ABSTRACT
The repression of social activism is common, yet the ways that power is constrained are often not clearly conceptualized. Individuals, groups, or government entities such as militaries, national police, and local police attempt to control, constrain, or prevent protests. Constraints placed on social movements increasingly limit activist power. Researchers have shown three main structural constraints that limit activist movements: (1) laws, rules, and norms, (2) notions of political inflation, and (3) the progressive pattern of increasing institutional thickening. This chapter investigates these three constraints, which are observable across time and together suggest growing constraints on social movements.
