Experimental Evidence on Politicians' Responsiveness to Protest Actions

• In Event: The Relationship between the Public and Parliament

Abstract

How do politicians react to protests? Previous research finds conflicting evidence on which protest actions receive the most responsive reactions. I argue that it’s important to consider that politicians are vote-seeking and react responsively to protests to maintain public support. In a pre-registered experiment with Belgian local politicians (N = 1003), I randomize protest scenarios that vary how peaceful, large, and cohesive a protest is. I find that when protests are peaceful, politicians are most likely to listen to and meet protesters and reconsider their political agenda.
Surprisingly, politicians are not responsive to large gatherings but consider them important cues for their political agenda, and how demands are formulated does not affect politicians’ responsiveness. Probing the mechanism shows that politicians perceive peaceful protesters as their voters.
This study contributes to understanding how protests serve as a form of political participation that initiates responsive decisions.

Author

• Elena Leuschner, University of Gothenburg