Street Citizens
Protest Politics and Social Movement Activism in the Age of Globalization

Explains the character of contemporary protest politics through a micro-mobilization analysis of participation in street demonstrations.

Marco Giugni (Author), Maria T. Grasso (Author)

9781108469265, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 4 April 2019

356 pages, 2 b/w illus. 22 tables
22.9 x 15.2 x 1.5 cm, 0.38 kg

'Street Citizens makes a truly important contribution to a wider literature, from electoral behaviour and political participation to social movements and contentious politics. A book that is highly recommended to everyone - students and scholars alike - who wants to understand the dynamics of individual participation in protest and social movement mobilization.' Sotirios Karampampas, Democratization

What are protest politics and social movement activism today? What are their main features? To what extent can street citizens be seen as a force driving social and political change? Through analyses of original survey data on activists themselves, Marco Giugni and Maria T. Grasso explain the character of contemporary protest politics that we see today - the diverse motivations, social characteristics, values and networks that draw activists to engage politically to tackle the pressing social problems of our time. The study analyzes left-wing protest culture as well as the characteristics of protest politics, from the motivations of street citizens to how they become engaged in demonstrations to the causes they defend and the issues they promote, from their mobilizing structures to their political attitudes and values, as well as other key aspects such as their sense of identity within social movements, their perceived effectiveness, and the role of emotions for protest participation.

1. Protest politics and social movement activism in the age of globalization
2. Contentious Europeans?
3. Bringing capitalism back in?
4. Protest and institutional politics
5. Were they pushed or did they jump?
6. Cognition and affect among demonstrators
7. Why do people want to demonstrate?
8. Protest politics and social movement activism in perspective.

Subject Areas: Demonstrations & protest movements [JPWF], Political activism [JPW], Comparative politics [JPB], Society & social sciences [J]