Repression and popular collective action: Evidence from the West Bank

TLDR

The study departs from traditional social‑movement research by focusing on the interaction between the state and its challengers rather than structural causes. The article investigates how changes in the form and level of state repression influenced the rate of popular collective action in the Palestinian West Bank between 1976 and 1985. A dynamic, continuous‑time Weibull model calibrated to systematic evidence was employed to capture the time‑dependent hazard of collective action. Repression generally increased the rate of collective action, contradicting some movement‑research hypotheses and suggesting that coercion can serve as a mobilizing force in similar contexts.

Abstract

This article examines the connection between state repression and the dynamics of popular collective action in the Palestinian West Bank from 1976 to 1985. Unlike traditional social movement research that focuses on structural causes, the analysis is confined here to the interaction between the state and its challengers. How shifts in the form and level of repression affected the rate of collective action is the main question addressed. A dynamic, continuous-time model, based on systematic evidence, is used to answer this question. Assuming a Weibull parameterization, the model allows for time dependence of the hazard rate. With a few exceptions, repression was found to increase the rate of collective action. This finding contradicts certain hypotheses advanced by movement researchers regarding the efficacy of state coercion and control, and suggests that repression may appropriately be considered a powerful mobilizational force in similar contexts.