Experimental evaluation of theories of collective behavior and collective action in explaining the potential of political protest: A case study of the southern cities of Tehran province

The current article is formed around the question of which of the approaches of collective behavior and collective action is more capable of explaining the potential of political protest. collective behavior emphasizes the dissatisfaction of the masses as the cause of protests and the collective action approach underscores the rationality of activists and their rational calculation to participate in protests. Variables were extracted from each of these approaches and considered as independent variables to explain the potential of political protest. The assumptions derived from the two approaches of collective behavior and collective action were examined with the findings of a survey study in 6 cities located south of Tehran (Islamshahr, Baharestan, Shahryar, Shahr Quds, Rey, and Pakdasht). Finally, it was clearly determined that the approach of collective action has more able to explain the potential of political protest, in such a way that 17 percent of the changes in the potential of political protest are explained by the variables of the individual's perception of the effectiveness of protests and the individual's perception of the government's power to suppress, both of which are derived from the theory of collective action. Only 2 percent of the dependent variable is explained by the variable of political satisfaction which is derived from the theory of collective behavior.