Citation

Diani M. Acta Sociol. 2009; 52(1): 63-83.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2009, Scandinavian Sociological Association, Publisher SAGE Publishing)

DOI

10.1177/0001699308100634

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

The marches on 15 February 2003 challenging the imminent attack on Iraq attracted highly heterogeneous demonstrators often engaged in different types of associations and protest activities. In this article, I suggest we expand our view of the mobilizing networks that facilitated people's involvement in the demonstrations by looking not only at associations but also at what I define as 'protest communities', namely, sets of activists sharing a sustained participation in protest activities. Network analysis shows that in some countries peace associations played a more prominent role than peace protest communities, while in other countries the opposite was the case. The former were more central in inclusive political systems, the latter, in exclusive systems. Drawing on a survey of 15 February demonstrators conducted in eight Western democracies, the article highlights the connection between political opportunities and relational, not merely behavioural, variables.