Protesters hold signs that say

Civil Protest

Protest is the bedrock of democracy. But why do people take to the streets, and how do protestors achieve change? At the Ash Center, we’re working to answer these questions.

Related Programs

Nonviolent Action Lab

From the Boston Tea Party and the U.S. civil rights movement to contemporary climate action demonstrations, civil protest is a fundamental tool for influencing political change. While protest movements are an indelible part of contemporary political life, little is often understood about what motivates people to take to the streets and how they achieve nonviolent political goals.

Our scholars analyze protest movements, learn from protestors themselves, and develop tools to help understand why some protests succeed and others fail.

The Latest News, Research, and Resources


Filter by

  • Format

Filters

Close

Filters

Format

Episode 8: How to Undercut Political Violence
Butler Pennsylvania rally

Podcast

Episode 8: How to Undercut Political Violence

Host Jay Ulfelder and Hardy Merriman discuss Merriman’s latest guide, titled Harnessing our Power to End Political Violence, which empowers people from all over the country to band together and support democracy by rejecting acts of political violence.

Episode 7: Policing Protests
Photo of protestors (blurred) in the forefront and police in riot gear in the background (in focus).

Podcast

Episode 7: Policing Protests

In Episode 7 of the Nonviolent Action Lab podcast, host Jay Ulfelder sits down with Professor Paul Passavant to discuss Passavant’s 2021 book, Policing Protest: The Post-Democratic State and the Figure of Black Insurrection.

The Student Palestine Solidarity Movement Resumes
A group of people standing in a line on a campus lawn holding up pieces of paper with the numbers 1-30 written on them and a sign that says

Commentary

The Student Palestine Solidarity Movement Resumes

Crowd Counting Consortium data show a resurgence of pro-Palestinian activism at U.S. colleges and universities as students have returned to school and started probing the limits of new restrictions on campus protests.

Episode 6: What happened in Venezuela’s elections?
the Venezuelan flag being held by a bunch of people marching down the street

Podcast

Episode 6: What happened in Venezuela’s elections?

In this episode, host Jay Ulfelder sits down with Nonviolent Action Lab Research Fellow Freddy Guevara to discuss the outcome of Venezuela’s elections and what that means for the state of democracy in the country.

The Real Numbers: Tracking Crowd Sizes at Presidential Rallies

Commentary

The Real Numbers: Tracking Crowd Sizes at Presidential Rallies

This post uses the Crowd Counting Consortium’s data on U.S. protest activity since 2017 to estimate and compare the average size of the crowds at political rallies featuring Donald Trump, Joe Biden, and, since late July 2024, Kamala Harris.

Episode 5: Independent Protest Journalism
A man photographs a black lives matter protest happening behind him

Podcast

Episode 5: Independent Protest Journalism

Host Jay Ulfelder sits down with journalists Talia Jane, Raven, and Sean Beckner-Carmitchel to discuss the impact of independent journalism on protest activity and social movements.

Episode Four: The Movement to Stop Cop City

Podcast

Episode Four: The Movement to Stop Cop City

Host Jay Ulfelder sits down with Joseph Brown, Associate Professor in the Department of Political Science at the University of Massachusetts Boston, to discuss a mass mobilization in Atlanta to stop a new a police training center amid environmental and community rights concerns.

Episode Three: The SCOTUS Marches

Podcast

Episode Three: The SCOTUS Marches

In episode three of the Nonviolent Action Lab podcast, host Jay Ulfelder talks with two people at the heart of DC-area protests against the Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v. Wade.

Crowd Counting Consortium: Three Things the Pro-Palestine Movement Is Not

Commentary

Crowd Counting Consortium: Three Things the Pro-Palestine Movement Is Not

New Crowd Counting Consortium analysis from Nonviolent Action Lab Program Director Jay Ulfelder sets the record straight on arrests numbers and claims of violence stemming from protests sparked by the war in Gaza.

Campus Protests and Police Force: An Ethical Framework

Commentary

Campus Protests and Police Force: An Ethical Framework

In a new essay, Archon Fung looks at this current wave of campus protests and asks if civil disobedience is permissible, and how much disruption should be tolerated at universities today.