ABSTRACT
In addition to periods of violent political dissent and social revolution, history is replete with examples of non-violent political dissent in the form of social movements. Ever since the emergence of the modern state (Tilly et al. 1975; Tilly 1978; Tarrow 1994), various forms of direct political action and political protest activities at the national level have challenged dominant political institutions in both the advanced industrial democracies and the lesser-developed countries. Movements led by workers, students, women, peace activists, gays and lesbians, environmentalists and greens, as well as those led by religious fundamentalists, extreme radical right adherents, and ethnic minorities increasingly bring new issues to the political agenda through protests, demonstrations, marches, petitions, and lobbying efforts, all of which fall outside traditional institutional channels of interest inter-mediation. The 20th century was full of examples of non-violent social mobilization that led to significant political transformation across the world, and the 21st century thus far has seen remarkable examples, such as those that characterized the so-called Arab Spring that started in late 2010 and which were responsible for the ousting of governments and political change across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region (see Breuer et al. 2014); the ‘occupy’ movement that swept across the United States; and similar popular mobilizations such as Podemos in Spain and the Syriza party/movement that came to power in Greece.
