Fading voices
Explaining the termination of organizations in dissent
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 24225207 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Johannes Vüllers (0000-0003-0194-6570, University of Duisburg-Essen), Ingrid Vik Bakken (0000-0001-5547-5386, Norwegian Defence Research Establishment, Instituttvn 20, 2007 Kjeller) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Volume | 63 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Pages | 401-414 |
| Publication date | 2026-06-20 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Journal of Peace Research (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0022-3433 • E-ISSN: 1460-3578 |
| Publisher | Oxford University Press (OUP) (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1093/jopres/xjag012 |
| OpenAlex | W7155570504 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 4 |
| References cited | 56 |
Why do organizations cease to exist? We focus on organizations in Africa and Central America and the Caribbean that have protested against the central government from 1990 to 2017. These organizations can play a crucial role in democratic development by mobilizing social groups. However, a significant number (up to 26%) of organizations actually disband over time. To understand the reasons for this, we focus on factors related to organizational activities and state responses. Using the Anatomy of Resistance Campaigns (version 2.0) dataset, we are able to track the evolution of such organizations from their founding to their eventual termination. Our results show that the use of nonviolent means and maximalist demands make the dissolution of an organization less likely. Whereas lethal repression has no effect, legal restrictions influence the demise of the organization. Understanding the conditions under which organizations survive or terminate is crucial for assessing the long-term potential of contentious politics. These insights are particularly relevant in contexts where civil society is under pressure and democratic institutions are fragile.
Africa · Caribbean · Central America · Civil society · Contentious politics · Democratization · legal constraints · nonviolent resistance · protest organization · state repression · Political Conflict and Governance · Political Theory and Democracy · Politics and Society in Latin America
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(Un)organized protest
The nonviolent legacies of rebel group origins
War as women's work
When Nonviolent Civil Resistance Campaigns Fail
Divided Not Conquered
Democracy in the MakingHow Activist Groups Form
How Social Movements Die
The biographical consequences of protest and activism
How closing civil society space affects NGO-Government interactions
Who survived? Ethiopia's regulatory crackdown on foreign-funded NGOs
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How al-Qaida Ends
Tactics of survival
The evolution of research on organizational termination
Contentious Challenges and Government Responses in Latin America
Counter-surveillant organizing during the secessionist cycle of contention in Catalonia
The Rebel Alliance Strikes Back
Repression, Backfire, and The Theory of Transformative Events
The Partisan Dynamics of Contention
State Repression and Nonviolent Resistance
From Claims to Violence
Shirts Today, Skins Tomorrow
Life, Death, or Zombie? The Vitality of International Organizations
Organizations, Resistance, and Democracy
The Assault on Civil Society
Repression Works (Just Not in Moderation)
The Power of Words
State Repression and Opposition Survival in Pinochet’s Chile
Banners, Barricades, and Bombs
State Concessions and Protest Mobilization in Authoritarian Regimes
Silencing Their Critics
What kills international organisations? When and why international organisations terminate
Out-Group Conflict, In-Group Unity
Movement escalation and mobilization for resistance
Introducing the UCDP Georeferenced Event Dataset
Dying for survival
The Impacts of State Surveillance on Political Assembly and Association
Updating nonviolent campaigns
Ethnicity, nonviolent protest, and lethal repression in Africa
Introducing the Anatomy of Resistance Campaigns (ARC) dataset
Resistance is mobile
Protests and persuasion
The Semblance of Democratic Revolution
The Organization of Survival
Recruitment to High-Risk Activism
Resource Mobilization and Social Movements
Bending with the Wind
Fighting racism, battling burnout
| Citations per year | 4 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2026 - 2026 (1) |
| Highly cited | No |