ABSTRACT
The aim of this paper is to critically consider whether social psychological models of collective action adequately explain the emergence of collective action and protest. Its core argument is that these models, to the extent that they focus on shared variance between variables, underplay the qualitative transformations involved when people decide as individuals and communities that enough is enough. That is, as with any action, there is a point at which it emerges, both at the level of the individual and at the collective level of a community or social movement. In other words, the emergence of action involves a transformation of form; a transition that involves discontinuous change as one acts by signing a petition, attending a rally or smashing a window, rather than doing nothing or doing something else. The question posed in this article is whether social psychological models sufficiently address this aspect of collective action – that is, can they tell us something about the point at which protest emerges?
