THEORIES OF COLLECTIVE BEHAVIOR AND RESOURCE MOBILIZATION: ELABORATION ON THE CONCEPT OF POLITICAL PROTEST

Abstract

Organized rallies are gaining more influence in socio-political processes in Russia and Europe. Modern protest is taking on new forms and is using new technical capabilities to mobilize participants. Determining potential capacity of a rally, its “unstable equilibrium points” and gauging the public’s possible negative reactions to the political elite’s decision making is becoming an important goal in contemporary political management. The article examines the heuristic potential of two approaches to studying political protest: theory of collective action and theory of mobilization of political opportunities. The first approach stems from the idea of dominance of symbolic values in modern political consciousness, while the second looks in more detail at the “balance of power” and resources that lend to the effectiveness of a protest. Does the environment created by the “new methods” have an impact on the efficacy of a protest? How important are institutional defects in order for citizens to want to organize a rally? Studying these aspects can help gain insight into the public’s real protest potential at regional and local levels in Russia.