Protests, Political

Political protest refers to various means of influencing the political process that typically fall outside of the more traditional means such as voting for elected officials and running for office. These actions do not always involve fringe groups or individuals and can emerge instead from within the establishment. Further, protest activities are instrumental to social movements as a way to affect change, recruit members, share messages, and reach broader publics through mass media coverage. Protest acts can take many forms, including speeches, marches, rallies, letter-writing campaigns, sit-ins, and demonstrations, among other actions. As a result of this variation, research on political protest has explored a wide range of groups, activities, issues, and causes. Scholars have particularly focused on the key role communication processes can play ...