Erica Chenoweth
Frank Stanton Professor of the First Amendment
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
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.
Meet the Experts
Zoe Marks
Lecturer in Public Policy
Liz McKenna
Assistant Professor of Public Policy
Soha Hammam
Research Project Manager, Nonviolent Action Lab
Christopher Shay
Research Associate, Crowd Counting Consortium
Matthew Cebul
Lead Research Fellow for the Nonviolent Action Lab, AY2025-2026
The Latest News, Research, and Resources
Commentary
Crowd Counting Consortium: Monthly Review – February 2021
So far, we’ve recorded 980 protest events in the U.S. in February 2021, with about 29,000 to 35,000 reported participants in them.
Commentary
Crowd Counting Consortium: Dude, Where’s My Protest?
Commentary
Crowd Counting Consortium: Contours of the George Floyd Uprising
Just how large and broad was that wave of protests after the death of George Floyd? How destructive was it? And how did police and right-wing counter-protesters respond to it?
Commentary
Crowd Counting Consortium: Trump-Era Themes in U.S. Protests
Under the Trump administration, what did Americans protest about?
Feature
How Authoritarian Police Thrive in Democracy
Kennedy School Assistant Professor Yanilda González delves into the roots of police violence in democratic countries in her latest book.
Video
Book Talk — Authoritarian Police in Democracy: Challenges for Latin America and the US
The Ash Center and Carr Center for Human Rights hosted an event for the launch of Authoritarian Police in Democracy: Contested Security in Latin America by HKS Assistant Professor Yanilda María González.
Video
Saving Our Own Lives: Grassroots Responses to COVID-19 Around the Globe
To what extent have these organizations proven better equipped to deal with the pandemic response, and what are the challenges that these associations face when organizing in the age of COVID-19? In addition, how can they seize this moment to turn their organizing into power and influence in political and economic life?
Article
The science of contemporary street protest: New efforts in the United States
Since the inauguration of Donald Trump, there has been substantial and ongoing protest against the Administration. Street demonstrations are some of the most visible forms of opposition to the Administration and its policies. This article reviews the two most central methods for studying street protest on a large scale: building comprehensive event databases and conducting field surveys of participants at demonstrations.