Marches, rallies, and other forms of protest have become somewhat normalized since the height of the movements of the 1960s, as have conflicts between participants in protest activities and the police. However, political scientists have devoted little attention to examining political protest in the United States or understanding the reasons why, among the many outlets available for political dissent and expression, some people choose to protest. To answer this question, the authors collected information at the 2008 national conventions in Denver (Democratic) and St. Paul (Republican) and compared the protesters at the two events. The authors designed a two-part study consisting of a survey of protesters at each convention, and a survey of delegates to each convention. This article describes their findings from the protester survey and suggests areas for future research.

Online availability

Download from CURA: 

39-3&4-Strolovitch-et-al.pdf