TOWARDS A WESTERN EUROPEAN “SOCIAL MOVEMENT SOCIETY”? An assessment:1981–2009

Some social movements scholars argue that contemporary democracies are becoming “social movements societies”: citizens are often mobilized to make claims; protest actions are progressively be-coming part of institutional politics; and protest has diffused to new constituents. In other words, partici-pants in protest activities are more difficult to be identified.This article aims to provide an updated as-sessment of the “social movement society” thesis in Western Europe, with a focus on the expansion, insti-tutionalization, and, in particular, to the diffusion of political protest to new groups. Using the European Values Study, which spans from 1981 to 2009, it is found that in Western Europe forms of protest are more popular thanin the past, that a partial institutionalization has occurred, and that traditionally disen-gaged individuals protest more compared to thepast. However, the process of “normalization” of the po-litical protester has yet to be completed, given that differences in the levels of engagement still exist among social groups.