Doctoral Dissertation Research: Cross-National Research on Protest, Social Policy, and Political Regimes

Princeton University, Princeton NJ

Investigators

Abstract

In this proposal, the PI investigates how redistributive policies within countries vary by regime type. In particular, the study focuses on how governments target redistributive actions to favor specific groups they see as important supporters. To explore how regime types matter, the proposal compares decisions regarding redistributive policy in one authoritarian country and one country transitioning to democracy. While both states experienced notable stress resulting from mass demonstrations in 2011, the one authoritarian regime survived, while the other experienced a transition. Since 2011, movements associated with social and labor policies have benefitted more from redistributive policies in the authoritarian case than in the democratizing case. This finding represents a puzzle that motivates this proposal. In this study, the PI seeks to learn how regime transition in developing countries influences the success of social movements to win redistributive concessions from the government. Additionally, the work will investigate the characteristics of political movements that determine whether the state will or will not respond to their demands. To assess these questions, the PI will construct a dataset of local-level protests from two countries in a key part of the world. Technical In this proposal, the PI seeks to investigate how social movement groups succeed or fail in their ability to win redistributive policy concessions from the state. In particular, the PI seeks to address two particular research goals. First, she aims to trace changes in socioeconomic mobilization in two countries from 2005 to 2015, paying particular attention to shifts in the frequency, diffusion, organization, and repertoires of protest movements. Second, given these patterns, the project seeks to account for trends in social policy responses that do not comply with existing theoretical expectations. The PI argues that patterns of redistributive policy concessions differ depending upon the success or failure of social movements seeking democracy. With respect to successful democratizing revolutions, we find an amplification of the characteristics expected to lead to greater state responses, i.e. the frequency, diffusion, and organization of socioeconomic mobilization. In 'failed' revolutions, however, the perceptions of threat experienced by the political elites leads them to grant policy concessions more quickly when faced with protest movements. The project develops a multi-method research design in which the PI proposes to construct original datasets of protest events and corresponding state response in two countries during the period 2005 to 2015. These datasets will be constructed using a range of local newspapers. Next, the PI will undertake qualitative comparative studies of parallel social movements in both cases. This project will result in the completion of a database that catalogues protests, strikes, sit-ins, and violent events on a national level.