Protest is typically rare behavior, yet the first decade of the twenty-first century has been named the era of protest. Successful protests bring masses to the streets, and the emergence of social media has fundamentally changed the process of mobilization. What protests need to be successful is demand (grievances, anger, and indignation), supply (protest organizations), and mobilization (effective communication networks). Motivation to participate can be instrumental, expressive, and identity driven, and politicized collective identity plays an important role in the dynamics of collective action. This volume brings together insights from social psychology, political psychology, sociology, and political science to provide a comprehensive and up-to-date analysis of protest participation, particularly to the question of why some people protest while others do not. It is essential reading for scholars interested in the social and political psychology of individuals in action.

‘A Social Psychology of Protest: Individuals in Action examines the critical question of why some people protest while others (who are often equally sympathetic) do not. Employing the authors’ signature individual-level focus, this book is the modern definitive statement on how we can understand the dynamics of ‘contextual contestation’ through examining how individuals perceive and interpret their structural conditions and move from sympathy to action. This book is sure to revolutionize the field like its predecessor, the groundbreaking Social Psychology of Protest (1997).’

Catherine Corrigall-Brown - University of British Columbia, Canada