Protesters reproduce familiar routines rather than adopt unfamiliar effective tactics

Evidence

In moments of rebellion, people turn to what is familiar, even if something unfamiliar might work much better. In sixteenth-century France, Tilly shows (through an analysis of early national media) that people would have never thought of demonstrating or organizing a rally or strike in the way we do today. They did, however, know how to run a tax collector out of town, force down the price of bread, or put on a charivari¸ the performance of a group belting offensive songs outside the home of a local offender, demanding retribution before they will shut up. Over time, innovation occurs, and new routines of contention emerge as cultures change, but this process is relatively autonomous from the underlying causes of the revolts. — Vincent Bevins, If We Burn, 64

Categorization

• DEFINE: Introduces ‘repertoire of contention’ and illustrates with charivari, tax-collector running, and bread-price forcing.
• XREF: connects to: Ultra squads disciplined by hand-gesture command awed loose protest crowds — Vincent Bevins, If We Burn: The Mass Protest Decade and…, 347; Preexisting organized groups, not new ad hoc ones, reap protest explosions — Vincent Bevins, If We Burn: The Mass Protest Decade and…, 904; Activists self-consciously copied Egyptian protest tactics for international audiences — Vincent Bevins, If We Burn: The Mass Protest Decade and…, 484 (+2 more)

Broader Connections

• Ultra squads disciplined by hand-gesture command awed loose protest crowds #exemplifies (0.75) — Vincent Bevins, If We Burn, 347