Despite disadvantageous conditions, various forms of protest have emerged in Austria to stop the expulsion of asylum seekers. How can such protests be explained? Empirically, the paper relies on a protest event analysis (PEA) of media articles and an emotion analysis (EA) of protest material. Following the emotional turn, this paper emphasizes that personal ties and closely related affective emotions–friendship and solidarity–between deportees and protesters account for the most relevant resources of protest. Moreover, activists use strategically reactive/moral emotions–fear, outrage and shame–to mobilize broader support. Interestingly, protesters are mostly recruited from the personal environment of the potential deportees and the most salient argument expressed for not deporting is that well-integrated people deserve to remain in the country. The paper concludes that social ties and emotions are not only useful in explaining the emergence and spread of protests but also their limitations with regard to policy change.
