Focal Points and Salience in Protest Coordination

Abstract

This paper introduces a novel attentional mechanism for protest mobilization, building on salience theory developed by Bordalo et al. (2013, 2020b). While existing models typically emphasize thresholds, networks, or informational factors, our model focuses on how high-profile events, i.e., fatal police encounters involving Black individuals, influence protest behavior. We examine the impact of such events on Black Lives Matter and anti-police violence mobilization, employing treatment evaluation and panel data techniques. Our results show that high-profile events significantly increase protest mobilization, with a substantial portion of this effect mediated by changes in salience. This framework enhances our understanding of protest dynamics, particularly in the immediate aftermath of major events.