ABSTRACT
Movement participants are motivated to achieve their goals, but the movement’s outcome is by and large determined by the nature of their demands and the power of their action. 1 Protestors’ demands dictate the cost the targeted authority pays if it makes concessions, whereas the power of collective action bears directly upon the authority’s willingness to pay the cost. Groups who take to the streets to pursue their interests often lack effective and institutionalized channels to achieve their claims, and they are thus politically weak. One method through which a weak group achieves success is creating great disruptions in the socioeconomic and political systems, with the power of disruption being determined by the importance of the institutions. Protesting activities are more likely to be ignored “when the disrupted institution is not central to the society as a whole, or to other more important groups.” 2 But when important institutions are disrupted, protestors are better positioned to bargain with the targeted authority.
