Erica Chenoweth
Frank Stanton Professor of the First Amendment
Protest and Dissent
Our team explores how protest and dissent serve as vital forces in democratic societies, shaping public discourse, advancing social change, and informing scholarly research on civic participation and institutional accountability.
Related Programs
Protest and dissent are essential expressions of democratic life, enabling individuals and communities to voice grievances, demand accountability, and advocate for political and social change. Through public demonstration, artistic expression, digital activism, and other forms of collective action, dissent shapes public discourse and influences institutional reform.
Our scholars research on protest and dissent examines their role in strengthening democratic responsiveness, protecting fundamental freedoms, and navigating the tensions between authority and civic participation.
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
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Commentary
Crowd Counting Consortium: An Empirical Overview of Recent Pro-Palestine Protests at U.S. Schools
Crowd Counting Consortium data show more than 3,700 days with pro-Palestinian protest activity at over 500 U.S. schools since October 7, 2023, including encampments at more than 130 of them.
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.
Podcast
AshCast: Civil Disobedience and Democracy on Campus with Archon Fung and Khalil Gibran Muhammad
In a two part episode of AshCast, Archon Fung and Khalil Gibran Muhammad discuss campus protests, civil disobedience, and the role speech and democracy as universities across the country grapple with how to respond to this latest wave of protest activity.
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.
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.
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
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.
Commentary
Crowd Counting Consortium: U.S. Protest Rhetoric Tracks Looming Famine in Gaza
The imminent famine in Gaza shows up in Crowd Counting Consortium (CCC) data as a sharp increase in references to hunger and starvation in protesters’ chants and signs.
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.