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Individual Protest Participation in the United States: Conventional and Unconventional Activism

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  • Joseph DiGrazia

Abstract

type="main"> This study addresses differences in the predictors of participation in different forms of protest activity using nationally representative data. The two types of protest examined, referred to as conventional and unconventional forms of activism, are differentiated by differing levels of risk, demands, and political legitimacy. The analysis uses multinominal logistic regression and data from the World Values Survey to assess the effects of a wide range of independent variables on participation in protest. The results indicate that participation in conventional forms of protest, activities that are relatively undemanding, socially legitimate, and low risk, tend to follow patterns that are consistent with participation in institutional politics. That is, participants in this form of activism tend to be socially privileged and ideologically moderate. Participants in unconventional protest, those that are highly demanding, socially illegitimate, or carry substantial risks, tend to be more ideologically extreme, socially disadvantaged, and more alienated from the conventional political system. The findings in this study suggest that the lack of consistency in some existing research on protest participation may be attributable to differences in the predictors of participation associated with different forms of protest. This study indicates that protest participation is not a unitary construct and should not be treated as one in research.

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  • Joseph DiGrazia, 2014. "Individual Protest Participation in the United States: Conventional and Unconventional Activism," Social Science Quarterly, Southwestern Social Science Association, vol. 95(1), pages 111-131, March.
  • Handle: RePEc:bla:socsci:v:95:y:2014:i:1:p:111-131
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    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1111/ssqu.12048
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Jung-In Jo & Hyun Jin Choi, 2019. "Enigmas of grievances about inequality: Effects of attitudes toward inequality and government redistribution on protest participation," International Area Studies Review, Center for International Area Studies, Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, vol. 22(4), pages 348-368, December.
    2. Chenoweth, Erica & Hamilton, Barton H. & Lee, Hedwig & Papageorge, Nicholas W. & Roll, Stephen & Zahn, Matthew V., 2022. "Who Protests, What Do They Protest, and Why?," IZA Discussion Papers 15697, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    3. Daniele Malerba, 2022. "The Effects of Social Protection and Social Cohesion on the Acceptability of Climate Change Mitigation Policies: What Do We (Not) Know in the Context of Low- and Middle-Income Countries?," The European Journal of Development Research, Palgrave Macmillan;European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI), vol. 34(3), pages 1358-1382, June.
    4. Bingbing Zhang & Isabel Inguanzo & Homero Gil de Zúñiga, 2022. "Examining the Role of Online Uncivil Discussion and Ideological Extremity on Illegal Protest," Media and Communication, Cogitatio Press, vol. 10(4), pages 94-104.

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