Individual Efficacy, Ideology, and Participation in Nonviolent Protests in the Middle East

• In Event: 2129 - Section on Comparative-Historical Sociology Refereed Roundtables (1 hour)
  In Refereed Roundtable 60min: 7. Violence, Non-violence, and Crime

Abstract

Some individuals in the Middle East participate in nonviolent protest while others do not. They partake in such action despite the risks involved. These people have been heralded as revolutionaries, with much media attention given to the protests of the Arab Spring in Egypt and Tunisia and Gezi Park in Turkey. However, little attention has been given to what the predictors of nonviolent protest are in this region. This article consequently seeks to approximate these predictors of protest participation in the years following these historical events. Relying on nationally-representative data collected in Egypt, Tunisia, and Turkey and theories of collective action, I illustrate that participation is guided by efficacy and religious fundamentalist ideology. Consistently across these countries, participation is also determined by pluralistic consumption of information and socioeconomic status. Previous political engagement, such as voting, and mosque attendance are additional predictors in Egypt and Tunisia. These findings provide valuable insight into individual protest in the Middle East.

Author

• Han Noel Kleman, University of Maryland, College Park