The effect of disruptive protests on public opinion

Abstract Recently, the world has seen a wave of activism of a particular kind: disruptive, non-violent protests such as strikes, blockades or sit-ins. In this review, I collect the evidence on how such protests affect public opinion— a key way in which activists seek to influence policy. I find that disruptive protests cause opposition to the disruptive group, its tactics, and perhaps its specific policy demand. At the same time, they are better than conventional protests at generating media attention and large corresponding increases in issue salience. With respect to broader attitudes and behaviors, such as concern about the issue itself or voting, null or small positive effects are typical. So while disruptive groups and their tactics are disliked, they do garner attention, and on the whole they do not usually seem to move people away from their cause. Further research should investigate the longevity of these effects and whether they hold for all issues, as much of the current research focuses on environmental movements.