IN THIS MANUSCRIPT WORKSHOP, DCC Postdoctoral Fellow Mason Moseley presents his work exploring the evolving role of protests in Latin American democracies. Why is social protest a normal, almost routine component of the participatory “repertoire” in certain emerging democracies, but not others? Moseley contends that this often-sharp variation is the result of differences in political institutions and recent trends in citizen engagement across nascent democratic systems. Specifically, ineffective institutions coupled with engaged democratic citizenries precipitate more radical modes of political participation, as governments’ ability to deliver on citizens’ expectations of democracy fails to match the mobilization capacity of increasingly organized, politically active democrats. Drawing on cross-national surveys from Latin America and qualitative and quantitative sub-national data from Argentina, Moseley tests this explanation against other leading theories in the contentious politics literature, offering one of the first comprehensive multilevel, mixed-methods studies of the political determinants of protest participation across and within developing regimes.

Feedback on Moseley's manuscript will be provided by two leading scholars: Daniel Gillion (Penn Political Science) and Ernesto Calvo (University of Maryland Dept. of Government and Politics).

Daniel Gillion's research interests focuses on racial and ethnic politics, political behavior, public policy, and the American presidency. Professor Gillion’s first book The Political Power of Protest: Minority Activism and Shifts in Public Policy demonstrates the influential role of protest to garner a response from each branch of the federal government, highlighting protest actions as another form of constituent sentiment that should be considered alongside public opinion and voting behavior. The Political Power of Protest was the winner of the 2014 Best Book Award from the Race, Ethnicity, and Politics Section of the American Political Science Association. 

Ernesto Calvo's research focuses on the comparative study of electoral and legislative institutions. His work has been published in the American Journal of Political Science, World Politics, Comparative Political Studies, the British Journal of Political Science, Electoral Studies, and other top journals of EEUU, Europe, and Latin America. He has received awards from the American Political Science Association and the Latin American Studies Association for his work on electoral systems and the distribution of patronage resources. He is currently conducting research on patronage networks, cosponsorship networks, and representation.