Abstract
How do U.S. voters view the disruptiveness and effectiveness of social movement tactics? Strategically used assertive tactics can enable movement success, though tactics considered too disruptive or violent may reduce public support. The authors investigate how U.S. voters perceive the disruptiveness and effectiveness of various protest tactics. In a representative survey experiment, 497 U.S. voters ranked the disruptiveness and effectiveness of 65 tactics. The authors find that tactics’ perceived disruptiveness and effectiveness exhibit an inverse relationship and a continuous character. The findings suggest that multiple, contextual factors influence public perceptions of protests.
Katherine Furl
PhD Student
Katherine Furl is a doctoral candidate in the Sociology department at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill and a graduate affiliate with UNC’s Center for Information Technology and Public Life (CITAP).
Todd Lu
PhD Student
Todd Lu is a doctoral candidate in the Sociology department at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill.
Neal Caren
Associate Professor of Sociology
My research interests include social movements, protest events, web scraping, and text analysis.