Table Of ContentContributions to Political Science
Mario Quaranta
Political Protest
in Western
Europe
Exploring the Role of Context
in Political Action
Contributions to Political Science
Moreinformationaboutthisseriesathttp://www.springer.com/series/11829
Mario Quaranta
Political Protest
in Western Europe
Exploring the Role of Context
in Political Action
123
MarioQuaranta
DepartmentofPoliticalScience
LUISS“GuidoCarli”
Rome,Italy
ISSN2198-7289 ISSN2198-7297 (electronic)
ContributionstoPoliticalScience
ISBN978-3-319-22161-8 ISBN978-3-319-22162-5 (eBook)
DOI10.1007/978-3-319-22162-5
LibraryofCongressControlNumber:2015950474
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Preface
At the beginning of this project, I realized that the literature on political protest
often looked at either the characteristics of the participants, or at the contextual
features that would ease or hinder the action of social movements. The study of
political protest seemed, in my eyes, divided in two, non-communicating fields:
that interested in the individual factors linked to the engagement of citizens in
protest politics, and that interested in the characteristics of social movementsand
theirinteractionwiththebroaderstructuralfeaturesofpoliticalsystems.Although
the two approaches have yielded very relevant insights for the understanding of
contentiouspolitics,mygoalwastocomplementthem,toinvestigatehowcontex-
tual characteristics might be related to individual participation in protest actions,
andhowthesecontextualfeaturesmightinteractwiththeindividualcharacteristics
associatedwithprotest.
This idea became a book. Here, I argue that contextual characteristics should
be taken into account to explain engagement in political protest at the individual
level. Indeed, individual characteristics do not provide a full account of the
reasons why citizens get involved in political protest. Individuals live in larger
contexts, which provide different opportunities and incentives for protest. For
this reason, institutional and political contexts could be important to understand
citizens’politicalbehaviors.Thisvolumeconnectsdifferenttheoreticalperspectives
toanalyzepoliticalprotestinacomparativeperspective.Itpresentsanoverviewof
theindividualcharacteristicsthataremorerelevanttounderstandpoliticalprotest,
and it emphasizes the role of personal resources, dissatisfaction, organizations,
politicalvaluesandattitudes.Moreover,itanalyzeshowdifferentcontextualfactors
might account for the cross-country variation in the levels of political protest in
Western European countries, and how these factors might account for the cross-
country variation in the association between individualcharacteristics and protest
participationusingcomparativesurveydata.
Althoughtheinterestintherelationshipbetweenpoliticalbehaviorandcontex-
tualandinstitutionalconfigurationsisnotnewinthefieldofpoliticalscience,this
volumetriestofurtherexploreit.Certainly,protestisquitearelevantphenomenon.
v
vi Preface
Severalscholarshaveemphasizedtheimportanceofprotestpoliticsindemocracies,
asitworksasavehicleofchangeandasaformofnon-electoralrepresentation.In
the end, I hope that this book will contribute to the field, providingan additional
lookathowengagementinprotestworks.
This volume originates from a long journey, which started during my PhD at
the“InstitutoItalianodiScienzeUmane”inFlorence,Italy(now“ScuolaNormale
Superiore”)andcontinuedintheDepartmentofPoliticalScienceatLUISS“Guido
Carli”, in Rome, Italy, where I had the opportunity to carry on my research as
a post-doctoral fellow. I would like to thank Leonardo Morlino, who has been a
dedicated mentorand stronglypersuaded me to write this volume.Arlo Poletti as
wellconstantlymotivatedmetopursuethispath.IwouldalsoliketothankClaudius
Wagemann, who has always been a great guide. During my stay at the “Center
fortheStudyofDemocracy”oftheUniversityofCalifornia–Irvine,USA,Russell
Daltonprovidedmewithgenerousadviceandcommentedonsomeideasthatlater
wouldbecomepartofthisbook.Iamreallygratefulforthat.Iamalsoindebtedto
BernardGrofman,whoacceptedmeasavisitingfellowattheCenter.Thisvolume
alsobenefittedfromthecomments,suggestions,andcriticismprovidedbythemany
attendeesofthevariousconferenceswherepartsofthisvolumewerepresented.
Sectionsofthisbookarepartiallybasedonpreviousarticles,forwhichIwould
liketoacknowledgethepublishers’permissiontousethem.Chapter2re-analyzes
and integrates an article that appeared in the European Political Science Review
(2013, Measuring Political Protest in Western Europe: Assessing Cross-National
Equivalence 5(1), 457–482). The theoretical sections of Chaps.4, 5, and 6 are
based on some ideas presented in other articles. Yet, these chapters provide new
and updated analyses. Sections 4.2 and 4.3 are drawn from an article published
in the Journal of Civil Society (2014, Collective and Private Resources and the
Inequalities of Non-violent Political Protest in European Countries 10(3), 294–
316). Sections 5.2 and 5.3 are based on an article published in the International
Political Science Review (2013, The Impact of Institutional Decentralization on
Protest in Western Europe 34(5), 502–518). Sections 6.2 and 6.3 derive from an
articlepublishedintheRivistaItalianadiScienzaPolitica/ItalianPoliticalScience
Review (2014, Political Dissatisfaction and Political Protest in Western Europe:
WhatistheRoleofPartySystems?44(2),115–145).
A special thank goes to Giulia, for her enormous support, encouragement,
and inspiration, and, of course, for the careful reading and for all the thorough
suggestionssheprovided.
Milano,Italy MarioQuaranta
June2015
Contents
1 Introduction:AMicro-MacroApproachtoPoliticalProtest ........... 1
1.1 DemocracyandPoliticalProtest ....................................... 1
1.2 GuidingQuestions ...................................................... 4
1.3 TheConceptofContext ................................................ 6
1.4 TheTheoreticalFramework............................................ 8
1.5 ResearchDesign ........................................................ 11
1.6 PlanfortheBook........................................................ 15
References..................................................................... 17
2 WhatIsProtest?ConceptandMeasurement............................. 21
2.1 Introduction ............................................................. 21
2.2 TheConceptofPoliticalProtest........................................ 22
2.3 TheMeasurementofPoliticalProtest.................................. 25
2.4 TheImportanceofMeasurementEquivalence ........................ 26
2.5 HowtoAssessEquivalence? ........................................... 27
2.6 BuildinganIndexofPoliticalProtestUsingSurveyData............ 29
2.7 AnIndexofPoliticalProtestinWesternEurope...................... 32
2.8 AlternativeMeasures ................................................... 37
2.9 Conclusion .............................................................. 40
References..................................................................... 42
3 WhoProtests?TheoreticalApproachesandEmpiricalEvidence...... 45
3.1 Introduction ............................................................. 45
3.2 IndividualResources.................................................... 46
3.3 Dissatisfaction........................................................... 51
3.4 Mobilization............................................................. 55
3.5 ValuesandOrientations................................................. 60
3.6 Conclusion .............................................................. 64
References..................................................................... 65
vii
viii Contents
4 Individual Resourcesand PoliticalProtest:The Role
ofWelfareStates ............................................................. 71
4.1 Introduction ............................................................. 71
4.2 WelfareStatesandProtest.............................................. 73
4.3 The Interplay Between Welfare States, Individual
ResourcesandProtest................................................... 75
4.4 Measures................................................................. 78
4.5 DoWelfareStatesMatter?.............................................. 82
4.6 Conclusion .............................................................. 90
References..................................................................... 91
5 OrganizationsandPoliticalProtest:TheRoleofDecentralization .... 95
5.1 Introduction ............................................................. 95
5.2 DecentralizationandProtest............................................ 96
5.3 TheInterplayBetweenDecentralization,Organizations
andProtest............................................................... 98
5.4 Measures................................................................. 100
5.5 DoesDecentralizationMatter?......................................... 103
5.6 Conclusion .............................................................. 108
References..................................................................... 109
6 DissatisfactionandPoliticalProtest:TheRoleofPartySystems....... 113
6.1 Introduction ............................................................. 113
6.2 PartySystemsandProtest .............................................. 115
6.3 TheInterplayBetweenPartySystems,Dissatisfaction
andProtest............................................................... 118
6.4 Measures................................................................. 121
6.5 DoPartySystemsMatter?.............................................. 125
6.6 Conclusion .............................................................. 130
References..................................................................... 131
7 Conclusion.................................................................... 135
References..................................................................... 143
Index............................................................................... 145
List of Figures
Fig.1.1 Interactive effects of context and individual
characteristicsonparticipationinpoliticalprotest ................... 7
Fig.1.2 Theoreticalframeworkandresearchstrategy......................... 11
Fig.2.1 Heatmapofthemeansoftheitemsmeasuringpolitical
protestinWesternEuropeancountries ............................... 31
Fig.2.2 ThemeansoftheindexofpoliticalprotestinWestern
Europeancountries,with95%confidenceintervals ................. 34
Fig.2.3 The distribution of the index of political protest
inthecomparablecountries ........................................... 36
Fig.2.4 Meanoftheindexofpoliticalprotestusingthreeitems
fromtheEuropeanValuesStudy,theInternationalSocial
SurveyProgrammeandtheEuropeanSocialSurvey
fortheavailablecountries ............................................. 40
Fig.3.1 Theindexofpoliticalprotestbylevelsofeducation,
meansbycountrywith95%confidenceintervals ................... 47
Fig.3.2 Theindexofpoliticalprotestbyagecategories,means
bycountrywith95%confidenceintervals............................ 51
Fig.3.3 The association between political protestand life
satisfaction, correlation coefficients by country
with95%confidenceintervals ....................................... 53
Fig.3.4 The association between political protest
and dissatisfaction with democracy,correlation
coefficientsbycountrywith95%confidenceintervals ............. 54
Fig.3.5 The index of political protest by categories
of the post-materialism scale, means by country
with95%confidenceintervals ....................................... 62
ix
