Beyond Legality: Informal Norms and Protest Control in Democracies and Nondemocracies

• In Event: 3451 - Section on Collective Behavior and Social Movements Refereed Roundtables (1 hour)
  In Refereed Roundtable 60min: 11. Protest Policing and Repression

Abstract

Formal institutions, such as courts, are commonly given credit for containing social conflict. This paper illustrates how informal norms—the unwritten rules that reflect gaps between law on the books and law in practice—can also play an important role in mitigating contention in democracies and nondemocracies alike. Beyond legality, the concern for legitimacy plays an important role in restraining authorities from penalizing minor legal violations. Focusing on informal norms, the research not only sheds new light on the institutionalization of social movements and protests, but also provides comparative insights into contentious politics and protest control between western democracies and strong authoritarian regimes. Additionally, this paper examines the limits of informal norms as well as the uneven application of these norms across region and social groups. Finally, it concludes with a discussion about the social and political implications of informal norms.

Author

• Yao Li, Harvard University