Mapping Out The Protest Gap

This thesis aims to identify factors that account for the low levels of protest participation among Dutch youth. Expectations for interaction effects are formulated based on existing studies regarding the influence of contextual factors on protest participation. Binary logistic regression was used to test these hypotheses, with data from the Eurobarometer Youth Survey 3392. Effects of 9 variables on protest participation for Dutch youth were compared with German and Danish youth. Some 30 variables were also tested exploratively. Evidence suggested that a part of the protest gap can be explained by the relatively large rural population in The Netherlands, who appear to occupy a disproportionally small share of the protest population. Moderately to very right-winged youth in the Netherlands occupy a larger share of the Dutch youth’s protest population than in Germany and Denmark, while protest chances are still higher for German and Danish right-winged youth. Dutch youth who feel they...Show moreThis thesis aims to identify factors that account for the low levels of protest participation among Dutch youth. Expectations for interaction effects are formulated based on existing studies regarding the influence of contextual factors on protest participation. Binary logistic regression was used to test these hypotheses, with data from the Eurobarometer Youth Survey 3392. Effects of 9 variables on protest participation for Dutch youth were compared with German and Danish youth. Some 30 variables were also tested exploratively. Evidence suggested that a part of the protest gap can be explained by the relatively large rural population in The Netherlands, who appear to occupy a disproportionally small share of the protest population. Moderately to very right-winged youth in the Netherlands occupy a larger share of the Dutch youth’s protest population than in Germany and Denmark, while protest chances are still higher for German and Danish right-winged youth. Dutch youth who feel they understand their government well, are less likely to protest than their German and Danish counterparts. Overall, looking at subgroups did not generate enough evidence to account for the entire protest gap. Future research would do well to focus more on macro-level explanations of the low protest numbers in The Netherlands.Show less

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Mapping Out The Protest Gap