Social networks, emotions and repression in normative and non-normative social participation. An investigation in peruvian students

At the invitation of the University of Chile (see letter of invitation from the researcher at the University of Chile in Documents), the possibility of expanding the scope of one of the modules of an original project on collective action by university students has been opened. Through this invitation, we seek to give a comparative dimension to the study and thus better understand the relationship between participation in collective actions (normative and non-normative) of university students.
Collective action has been studied for some time, but there is little information on whether the motivations linked to normative behavior (marches, collecting signatures, etc.) are the same as those that exist in relation to non-normative behavior (confrontations with the authority and violent acts, for example). The study investigates the relationship between normative and non-normative behaviors and social networks, the experience of repression and emotions.
In the case of Peru, 1,000 surveys of university students will be used, through an online panel service. The same survey will be used as in Chile (adapted to the local context) and the indicated variables will be addressed (normative and non-normative collective action, social networks, experience of repression and emotions) taking as reference the participation of students in the November mobilization of 2020. These results will allow a better understanding of the participation of young Peruvian university students in protest actions, carry out a comparative analysis of the results with Chile, and test hypotheses of theoretical relevance in this field of study.

Collective action has long been studied in the social sciences (Becker & Tausch, 2015; Smith et al., 2021; van Zomeren, 2013), but less attention has been paid to the different forms it can take (Tausch, et al, 2011; Wright et al., 1990): moderate and non-violent actions (such as participating in marches or signing petitions); and extreme behaviors that are expressed in radical or violent forms (such as destruction of public or private property or confrontations with the police).
Recent studies demonstrate the relevance of emotions, social networks and the experience of repression, in normative and non-normative participation (Lawrence, 2017; Mackie and Smith, 2015; Moyano and Trujillo, 2014), but these elements have not yet been studied and further research is required to determine their effects on normative and non-normative collective action, as well as possible relationships between them.
In this sense, the present project seeks to determine the effect of social networks, the experience of repression and emotions, in the willingness to participate and in the effective participation in normative and non-normative collective actions, by university students.