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.

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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.

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Overview of Protest Activity Around the 2024 Democratic National Convention
Photo showing marchers carrying signs and flags mostly referencing Palestine past a tight line of police officers with bicycles.

Commentary

Overview of Protest Activity Around the 2024 Democratic National Convention

As part of its regular work tracking political protest activity across the United States, the Crowd Counting Consortium (CCC) closely followed events around this year’s Democratic National Convention in Chicago.

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.

Episode Two: 1,300 Days of BLM Demonstrations in Wooster, Ohio

Podcast

Episode Two: 1,300 Days of BLM Demonstrations in Wooster, Ohio

In the second episode of the Nonviolent Action Lab Podcast, Désirée Weber describes what 1,300 days of protest and political pressure looked like in Wooster, Ohio in 2020

Episode One: Meet the Nonviolent Action Lab

Podcast

Episode One: Meet the Nonviolent Action Lab

Host Jay Ulfelder sits down with Professor Erica Chenoweth for the first episode in the new podcast series.

Confronting Dictators: Lessons from Egypt, Russia, and Venezuela
Shady ElGhazaly Harb sits at a table speaking to a seated audience

Video

Confronting Dictators: Lessons from Egypt, Russia, and Venezuela

Panelists from the Nonviolent Action Lab discuss their experiences, lessons learned, and perspectives on their respective struggles, nations, and roles have evolved during their time at Harvard.