How Citizens talk about Political Engagement: A Comparison across Regimes with Different Party-Movement Relations

It is by now well established that those who participate in protest demonstrations are often a sub-set of those participating in more formal kinds of politics. This signals a close interaction between protest and formal democratic channels of participation. It is also increasingly well-known that the boundary between parties and social movements has fluidity. Parties may be protest organisations themselves, they might organise a demonstration or simply participate in it. But does the state-level relationship between parties and movements influence the way in which individuals think about different ways of participating in politics? Are individuals less inclined to be favourable towards a combination of electoral and protest politics in states with weak party-movement relationships, instead preferring one or the other? In states where parties are more distant from protest, do we find more strongly polarised opinions on the relative efficacy of protest versus electoral participation? This paper explores these questions by examining focus group data from a range of long established and more newly established democracies (post-communist and post-authoritarian). Across each country, 8 focus groups were held, stratified by age range and whether they have a university degree. A ninth group was held with activists (in parties and/or parties). We show how the relationship between electoral and movement politics at the state level and individuals views of different political strategies presents nuanced patterns across different types of democracies.