Collective Action with Uncertain Payoffs: Coordination, Public Signals and Punishment Dilemmas

Collective Action with Uncertain Payoffs: Coordination, Public Signals, and Punishment Dilemmas

American Political Science Review ◽

10.1017/s0003055411000359 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 105 (4) ◽

pp. 829-851 ◽

Cited By ~ 88

Author(s):

MEHDI SHADMEHR ◽

DAN BERNHARDT

Keyword(s):

Collective Action ◽

Personal Information ◽

Status Quo ◽

Conventional Wisdom ◽

Accurate Information ◽

Public Signals ◽

The Status ◽

Uncertain Payoffs ◽

Payoff Uncertainty

How can one analyze collective action in protests or revolutions when individuals are uncertain about the relative payoffs of the status quo and revolution? We model a “calculus of protest” of individuals who must either submit to the status quo or support revolt based only on personal information about their payoffs. In deciding whether to revolt, the citizen must infer both the benefit of successful revolution and the likely actions of other citizens. We characterize conditions under which payoff uncertainty overturns conventional wisdom: (a) when a citizen is too willing to revolt, he reduces the incentives of others to revolt; (b) less accurate information about the value of revolution can make revolt more likely; (c) public signals from other citizens can reduce the likelihood of revolt; (d) harsher punishment can increase the incidence of punishment; and (e) the incidence of protest can be positively correlated with that of repression.

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Advocacy Organizations and Collective Action. Edited by Aseem Prakash and Mary Kay Gugerty. (Cambridge University Press, 2010).

The Journal of Politics ◽

10.1017/s0022381611001307 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 74 (1) ◽

pp. E6 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Amanda Murdie

Keyword(s):

Collective Action ◽

Advocacy Organizations ◽

Cambridge University

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Ideas and Leaders in Contentious Politics: One Parish Priest in El Salvador's Popular Movement

Behavioral and Brain Sciences ◽

10.1017/s0140525x13009862 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 38 (01) ◽

pp. 76-101

Author(s):

PETER M. SANCHEZ

Keyword(s):

Collective Action ◽

El Salvador ◽

Liberation Theology ◽

Contentious Politics ◽

Religious Leaders ◽

Political Movement ◽

Parish Priest ◽

Historical Moment ◽

Resource Mobilisation ◽

The Church

AbstractThis paper examines the actions of one Salvadorean priest – Padre David Rodríguez – in one parish – Tecoluca – to underscore the importance of religious leadership in the rise of El Salvador's contentious political movement that began in the early 1970s, when the guerrilla organisations were only just beginning to develop. Catholic leaders became engaged in promoting contentious politics, however, only after the Church had experienced an ideological conversion, commonly referred to as liberation theology. A focus on one priest, in one parish, allows for generalisation, since scores of priests, nuns and lay workers in El Salvador followed the same injustice frame and tactics that generated extensive political mobilisation throughout the country. While structural conditions, collective action and resource mobilisation are undoubtedly necessary, the case of religious leaders in El Salvador suggests that ideas and leadership are of vital importance for the rise of contentious politics at a particular historical moment.

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