had occupied power for decades. The rise of authoritarian populists in Latin America and Europe, including Ecuador, Brazil, Hungary, and Poland, intensified mobilization and conflict between pro-populist vs. anti-populist blocks with unclear consequences as of now. At the same time, protests have become increasingly violent as countries have become more polarized. Riots in South Africa after the jailing of former president Jacob Zuma left a wake of destruction. The Black Lives Matter protests targeted police stations, symbols of the Confederacy, and even private business. These dual momenta have raised increasing scholarly attention to the structural factors conducive to protest and riot occurrences. This includes attention to low development levels and state capacity, economic shocks, and population growth, as well as the use of civil society and party networks to spur mobilization. In addition, studies have focused on the consequences of protest and riots for democratization and stability on either the short or the long-term. Yet while this burgeoning literature has led to important insights on conflict processes and their effects, relatively limited research has for now been conducted on the individual-level drivers and consequences of mobilization. For instance, while both protests and riots in the developing world are often explained by referring to individuals’—often (male) youths’—economic grievances due to unemployment and income shocks, less is known about why some people choose to act in favor of democracy (e.g. protests against authoritarian rulers) while others undermine democratic processes (e.g. electoral violence). Or why some prefer peaceful versus violent modes of engagement. Similarly, more research is needed on how individuals become involved in networks leading either to peaceful or violent mobilization and which networks are more supportive to certain forms of conflict. Finally, a better understanding is also needed of the consequences of protest and riot mobilization. For example, do protest events attract support from a broader population, and which factors may support this? And do riots create further divisions in society and lead to reduced trust in the state? This panel welcomes papers addressing these questions through both qualitative and quantitative empirical research.