Lecture 19, on mobilization cascades in general:
Question: in the real world, what could trigger a change in the "thresholds" of participation - the willingness of people to join risky collective action?
Lecture 20, on mobilization cascades in the GDR in 1989 (mostly pictures):
Question: what were the key factors that led GDR citizens to change their thresholds for revolt?
As usual, comments or questions below.
The threshold of participation in risky group activities such as anti government protests may be lowered in the real world by a number of things leading to an increased participation rate of people. The most prominent cause of a threshold of participation to be lowered is a shocking or extreme event occurring. An example of such an event in the real world is the case of Mohamed Bouazizi who set himself on fire in protest of the confiscation of his wares and mistreatment by officials. He was hailed as a hero by many Tunisians and served as a catalyst for the Tunisian revolution and other event's in the Arab Spring, thus his extreme and shocking method of protest lowered the participation threshold in one of the most important political events this century.
ReplyDeleteGood example Jordon!
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