Before and After the Crisis: A Comparative Analysis of the Stratification of Protest Activities in Europe

Protesting against government policies is nothing new to citizens of democratic regimes and is encountered in various modes. Recent contributions argue that those modes of political participation previously considered as innovative or unconventional have by now become part of the regular engagement toolbox. In addition, the current euro crisis has given a reason for intensification of protest in many countries. As not all countries suffer from this crisis it is interesting to see how this has affected the protest behavior and the protest tools used by the public. This article sheds light on the impact of country characteristics on the effect of social stratification on different protest modes before and after the crisis. Employing data from the European Values Study and the European Social Survey, we identify if social characteristics changed their impact depending on the characteristics of the countries the individuals live in.