Predicting Protest

We develop and test a model of participation in protest activities. Data were collected from 182 students in the week preceding and the week following a provincial day of protest against escalating tuition rates. Militancy predicted intent to participate, as did the perceived instrumentality of participation. Intent predicted actual participation and mediated the effects of instrumentality and militancy on participation. As hypothesized, participation in the protest predicted postprotest loyalty and militancy. Implications for further research on social protest and labor union strikes are discussed.