Non-participants' support for protest violence: The role of the perceived political context

Abstract

Psychological research on collective action has suggested that protesters may change their ideas about the legitimacy of protest violence when police actions are perceived as illegitimate and indiscriminate. However, no research has explored yet whether a similar process can be experienced by those who do not take an active part in protests, i.e., nonparticipants. In this thesis, I argue that non-participants may support protesters’ violence against the police as a function of people’s perceptions of the political context where protests take place: the restrictions imposed by authorities (the government and the police) and the legitimacy public opinion gives to protests.