Skip to main content
Accessibility
Freedom House Logo - Torch next to words Freedom House

Primary Navigation

  • Our Issues
  • Perspectives
  • Policy Recommendations
  • Explore the Map
Expanding Freedom and Democracy

Quicklinks

  • Events
  • Perspectives Blog
  • Find A Country
  • Explore The Map
  • Careers

Mega Menu

  • Our Issues
    • Authoritarian Reach
    • Technology & Democracy
    • Promoting U.S. Leadership
    • Democracies in Decline
    • Election Integrity
    • Equality & Human Rights
    • Government Accountability & Transparency
    • Strengthening Civil Society
    • Media Freedom
    • Religious Freedom
    • Freedom of Expression
    • Freedom of Assembly
    • Democracy During Pandemic
  • Programs
    • Afghanistan Human Rights Coordination Mechanism
    • Political Prisoners Initiative
    • Regional Programs
    • Emergency Assistance and Thematic Programs
  • Countries
  • Events
    • Reimagining American Democracy
  • Policy Recommendations
    • Testimony and Advocacy Letters
  • Reports
    • Freedom in the World
    • Freedom on the Net
    • Nations in Transit
    • Beijing’s Global Media Influence
    • China Media Bulletin
    • Hong Kong Media Bulletin
    • China Dissent Monitor
    • Election Watch for the Digital Age
    • Transnational Repression
    • Archives
  • Perspectives Blog
  • News Releases & Statements
  • About Us
    • History
    • Our Experts
    • Board and Leadership
    • Ways to Give
    • Financials
    • Careers
    • Contact Us
  • Manage Subscriptions
Jump To:
lifeline advocacy protest
Special Report 2022

Annotated Bibliography: Civic Mobilization in Authoritarian Contexts

Download PDF

Exploring the contextual factors and civic characteristics that enable widespread civic action in authoritarian countries.

Written by
Natalia Forrat

Nonviolent civic mobilization, the participation of diverse individuals and institutions in calling for change, has been an essential element in successful cases of democratization in the last 30 years. This annotated bibliography is the first step in an applied research project that explores the contextual factors and civic characteristics that enable widespread civic action in authoritarian contexts. This study looks at what facilitates mobilization in the most difficult circumstances, regardless of whether that mobilization results in democratic change.

The focus of the next step in this research is to gather evidence from comparative case study research, looking back at recent civic mobilizations in hard authoritarian contexts and asking: what allowed movements to mobilize in spite of often severe repression? Some of the most useful findings summarized in this annotated bibliography include the importance of movements having diverse and dense networks; the importance of elite defection from the regime; that successful movements innovate their tactics and employ novel rhetorical frames to challenge and undermine state power; and that nonviolent movements are more effective than violent or mixed movements.

This hyperlinked bibliography allows the reader to quickly navigate to the information that is most relevant to them and to quickly read a summary of the findings of each study and their implications. It includes select academic sources published in the last two decades that shed light on civic mobilization in authoritarian contexts. The studies were selected to focus on mobilization from below rather than elite-level politics. The bibliography is structured according to the type of research, e.g. studies using datasets with dozens of countries, more detailed comparisons of several countries, or in-depth studies of single countries. Hyperlinked topic labels point to specific themes covered; country labels show from which countries the empirical evidence came.

 

Support for compiling this bibliography came from the U.S. Department of State award # SLMAQM20CA2259, "Assessing the Precursors to Success," which supports research on the precursors to civic mobilization in authoritarian contexts. For more information, please contact Laura Adams at [email protected].

lifeline advocacy protest

Civic Mobilization in Authoritarian Contexts

Download the Annotated Bibliography by clicking on the button below. 

Download PDF

Be the first to know what's happening.

Join the Freedom House weekly newsletter

Subscribe

Footer Main Menu

  • Our Issues
  • Countries
  • Policy Recommendations
  • Explore the Map
  • Donate
  • News & Perspectives
  • Reports
  • Events
  • About
  • Careers

Address

1850 M St. NW Floor 11
Washington, DC 20036

(202) 296-5101

General Inquiries

[email protected]

Press & Media

[email protected]house.org

Footer Social Menu

Follow

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram

Footer

  • Manage Subscriptions
  • Contact Us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Content Permissions
  • Site Map
@2023 FreedomHouse