Making Protest : The Role of Protest Brokers in South Africa's Urban Landscape

Introducing the critical and previously overlooked role played by protest brokers in South Africa, this study explores how they shape collective action. Drawing on over two years of rich fieldwork, Sarah J. Lockwood examines how these intermediaries link political elites with ordinary citizens, enabling movements that might otherwise never ignite.

Why do some communities rise up in protest while others stay silent? In Making Protest Sarah J. Lockwood takes readers into the heart of urban South Africa – the world's so-called protest capital – to uncover the hidden figures behind modern mobilization: protest brokers. These intermediaries link political elites with ordinary citizens, enabling movements that might otherwise never ignite. Drawing on over two years of immersive fieldwork, unique life histories, surveys, and original datasets, Lockwood reveals how brokers shape where, how, and why protests happen – and why some efforts succeed while others fizzle. As a result, this study challenges how we think about activism, power, and the machinery behind social change. With important insights on democracy, protest, and the politics of everyday life, this book exposes the unseen networks driving collective actions – and why understanding them is vital in our era of rising global dissent.