Evidence for the Effectiveness of Large-Scale Disruptive Protests in the Context of Democratic Backsliding

The 2023 pro-democracy movement in Israel was marked by massive protests against proposed judicial reforms. Although they remained nonviolent, these protests became increasingly disruptive, employing roadblocks, strikes, and “days of disruption.” Did the choice to adopt disruptive tactics help or hurt the movement? To answer this question, we conducted a four-wave longitudinal study among 1,004 Israeli respondents. Latent growth-curve analysis revealed that the protests’ increasing disruptiveness was linked to increased support for negotiations and compromise among weak (but not strong) opponents of the movement. In addition, as tactics became increasingly disruptive, self-reported participation increased among those who initially sympathized with the protests. Our findings suggest that the use of (nonviolent) disruptive tactics helped the Israeli pro-democracy movement by winning support from opponents while allowing the movement to mobilize supporters. The present findings extend our understanding of disruptive protests’ effectiveness and inform other movements aimed at forestalling democratic backsliding.