La fin d'une étrange lacune de la sociologie des mobilisations. L'étude par sondage des manifestants : fondements théoriques et solutions techniques

The end of a strange gap in the sociology of mobilizations. the sample survey analysis of demonstrators : theoretical bases and technical solutions While the forms and springs of collective action are beginning to be better known, the individuals who demonstrate — the actors in street demonstrations — have not been subjected to studies centered on the modes of the move to action. Since Barnes and Kaase, we have serious survey studies of the propensity of individuals to demonstrate, but they provide data about representations, and in particular on the perception of the legitimacy of collective action and on the willingness to act, not on actual behavior. Most classic works on demonstrations take these as the units of analysis and build up more or less extensive data sets, always rich in information. But on the one hand, their conclusions are often incompatible with those of studies on the propensity to demonstrate. On the other hand, such research does not contribute much to elucidating the mechanisms of individual participation in demonstrations. The solution suggested in order to remedy this strange gap in the sociology of mobilizations is to take sample surveys during demonstrations. Rarely used, this procedure raises specific technical difficulties. Three polls taken during demons­trations in Paris between February and May 1994 provide solutions to these problems, which are here discussed at length. The apparent antinomy between a method of individualizing construction — the opinion poll — and an object of a collective nature — the street demonstration — to which it is applied must therefore no longer be considered an obstacle.