LFU:online

Students advance their knowledge in political science by specialising in different areas of the field

The last couple of years we have seen a surge in protest actions. In this course, we discuss the options available for citizens who politically disagree. We study the toolbox of rebels and protestors who engage in a claim-making act. As protest does not happen in a vacuum, we also discuss the relation with the state, and study the toolbox of the state to respond to claim-making acts. The course literature focuses on contentious politics, social movement organisations and (counter-)insurgency strategies. This course is a ‘dialogue between ideas and evidence’ (Ragin 1997) as we will continuously compare theory with empirical cases. Students will give a presentation and write an essay. This course is taught in English.  

Presentation and paper

Tilly, C. and S. Tarrow (2015). Contentious Politics. Oxford, Oxford University Press.

Benford, R. D., & Snow, D. A. (2000). Framing processes and social movements: An overview and assessment. Annual review of sociology, 26(1), 611-639.

McAdam, D., Tarrow, S., & Tilly, C. (2009). Comparative perspectives on contentious politics. Comparative politics: Rationality, culture, and structure, 260-290.

successful completion of compulsory module 1 to 3