Commentary

The social psychology of protest by Jacquelien van Stekelenburg and Bert Klandermans


Author
Reviewed by Kevin McDonald, RMIT University in Melbourne, Australia
DOI
10.1177/20568460113

Jacquelien van Stekelenburg and Bert Klandermans offer a comprehensive overview of key orientations and debates in the field of the social psychology of protest.  They set out to assess how social psychology has attempted to make sense of why people protest, moving from older frameworks emphasizing grievances, through analyses underlining efficacy, to recent emphasis on identity, identification and emotions, and the importance attached to the correspondence between ‘I’ and ‘we’ necessary for collective action. Research challenges are highlighted, in particular the extent that protest continues despite failure, and the need to better understand the impact of wider sociopolitical contexts on routes to protest. 

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