Beyond protest: Community changes as outcomes of mobilization

Social and community psychologists have recently begun to investigate systematically the psycho-social variables underlying the emergence of social movements and the impact of protest on the larger community. If changes produced by collective action both at the individual level, such as increased social skills, self-efficacy or social identity, and at the collective level, such as increased political influence, collective efficacy, and collective identity, have been thoroughly investigated, less research has been conducted on the identification of the by-products of participation, the effects of citizen mobilization on the larger community, and potentially negative changes associated to protest. Based on a case study, the paper argues that protest can bring about remarkable changes in the local community in terms of empowerment and community development, but can also generate new conflicts and subtle forms of conformism.