From protest to parliament

Organised by

• Department of Political and Social Sciences

Recent waves of protest have given rise to movement parties, or parties with strong ties to social movements that combine anti-system activism with opposition to traditional parties. We study the effects of Lebanon's 2019 October Revolution, a series of nationwide protests that took place over several months and targeted an extractive elite that has governed for two decades. Estimates of the differences show that localities where protests took place were more likely to support movement parties in the election that followed the uprising. We attribute this effect to the exclusionary nature of the electoral system and show that support for movement parties was greatest in areas neglected by existing parties. Our findings contribute new insight into the relationship between protest movements and electoral behavior. Movement parties persistently struggle to channel anti-government, revolutionary opposition into support for electoral alternatives - but not where they are able to exploit the weaknesses of existing parties. 

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