Center for the Study of Democracy

About: Center for the Study of Democracy is a nonprofit organization based out in Sofia, Bulgaria. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Politics & Democracy. The organization has 63 authors who have published 163 publications receiving 2845 citations.

Accounting for numbers: Group characteristics and the choice of violent and nonviolent tactics

Abstract: Scholars have shown that nonviolent movements tend to be more successful than violent movements. A key explanation is that nonviolent movements have a mobilization advantage over violent campaigns. As nonviolent movements have lower barriers to active participation, they can expand quickly by mobilizing much larger numbers than violent movements. We argue that such a mobilization advantage is not universal, and that different movements are likely to have a comparative advantage in one tactic over another. We develop a simple model emphasizing how the ex ante potential for mobilization and prospects for success steer the choice of dissident tactics. Nonviolent tactics can be relatively more effective when a movement can mobilize more active participants than with violence, but movements with limited mobilization potential can have feasible prospects for violent dissent and a nonviolent mobilization disadvantage. We examine the implications of the model against empirical data for different types of dissident tactics and on resort to nonviolent and nonviolent dissent. We demonstrate very different actor profiles in nonviolent dissent and violent conflict, and show how each of the two types of dissent are more likely under very different settings. To compare success by types of dissent we must account for how differences in potential numbers or mobilization shape tactical choices.

Environmental concerns during a time of duress: an introduction

Abstract: Environmentalism began as a populist movement, with public interest groups mobilizing public opinion to pressure governments to enact environmental reform. Public support for environmental issues r...

The Symbolic Effects of Female Heads of States and Government

Abstract: The comparative literature on the symbolic effects of women’s representation is limited in its focus on the global variation and change in women’s presence in parliaments. Arguably, the presence of a female head of state is as potentially transformative of women’s views of their roles in politics. In fact, if one considers the visibility and status of national executive office, the symbolic effects of a female executive could even trump that of an increase in female parliamentarians. Yet, while a growing, albeit recent, literature tackles the question of the symbolic effects of female parliamentarians comparatively and overtime, not a single study applies the theory of symbolic representation to the presence of a female head of state. This paper examines whether a recent or current female head of state improves women’s support of female leaders and political engagement. Working with the most recent public opinion data we look cross-sectionally at fifty countries from around the globe to evaluate the influence of the presence of a female executive on countries’ average acceptance of female leaders, interest in politics, and level of voting in national and local elections.