Nonviolent protests are twice as likely to succeed as armed conflicts – and those engaging a threshold of 3.5% of the population have never failed to bring about change.
The Maidan in Movement: Diversity and the Cycles of Protest
The Maidan protests provide us with insights into Ukrainian society and the dynamics of mobilisation more generally. Based on the EuroMaidan Protest Participant Survey, on-site rapid interviews wit...
A Model of Protests, Revolution, and Information
A collective action or revolt succeeds only if sufficiently many people participate. We study how potential revolutionaries’ ability to coordinate is affected by what they learn from different sources. We first examine how people learn about the likelihood of a revolution’s success by talking to those around themselves, which can either work in favor or against the success of an uprising, depending on the prior beliefs of the agents, the homogeneity of preferences in the population, and the number of contacts. We extend the analysis by examining the effects of homophily on learning: people are more likely to meet others who have similar preferences, undercutting learning. We introduce variants of our model to discuss other ways of learning about the support for a revolution. We discuss why holding mass protests before a revolt provides more informative signals of people’s willingness to actively participate than other less costly forms of communication (e.g., via social media). We also show how outcomes of revolutions in one region can inform citizens of another region and thus trigger (or discourage) neighboring revolutions. We also discuss the role of governments in avoiding revolutions and learning about their citizens’ concerns; in particular, by observing the strength of protests and counter-protests.
Thousands in US expected to protest against ICE, datacenters and voter suppression this weekend
Demonstrations planned across the US this weekend will focus on three issues likely to define the midterm elections
How to Protest Safely: What to Bring, What to Do, and What to Avoid
If you’re planning to hit the streets, here’s what you need to know.
3.5%, general strikes, and goals
This article is posted here in full from the Binding Chaos community. Join now to read all the articles in full as soon as they come out! There has been a lot of talk about a general strike in the …
Tolerance Norms Across Countries
Democratic theorists consider respect for pluralism, equality, and inclusion as cornerstones of good democratic citizenship. But what do ordinary citizens belie
How to Protest Safely in the Age of Surveillance
Law enforcement has more tools than ever to track your movements and access your communications. Here’s how to protect your privacy if you plan to protest.
When Riot Cops Are Not Enough
In When Riot Cops Are Not Enough, sociologist Mike King examines the policing, and broader political repression, of the Occupy Oakland movement. King’s active and daily participation in that movement provides a unique insider perspective to illustrate how the Oakland police and city administrators lost the ability to effectively control the movement.
How to fight hate: New Humanist’s Autumn 2026 issue is out now
With race riots on the rise and the populist right gaining traction, we ask how the UK can push back
Differences Between Tight and Loose Cultures: A 33-Nation Study
The differences across cultures in the enforcement of conformity may reflect their specific histories. , With data from 33 nations, we illustrate the differences between cultures that are tight (have many strong norms and a low tolerance of deviant behavior) versus loose (have weak social norms and a high tolerance of deviant behavior). Tightness-looseness is part of a complex, loosely integrated multilevel system that comprises distal ecological and historical threats (e.g., high population density, resource scarcity, a history of territorial conflict, and disease and environmental threats), broad versus narrow socialization in societal institutions (e.g., autocracy, media regulations), the strength of everyday recurring situations, and micro-level psychological affordances (e.g., prevention self-guides, high regulatory strength, need for structure). This research advances knowledge that can foster cross-cultural understanding in a world of increasing global interdependence and has implications for modeling cultural change.
Thousands in Sweden protest over climate policy as election looms
The protest comes as experts in Sweden have warned that the government's climate policy jeopardises the country's emissions-cutting goals to reduce CO₂ emissions from transport by 70 percent by 2030 and to achieve net-zero emissions by 2045.
Citizens Above the Law
The growing sovereign citizen movement reflects an America that has lost faith in its democratic institutions.
Immigrants’ Participation in Protests
This resource provides information so that immigrants can know their rights, understand the risks of protests, and feel empowered to participate.
The Silent Majorities: six groups across society whose views point to systemic change
Expressing our shared concerns can drive public confidence in systems change.
Alienation, Idealization, and Modeling
Models allow us to expose, explore, and excavate our assumptions. This is especially true for the sorts of assumptions that concern scholars of marginalization and resistance, who aim to show how ...
Being in a crowd doesn’t make you part of a mindless mob | Psyche Ideas
It’s often assumed people lose their minds in a crowd. Research on riots, festivals and sports tells a more uplifting story
