Heuristic and Methodological Challenges of Understanding Large Protest Events

Abstract

Large protest events such as summit mobilizations are complex to study. Scholars are confronted with a plethora of heterogeneous actor groups holding specific strategic orientations. These groups encourage or discourage specific forms of action and they interact in ways that are shaped by previous conflicts. Interactions are entangled with processes of interpretation taking place in arenas as different as affinity group meetings, social media posts, and television news. This complex array is challenging. It forces scholars to make pragmatic choices that shape the academic image of protest events. The panel invites contributions that tackle the heuristic and methodological challenges of large protest events, driven by theoretical considerations or by empirical knowledge.