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Group Size and Protest Mobilization across Movements and Countermovements

Author

Listed:
  • Anselm Hager

    (Humboldt-Universität zuBerlin)

  • Lukas Hensel

    (Peking University)

  • Johannes Hermle

    (University of California,Berkeley)

  • Christopher Roth

    (University of Cologne, ECONtribute, briq, CESifo, CAGE Warwick, CEPR)

Abstract
Many social movements face fierce resistance in the form of a countermovement. When deciding to become politically active, a movement supporter, therefore, has to consider both her own movement’s activity, but also that of the opponent. This paper studies the decision of a movement supporter to attend a protest when faced with a counterprotest. We implement two field experiments among supporters of a right- and left-leaning movement ahead of two protest-counterprotest interactions in Germany. Supporters were exposed to low or high official estimates about their own and the opposing group’s turnout. We find that the size of the opposing group has no effect on supporters’ protest intentions. However, as the own protest gets larger, supporters of the right-leaning movement become less, while supporters of the left-leaning movement become more willing to protest. We argue that the difference is best explained by stronger social motives on the political left.

Suggested Citation

  • Anselm Hager & Lukas Hensel & Johannes Hermle & Christopher Roth, 2021. "Group Size and Protest Mobilization across Movements and Countermovements," ECONtribute Discussion Papers Series 114, University of Bonn and University of Cologne, Germany.
    • Handle: RePEc:ajk:ajkdps:114
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Anselm Hager & Johannes Hermle & Lukas Hensel & Christopher Roth, 2020. "Does Party Competition Affect Political Activism?," CESifo Working Paper Series 8431, CESifo.
    2. Anselm Hager & Lukas Hensel & Johannes Hermle & Christopher Roth, 2023. "Political Activists as Free Riders: Evidence from a Natural Field Experiment," The Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 133(653), pages 2068-2084.
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    Cited by:

    1. Nathan Canen & Anujit Chakraborty, 2022. "Choosing The Best Incentives for Belief Elicitation with an Application to Political Protests," Papers 2210.12549, arXiv.org.
    2. Strauch, Rebecca & Jansesberger, Viktoria & Koos, Sebastian & Spilker, Gabriele, 2024. "Voices of change in the Global South: Understanding the dynamics of environmental protest," Working Papers 37, University of Konstanz, Cluster of Excellence "The Politics of Inequality. Perceptions, Participation and Policies".
    3. Canen, Nathan & Chakraborty, Anujit, 2023. "Belief elicitation in political protest experiments: When the mode does not teach us about incentives to protest," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 216(C), pages 320-331.
    4. Anselm Hager & Lukas Hensel & Johannes Hermle & Christopher Roth, 2024. "Political Activists are Not Driven by Instrumental Motives: Evidence from Two Natural Field Experiments," ECONtribute Discussion Papers Series 274, University of Bonn and University of Cologne, Germany.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    social movements; right-wing populism; political activism; field experiment;
    All these keywords.

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